Ahead of the Boreham Wood v Rochdale playoff final we take a look at the latest ticket sales, odds, and what both clubs have said.
Rochdale finished the regular season heartbroken, York City, 1st, with 107 points, Rochdale, 2nd, with 105 points… Rochdale scored in the 95th minute to make it 1-0, but York City equalised in the 103rd minute to win the league title.
So playoffs it came down to for Dale for a chance of getting a place back into the Football League for the first time since being relegation from it in 2023.
Rochdale beat Scunthorpe 2-1 in the National League playoff semi finals, and now take on Boreham Wood, who finished 4th, then beat Forest Green and Carlisle to reach the final at Wembley Stadium.
Tuesday 28th April 2026 – Playoff eliminatorScunthorpe United (1) 1-0 (0) Southend United – 6,248
Wednesday 29th April 2026 – Playoff eliminator(AET) Boreham Wood (0) 1-0 (0) Forest Green Rovers – 2,452
Sunday 3rd May 2026 – Playoff semi finals(AET) Carlisle United (1) 1-2 (1) Boreham Wood – 13,814Rochdale (1) 2-1 (0) Scunthorpe United – 7,552
In the last update, Rochdale tweeted that they had sold around 7,000 tickets, but one fan said they received an email from club on Thursday morning saying over 8,000 had been sold.
WHAT ARE THE ODDS SAYING:
BetVictor – To be promotedRochdale – 4/7Boreham Wood – 5/4
William Hill – To be promotedRochdale – 8/13Boreham Wood – 6/5
Sky Bet – To lift the trophyRochdale – 4/6Boreham Wood – 11/10
The lads have a message for you 🫵
🎟️ https://t.co/hbjCzddzuI 🎟️#rafc pic.twitter.com/H0sGPuduUu
— Rochdale AFC (@officiallydale) May 8, 2026
Rochdale’s Jim McNulty told BBC Radio Manchester: “I would say the past three games have been exactly that because our game away at Braintree was must-win and so we’ve been in must-win scenarios for a few weeks now.
“I think that being accustomed to that in the past few weeks has certainly helped us going into what becomes now another must-win at Wembley on Sunday.”
On if his side have practised penalties: “Yes, we have, which is regular practise for anyone to go into a final.
“I’ve got nothing special to say about it though, other than the lads are just walking up, taking a pen and seeing what goes in.”
He added: “I feel very fortunate to be at the helm of the club during a period of such growth. We fully deserve to be where we are with earning the right for these sort of opportunities.”
In the last update, Boreham Wood tweeted that they had sold over 5,500 tickets, over 15% of their town on their way to Wembley.
Manager Luke Garrard said to BBC’s football podcast 72+: “Two years ago relegating Boreham Wood really hurt me. This is my club. I left and there were some dark times in the six months not having a job.
“It was a reset for me, I went away and worked at my my craft, spoke to a lot of good managers and when I returned my language changed, there was a different mindset.
“I was very negative in the build-up to the relegation season but when I returned 16 months ago the mindset was all about getting back to the National League.
“I said it from the start of this season we have enough to get promotion.
“I worked it out that we’d have won three leagues in the past 12 or 13 years with the 90 points we got.
“What went on with Wrexham and Notts County (in 2022-23) was incredible to see. Rochdale and York having a proper ding-dong on the last day of the season and to achieve what they did was incredible.
“For us to get 90 points normally wins you a division but for us that season is done – it’s a two-part season for us. We accumulated 90 points, won the National Cup, and reached the third round of the FA Cup but that’s done now.
“Our aim was to be successful in this second part of the season and we’re two thirds of the way through that now. I don’t want to be talking about we got 90 points, I want to go to Wembley and win now.
“There are going to be households who are excited, mums and dads, there are staff who are excited but we need to be calm, we’re going to Wembley for business.
“I don’t want any dramas on tickets, no dramas on Wembley and if anyone discusses it from Friday onwards they’re going to be fined because it’s another game of football but it happens to be at Wembley.”
Over 15% of our town will be marching up Wembley Way on Sunday. There’s still time to secure your Promotion Final tickets! 🏆
Read here ➡️ https://t.co/vfr8jzMk5u#WeAreTheWood pic.twitter.com/E07dZLm1kn
— Boreham Wood FC (@BOREHAM_WOODFC) May 8, 2026
“I don’t want to go and play at Wembley, I want to win at Wembley.” 🥶
Boreham Wood boss Luke Garrard only has one thing in mind 👊 pic.twitter.com/4ICQPATcLz
— National League on DAZN (@DAZN_NationalLg) May 5, 2026
