League Two Play-Off Final: Fleetwood Town 1 Burton Albion 0

Antoni Sarcevic was the hero as Fleetwood Town beat Burton Albion 1-0 at Wembley to reach English football’s third tier for the first time.

Sarcevic promised to make Fleetwood’s dreams come true earlier in the week and made good on his pledge with a somewhat fortuitous free-kick in the 75th minute, earning Fleetwood victory in the League Two play-off final and an incredible sixth promotion in 10 seasons.

Burton goalkeeper Dean Lyness flapped at the 22-year-old’s whipped delivery from the left and saw the ball fly over his head and into the net.

Nathan Pond – who has been with Fleetwood through all six promotions – appeared to be in an offside position as he attempted to beat Lyness to the ball, but no flag was raised.

Graham Alexander’s men were particularly impressive in the first half and fully deserved to continue their meteoric rise in English football.

The defeat marks further heartbreak for Burton, who lost to eventual winners Bradford City in last season’s play-off semi-finals and were also seeking to reach League One for the first time.

Fleetwood started well and Lyness made a fine one-handed stop to keep out David Ball’s shot on the turn in the second minute, before pulling off a fine-point blank save from the forward’s header at the resulting corner.

There was almost a fairytale moment after quarter of an hour when Pond headed narrowly wide from a Josh Morris corner.

Alexander’s men continued to enjoy the bulk of possession and had two shouts for a penalty in the same move. Robbie Weir appeared to make a fair challenge on Matty Blair, but Ball was then felled by Shane Cansdell-Sherriff, prompting further appeals.

Burton mustered an effort on goal when Billy Kee stung the palms of Chris Maxwell, but Fleetwood continued to dominate and were unfortunate not to be ahead at the break.

The second half began at a somewhat slower tempo, although Burton showed a marked improvement on their first-half showing, with Kee particularly lively.

Fleetwood were handed a reprieve with 20 minutes remaining when an unmarked Cansdell-Sherriff failed to connect cleanly with a near-post header from a corner.

That proved costly just five minutes later as Sarcevic sent his set-piece looping over Lyness and into the far corner.

There was almost a second goal for Fleetwood in the closing stages when Iain Hume came close to connecting with Ball’s whipped cross along the six-yard box, but one goal was enough to send Fleetwood into League One.