Yorkshire's rich history in the play-offs

Hull City's Dean Windass celebrates in 2008

With good cause, too, as the play-offs really are all about the winners. As this county knows only too well.

Since the national stadium was rebuilt nine years ago, eight finals have involved at least one Yorkshire team.

Take out the all-White Rose affairs of 2008 and 2012 in League One, and the win-lose ratio is split 3:3. The first to savour that magic feeling of winning promotion under the Arch were Hull City in 2008.

Rotherham United manager Steve Evans (left) celebrates with chairman Tony Stewart after the Sky Bet League One Play Off Final at Wembley Stadium, London.

Dean Windass, above, in true Roy of the Rovers fashion, thundered in that volley to end his home city’s long, long wait for top-flight football.

Five years later, Windass’s old club Bradford City were celebrating promotion from League Two after a hugely one-sided final against Northampton Town. Much tighter was the League One decider in 2014, as Steve Evans’s Rotherham United, centre, edged out Leyton Orient on penalties.

The flipside to those joyous scenes for Yorkshire football are the defeats suffered by Sheffield United, bottom, and Middlesbrough in the 2009 and 2015 Championship finals, plus Rotherham’s 2010 loss to Dagenham & Redbridge.

By Sunday night, at least one set of Yorkshire fans will be crying into their beer but, either way, this weekend is going to be huge for the county.