Leeds United are the latest team to be chucked out of football's last chance saloon after their 3-0 defeat to Watford on Sunday. Sports editor Martin Jarred looks at some of the play-off highs and lows over the years.

TWENTY years of football play-offs have produced drama aplenty.

You had only to look at the contrasting faces of the Watford and Leeds United players after Sunday's Championship final at the Millennium Stadium to get a taste of the addictive ordeal that is the play-offs.

Overall 84 clubs have been caught up in the winner-takes-all showdown and next weekend former York City boss John Ward takes his Cheltenham Town side to Cardiff to face Grimsby in the Division Two final.

It was Ward who laid the foundations for York City to taste glory in their 1993 victory over Crewe at Wembley.

The Minstermen were led out by Alan Little and the two sides laid on a tremendous spectacle at the Twin Towers. Although it was hardly a goal-fest, both sides played to the top of their game to provide a dramatic finale.

York-born Garry Swan fired City ahead in extra time and just when it looked as though that was going to be enough to bring the trophy back to Bootham Crescent, Steve Tutill inexplicably handled in the City area to give the Alex a last-gasp penalty equaliser.

That sent the game into penalties where two City heroes emerged - goalkeeper Dean Kiely and left-back Wayne Hall.

City held a 3-2 advantage before Kiely saved from Gareth Whalley and after Nigel Pepper and Ashley Ward traded kicks Hall stepped up to shoot City to promotion.

Two days later Alan Little's brother, Brian, suffered a different kind of emotion as his Leicester City side lost out to Swindon in their bid to reach the top flight.

Swindon looked home and dry at 3-0 up but the Foxes staged a remarkable comeback to level only for the West Country side to snatch the spoils with a Paul Bodin penalty.

Spotkicks have often been a key feature of the play-offs with the 1998 Division One battle between Charlton and Sunderland reckoned to be the daddy of them all.

Three times the Wearsiders allowed Charlton to claw their way back but it was the London team who had gone ahead through Sunderland fan Clive Mendonca.

Nial Quinn and Kevin Phillips put Sunderland in front before Mendonca's second tied it up at 2-2.

Quinn struck again but Richard Rufus sent the game into extra time in the 85th minute.

Nicky Summerbee looked as though he had stolen it in extra time for the Black Cats but Mendonca completed his hat-trick to send the match to penalties.

It was nerve-shredding stuff with Charlton edging it 7-6 after the 14th spot-kick from the boot of Michael Gray rolled weakly into the grateful arms of Charlton keeper Sara Illic.

But for a get-out-of-jail free card little can top Manchester City's 1999 game with outsiders Gillingham in the Division Two final.

The Kent side broke the deadlock after 81 minutes through Carl Asaba and when Bob Taylor added a second four minutes from time it looked as though City had blown it.

Kevin Horlock then gave them hope with an 89th minute goal and Paul Dickov struck in added on time to save the Maine Road men.

They made the most of their escape, winning 3-1 on penalties which was to kickstart their revival back to the top echelon of English football.

Reading, like Gillingham, were another team to blow their play-off chance.

In 1995 they led Division One rivals Bolton 2-0 - Lee Nogan, the former York City striker, getting one of them.

But the Royals missed a penalty and were eventually hauled back and beaten 4-3 in extra time.

It was quite a season for Bolton, who were League Cup runners-up to Liverpool that year. Quite how they managed to score four times has always been a puzzle to Wanderers fans as their side had failed to score more than one goal in any of their last 13 League games of the regular season.

It just goes to show you can't take anything for granted in the play-offs.

Updated: 09:32 Tuesday, May 23, 2006