2005 Fiesta Bowl
Utah was led by co-head coaches Urban Meyer and Kyle Whittingham, and quarterback Alex Smith directed his spread offense. The Utes were nothing short of unstoppable during the regular season, having won all their games by at least 14 points, and held an average lead of 40–14 after three quarters. They played key out-of-conference games against Texas A&M and North Carolina, and defeated five bowl teams by an average of 23.2 points. Utah was a very successful team that broke many school records, including most wins in a single season with 12, 16 straight wins (which would reach 18 in 2005), and 544 points scored in one season.


2005 Fiesta Bowl
Going into the game, Utah had been ranked in the Top 10 for 8 consecutive weeks. Pittsburgh was 8–3 and the Big East Conference champion. Utah raced to a 28–0 lead and held on for a convincing 35–7 win. Alex Smith had a magnificent showing, completing 29 of 37 passes for 328 yards and 4 touchdowns, as he went on to impress NFL scouts and became the number 1 overall draft pick.


2005 Fiesta Bowl
He was also the MWC Offensive Player of the Year, TSN Player of the Year, a Walter Camp finalist, a Davey O'Brien finalist, finished fourth in the Heisman voting, and the Fiesta Bowl MVP. Paris Warren was Smith's go-to man during the game, as he caught a Fiesta Bowl record 15 passes for 198 yards and 2 touchdowns.


2005 Fiji rugby union tour of Europe
The 2005 Fiji rugby union tour of Europe was a series of matches played in November 2005 in Europe by Fiji national rugby union team.


2005 Fiji rugby union tour of Europe, Results
Wales: 15.Lee Byrne, 14.Kevin Morgan, 13.Matthew Watkins, 12.Sonny Parker, 11.Shane Williams, 10.Nick Robinson, 9.Gareth Cooper, 8.8.Michael Owen (capt. ), 7.Martyn Williams, 6.Dafydd Jones, 5.Luke Charteris, 4.Brent Cockbain, 3.Chris Horsman, 2.T.Rhys Thomas, 1.John Yapp,  – replacements: 17.Adam R. Jones, 18.Robert Sidoli, 20.Alix Popham, 21.Mike Phillips, 22.Ceri Sweeney     –  No entry : 16.Huw Bennett, 19.Robin Sowden-TaylorFiji: 15.Norman Ligairi, 14.Mosese Luveitasau Yabakitini, 13.Epeli Ruivadra, 12.Julian Vulakoro, 11.Sireli Bobo, 10.Seremaia Baikeinuku, 9.Moses Rauluni (capt), 8.Sisa Koyamaibole, 7.Aca Ratuva, 6.Alifereti Doviverata, 5.Isoa Domolailai, 4.Ifereimi Rawaqa, 3.Apisai Nagi Mavua, 2.Sunia Koto Vuli, 1.Josese Baleikasavu,  – replacements: 16.Bill Gadolo, 18.Kele Leawere, 19.Mosese Volavola, 20.Kini Salabogi, 22.Kameli Ratuvou     –  No entry: 17.Tiko Matawalu, 21.Aporosa Vata Tuinasau


2005 Fiji rugby union tour of Europe, Results
Portugal: 15.Pedro Leal, 14.Antonio Aguilar, 13.Miguel Portela de Morais, 12.Diogo Mateus, 11.Frederico Sousa, 10.Duarte Pinto, 9.Jose Pinto Neves, 8.Vasco Uva, 7.João Uva (capt. ), 6.Diego Coutinho, 5.Goncalo Uva, 4.Marcelo d'Orey Branco, 3.Joaquim Ferreira, 2.João Correia, 1.Rui Cordeiro,  – replacements: 16.Pedro Fonseca, 18.Arnaud Ferreira, 19.David Penalva, 20.Luis Pissarra, 21.Felipe Grenho, 22.Pedro Carvalho Cabral    –  No entry : 17.Rodrigo AguiarFiji


2005 Fiji rugby union tour of Europe, Results
: 15.Jo Tora, 14.Neumi Nanuku, 13.Maleli Kunavore, 12.Kameli Ratuvou, 11.Sireli Bobo, 10.Jack Prasad, 9.Moses Rauluni (capt. ), 8.Jone Qovu Nailiko, 7.Mo Volavola, 6.Kini Salabogi, 5.Kele Leawere, 4.Ifereimi Rawaqa, 3.Apisai Nagi Mavua, 2.Bill Gadolo, 1.Tiko Matawalu,  – replacements: 16.Sikeli Gavidi Tubuvanere, 17.Apisai Turukawa, 18.Akapusi Qera, 19.Sisa Koyamaibole, 21.Julian Vulakoro, 22.Epeli Ruivadra    –  No entry: 20.Saiasi Fuli


2005 Fiji rugby union tour of Europe, Results
Italy: 15.Ezio Galon, 14.Samuele Pace, 13.Mirco Bergamasco, 12.Gonzalo Canale, 11.Ludovico Nitoglia, 10.Ramiro Pez, 9.Paul Griffen, 8.Sergio Parisse, 7.Mauro Bergamasco, 6.Alessandro Zanni, 5.Marco Bortolami (capt. ), 4.Carlo Antonio del Fava, 3.Martin Castrogiovanni, 2.Fabio Ongaro, 1.Matias Aguero,  – replacements: 17.Carlos Nieto, 18.Valerio Bernabo, 19.Maurizio Zaffiri, 20.Pablo Canavosio, 22.Rima Wakarua     –  No entry : 16.Carlo Festuccia, 21.Luciano OrqueraFiji: 15.Norman Ligairi, 14.Mosese Luveitasau Yabakitini, 13.Epeli Ruivadra, 12.Seremaia Baikeinuku, 11.Kameli Ratuvou, 10.Nicky Little, 9.Moses Rauluni(capt), 8.Sisa Koyamaibole, 7.Aca Ratuva, 6.Alifereti Doviverata, 5.Kele Leawere, 4.Ifereimi Rawaqa, 3.Apisai Nagi Mavua, 2.Sunia Koto Vuli, 1.Josese Baleikasavu,  – replacements: 16.Sikeli Gavidi Tubuvanere, 17.Bill Gadolo, 18.Jone Qovu Nailiko, 19.Mosese Volavola, 20.Aporosa Vata Tuinasau, 21.Kini Salabogi, 22.Maleli Kunavore


2005 Fijian local elections
Local elections were held in Fiji on 22 October 2005 to elect the councils of eleven municipalities. In Suva, the elections for the Suva City Council were postponed until 12 November due to the death of two candidates; the death of a candidate in Lautoka also resulted in the postponement of the poll in one of the four wards.


2005 Fijian local elections
The newly elected councils of most municipalities selected their Mayors on or before 28 October. Suva and Lautoka will select their Mayors in mid-November, however, after voting has been completed. The Mayoralty changed hands in six municipalities, as party political control changed hands in the Councils of Lami, Labasa, Levuka, Savusavu, and Nasinu. In Nadi, the National Federation Party retained power, but decided to replace its Mayor.


2005 Fijian local elections, Results by municipality
Local as well as national issues featured prominently in the campaign and featured in the results. The results were considered a disappointment for the Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua (SDL); their first-ever win in Lami was more than off-set by their defeat in Nasinu, whose population is much larger. The Fiji Labour Party (FLP) retained control of Lautoka and won control of Nasinu and Labasa, but failed to win any seats in Ba, prompting party leader Mahendra Chaudhry to cry foul.


2005 Fijian local elections, Results by municipality
Chaudhry said he would challenge the result in the courts, alleging that the decision of the electoral commission to disqualify several FLP candidates on technicalities had resulted in the National Federation Party winning several seats unopposed. The NFP not only retained control of Ba, but also of Nadi and, in coalition with the SDL, of Sigatoka. Locally organized Ratepayers' Associations won in Nausori, Tavua, and Savusavu, while in Levuka, the Balance Party, a purely municipal group, gained control of the Town Council.


2005 Fijian local elections, Results by municipality, Ba Town
The NFP won 14 of the 15 seats on the Ba Town Council. The remaining seat was won by an independent candidate. The FLP complained that three of their candidates in the Yalalevu ward had been disqualified on technicalities, allowing the NFP to win those seats by default, and on 24 October, FLP leader Mahendra Chaudhry said that his party would challenge the decision in the courts. On 5 November, the High Court dismissed the challenge. A subsequent electoral petition from the three unnominated FLP candidates was dismissed by the High Court on 13 February 2006.


2005 Fijian local elections, Results by municipality, Ba Town
The court rejected the claim that the Returning Officer had been wrong to disqualify the candidates, and ordered the FLP to pay F$1,500 to the Ba Town Council to cover court costs. An earlier report from Fiji Television that Chaudhry and Singh Lawyers had been ordered to pay the court costs was incorrect, and Fiji Television apologized on 15 February.


2005 Fijian local elections, Results by municipality, Ba Town
The new council unanimously reelected Parveen Bala as its Mayor on 28 October. He has held the office for ten years.


2005 Fijian local elections, Results by municipality, Labasa
The FLP won control of the Labasa Town Council for the first time, winning 10 of the 12 seats. The remaining two seats were won by the Ratepayers' Association of the outgoing Mayor, Charan Jeath Singh. The new council chose Pradeep Singh as its new Mayor on 28 October, with Leslie Williams as his deputy.


2005 Fijian local elections, Results by municipality, Lami
The Ratepayers Association's 20-year domination of the Lami Town Council ended when it secured only one of the 12 seats. The remaining 11 seats were won by the SDL. The new SDL-dominated council chose Tevita Vuatalevu as its next Mayor on 28 October. Jimi Savu was chosen as his deputy.


2005 Fijian local elections, Results by municipality, Lautoka
The election in Lautoka took place in three of the city's four wards, the voting in the Simla ward having been postponed till 12 November owing to the death of a candidate. The FLP made a clean sweep of the Veitari and Tavakubu wards, winning all four seats in each wards; the 8 seats in total give the FLP majority control of the council, regardless of the result of the special election in Simla. The SDL won the four seats in the Waiyavi ward.


2005 Fijian local elections, Results by municipality, Lautoka
The FLP won all four seats in the Simla ward on 12 November. The first session of the new city council, which was boycotted by the SDL councillors, elected Rohit Kumar unopposed to the Mayoralty, with Jesoni Balewai as his deputy.


2005 Fijian local elections, Results by municipality, Levuka
The Balance Party won 6 of the 8 seats on the Levuka Town Council, defeating the SDL of outgoing Mayor Taniela Bulivou, which won the remaining two seats. The new council chose George Gibson as its new Mayor, with Father Taniela Bola as his deputy; both are members of the Balance Party.


2005 Fijian local elections, Results by municipality, Nadi
The election produced little change from 2002, with the NFP retaining its hold on the Nadi Town Council. The NFP won 10 of the 15 seats, with the remaining 5 seats, all from the Martintar Ward, going to the FLP. This was an exact repeat of the scenario in 2002. Shalesh Mudliar and Timoci Koroiciqica, both of the NFP, were subsequently chosen by the new council to be Mayor and Deputy Mayor respectively.


2005 Fijian local elections, Results by municipality, Nadi
Defeated FLP candidate Surendra Singh filed a lawsuit on 14 December, seeking to invalidate the results for the Namuka Ward, which he contested. Claiming that the electoral roll failed to comply with the electoral act, he demanded a fresh poll in the Ward.


2005 Fijian local elections, Results by municipality, Nasinu
The SDL, led by Mayor Joji Taholo since 2000, lost control of the Nasinu Town Council, taking only 7 of the 21 seats. The other 14 seats were all won by the FLP. At a meeting boycotted by the SDL members, the new council elected Rajeshwar Kumar as Mayor and Dhirendra Prasad as his deputy on 28 October. SDL General Secretary Jale Baba said that the party intended to challenge the results in the court.


2005 Fijian local elections, Results by municipality, Nasinu
On 7 November, Baba told the Fiji Village news service that four SDL councillors intended to apply for a court order on 11 November to halt council operations, on the grounds that procedures were not followed in the run-up to the election. Lawyers, he said, had advised the SDL councillors not to participate in any council business. Having missed two sessions already, being absent from a third without leave would automatically forfeit their seats. They were confident, however, that the court would grant a stay to prevent any further meetings, he stated.


2005 Fijian local elections, Results by municipality, Nausori
All 12 seats on the Nausori Town Council were all won by the Ratepayers' Association. The new council chose Vikash Singh for the Mayoralty on 28 October.


2005 Fijian local elections, Results by municipality, Savusavu
As in 2002, the election for control of the Savusavu Town Council was fought entirely between locally organized groups with no ties to national political parties. The result was a defeat for the ruling Lighthouse Party of outgoing Mayor Peni Naulu, which won only one seat on the 9-member Savusavu Town Council. The Savusavu Ratepayers and Citizens Party (SRC) won power, taking five seats, while the Sunrise Party won three. The new council chose Ram Pillay of the SRC as Mayor, with Shiu Shankar Singh of the Sunrise Party as his deputy.


2005 Fijian local elections, Results by municipality, Sigatoka
All 10 seats on the Sigatoka Town Council were won by an SDL/NFP coalition. The new council reelected Ratu Isikeli Tasere as Mayor on 2 November.


2005 Fijian local elections, Results by municipality, Suva
The death of two candidates prior to polling in October 2005 led to the postponement of the poll till 12 November. The election for the 20-member city council was a three-way contest featuring the SDL, the NFP, and the FLP. The previous municipal election was won by a coalition comprising the SDL and the NFP, but the coalition collapsed in 2004 amid disagreements over who should hold the Mayoralty, and for the first time, both parties contested all 20 seats - separately.


2005 Fijian local elections, Results by municipality, Suva
The result was a landslide win for the SDL, which won an absolute majority of 12 seats on the council. It won all 5 seats in both the Tamavua and Muanikau wards, and 2 seats in the Samabula ward. The other 3 Samabula seats were won by the FLP. The NFP retained its hold on the Central Ward, winning all 5 seats, but lost ground elsewhere.


2005 Fijian local elections, Results by municipality, Suva
Reacting to the results, FLP leader Mahendra Chaudhry said it was clear that the party would have to work hard ahead of the general election scheduled for 2006, to poll well in Suva City. He also announced his party's intention to mount a legal challenge to the results in the Samabula ward, claiming that most of the 42 rejected ballots were valid and would have netted the FLP more seats.


2005 Fijian local elections, Results by municipality, Suva
The SDL standard-bearer, Ratu Peni Volavola, was reelected as Lord Mayor at the first meeting of the new council on 17 November. Josefa Gavidi, also of the SDL, was chosen as his deputy after an offer by the SDL to give the Deputy Lord Mayoralty to a member of the NFP was refused by that party.


2005 Fijian local elections, Results by municipality, Tavua
All 9 seats on the Tavua Town Council were won by the Tavua Ratepayers, Landowners, and Tenants Association. The new council unanimously reelected Chandra Singh, a lawyer who had held the Mayoralty for the past four years, to another year in office.


2005 Fijian local elections, Reaction to results
SDL General Secretary Jale Baba blamed a rugby match for his party's poor showing in many parts of the country, including the most populous town of Nasinu. "We did not lose to the Fiji Labour party in Nasinu, we gave it away because our supporters were at the match," Baba opined.


2005 Fijian local elections, Reaction to results
Both before and after the results were known, a number of parties had touted the municipal polls as holding significance for the parliamentary election, due in 2006, either by showing particular trends or by indicating the regions in which political parties needed to campaign more effectively. However, Sandra Tarte, a Senior Lecturer in History and Politics at the University of the South Pacific, cautioned against reading too much into the local elections. The mechanics of municipal elections differ from those of parliamentary elections, she said, and voter response would necessarily differ too.


2005 Finnish Figure Skating Championships
The 2005 Finnish Figure Skating Championships took place between December 18 and 19, 2004 in Hämeenlinna. Skaters competed in the disciplines of men's singles and women's singles on the senior and junior levels. The event was used to help determine the Finnish team to the 2005 European Championships.


2005 First Division (Gambia)
The 2005 First Division season was the 37th of the amateur  competition of the first-tier football in the Gambia. The tournament was organized by the Gambian Football Association (GFA) . The season began on 7 January and finished on 3 July. Wallidan FC won the fifteenth title and qualified for and competed in the 2006 CAF Champions League the following season. Bakau United FC, winner of the 2005 Gambian Cup participated in the 2006 CAF Confederation Cup the following season..


2005 First Division (Gambia)
The season featured a total of 162 matches and scored a total of 132 goals, less than half than last season.


2005 First Division (Gambia)
Wallidan FC was the defending team of the title. Wallidan finished with 29 points, nearly a quarter less than last season and scored the most goals numbering 19, nearly 40% fewer than last season.


2005 First Division (Gambia), Overview
The league was contested by 10 teams with Wallidan FC again winning the championship.


2005 Florida Atlantic Owls football team
The 2005 Florida Atlantic University Owls football team represented Florida Atlantic University in the 2005 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Howard Schnellenberger and played their home games at Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.


2005 Florida Gators baseball team
The 2005 Florida Gators baseball team represented the University of Florida in the sport of baseball during the 2005 college baseball season. The Gators competed in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They played their home games at Alfred A. McKethan Stadium, on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus. The team was coached by Pat McMahon, who was in his fourth season at Florida.


2005 Florida Gators football team
The 2005 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida in the sport of American football during the 2005 college football season. The Gators competed in Division I-A of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), and played their home games at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus. The season was the team's first of six under head coach Urban Meyer, who led the Gators to an Outback Bowl berth and an overall win-loss record of 9–3 (.750).


2005 Florida Gators football team, Pre-season
The 2005 season would open with high expectations of new head coach Urban Meyer. Fourteen starters, seven from offense and seven from defense, would return for the 2005 season. The Gators would open the season in Gainesville against Wyoming from the Mountain West Conference. This year would also be the first time former Gator coach Steve Spurrier would coach against his alma mater.


2005 Florida Marlins season
The Florida Marlins' 2005 season was the 13th season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise in the National League. It would begin with the team attempting to improve on their season from 2004. Their manager was Jack McKeon. They played home games at Dolphin Stadium. They finished with a record of 83-79, 3rd in the NL East and failed to make the playoffs for the 2nd consecutive season.


2005 Florida Marlins season, Player stats, Batting, Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in


2005 Florida Marlins season, Player stats, Batting, Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in


2005 Florida Marlins season, Player stats, Pitching, Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


2005 Florida Marlins season, Player stats, Pitching, Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


2005 Florida Marlins season, Player stats, Pitching, Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


2005 Florida State Seminoles football team
The 2005 Florida State Seminoles football team represented Florida State University during the 2005 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Bobby Bowden and played their home games at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida. They were members of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and competed in the Atlantic Division.


2005 Florida State Seminoles football team
The Seminoles won their division and competed in the ACC title game, defeating Virginia Tech in the inaugural championship game.


2005 Florida State Seminoles football team, Recruits
The Seminoles recruiting class was ranked No. 2 in the nation behind only Southern California by Rivals.com, but never panned out. On a reevaluation in 2012, Rivals.com listed it among the most disappointing recruiting classes of the decade.


2005 Florida State Seminoles football team, Post season
Florida State finished the season ranked number 23 in both the final AP and Coaches college football polls. Florida State's trip to the Orange Bowl marked the 24th consecutive post season bowl game under Bobby Bowden.


2005 Florida State Seminoles football team, Post season, NFL draft
Six seniors and two juniors would go on and be drafted in the 2006 NFL Draft.


2005 Food City 500
The 2005 Food City 500 was the 5th race of the 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season, held on April 3, 2005, at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee. Pole position was won by Elliott Sadler of Robert Yates Racing, who had a pole time of 15.022 seconds. Rusty Wallace would lead the most laps of the day with 157. In the end, Kevin Harvick would win.


2005 Food City 500, Qualifying
Elliott Sadler would win the pole with a 15.022. Meanwhile, Carl Edwards would crash during qualifying after spinning off of Turn 2, causing him to start at the back.


2005 Food City 500, Race recap
For pre-race ceremonies, Mike Rife from the Vansant Church of Christ would give out the invocation. A moment of silence was held for the death of Pope John Paul II during invocation. Columbia Recordings' artist Buddy Jewell would sing the national anthem. Jerry Kilgore would give out the command to start engines.


2005 Food City 500, Race recap
Elliott Sadler would jump to the lead on the start. Almost immediately, on the third lap Kasey Kahne would get loose in Turn 2, causing the field to stack up. This would eventually cause a wreck between Jason Leffler and Hermie Sadler, and while they had damage, none of the two would retire. The field would restart on lap 10, but on lap 21 the second caution would come out when Kyle Busch would push up Joe Nemechek into the frontstretch wall, causing him to turn down and hit Casey Mears, which ended Mear's day.


2005 Food City 500, Race recap
On the lap 36 restart, Rusty Wallace would go to the lead. The third caution of the day came out when on lap 50 Stanton Barrett spun going into Turn 1, hitting the Turn 1 wall. Barrett would eventually retire due to oil pressure issues. The restart on lap 54 showed Wallce leading the field again, but the fourth caution would fly when Mike Bliss spun in Turn 1, collecting Kyle Busch. Michael Waltrip would take the lead from pit stops, and lead the field on the lap 75 restart until getting passed by Kevin Harvick on lap 90. Wallace would take over the lead on lap 101, when on lap 136 debris resting in Turn 2 would put out the fifth caution of the day.


2005 Food City 500, Race recap
On the lap 143 restart, Harvick would jump to the lead in two laps, but on lap 151 Ryan Newman would make contact with Ken Schrader going into Turn 3, cutting a tire down for Newman and causing him to spin.


2005 Football League Championship play-off Final
The 2005 Football League Championship play-off Final was an association football match which was played on 30 May 2005 at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, between Preston North End and West Ham United. The match was to determine the third and final team to gain promotion from the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football, to the FA Premier League.


2005 Football League Championship play-off Final
The top two teams of the 2004–05 Football League Championship season gained automatic promotion to the Premier League, while the clubs placed from third to sixth place in the table took part in play-off semi-finals; Preston ended the season in fifth position while West Ham finished sixth. The winners of these semi-finals competed for the final place for the 2005–06 season in the Premier League. Ipswich Town and Derby County were the losing semi-finalists. Winning the final was estimated to be worth up to £31 million to the successful team.


2005 Football League Championship play-off Final
The 2005 final was refereed by Mike Riley and was watched by a crowd of 70,275. West Ham won the match 1–0 with the only goal of the game coming from Bobby Zamora in the second half, and were promoted back to the Premier League after an absence of two years. His teammate Matthew Etherington was named man of the match.


2005 Football League Championship play-off Final
West Ham finished their following season in ninth place in the Premier League. Preston's next season saw them finish in fourth place in the Championship, and qualify for the play-offs, where they lost 3–1 on aggregate to Leeds United in the semi-final.


2005 Football League Championship play-off Final, Route to the final
Preston North End finished the regular 2004–05 season in fifth place in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system, one place and two points ahead of West Ham United. Both therefore missed out on the two automatic places for promotion to the Premier League and instead took part in the play-offs, along with Ipswich Town and Derby County, to determine the third promoted team. Preston finished twelve points behind Wigan Athletic  (who were promoted in second place) and nineteen behind league winners Sunderland.


2005 Football League Championship play-off Final, Route to the final
West Ham United faced Ipswich Town in their play-off semi-final, with the first leg taking place at the Boleyn Ground in East London on 14 May 2005. The home team opened the scoring early in the first half as a cross from Matthew Etherington was converted from 5 yards (4.6 m) by Marlon Harewood. They doubled their lead six minutes later when, once again, Etherington crossed the ball and this time it was Bobby Zamora's strike which beat Kelvin Davis in the Ipswich goal.


2005 Football League Championship play-off Final, Route to the final
Just before half-time, the visitors halved the deficit when West Ham's goalkeeper Jimmy Walker conceded an own goal. Shefki Kuqi then equalised from close range following a defensive mix-up between Walker and Anton Ferdinand and match ended level on 2–2. The return leg was played at Portman Road in Ipswich four days later. After a goalless first half, Zamora scored twice in eleven minutes: the first was a close-range header from a Harewood cross while the second saw Zamora volley Harewood's pass into the Ipswich goal. West Ham won the match 2–0 and the semi-final 4–2 on aggregate to progress to the final.


2005 Football League Championship play-off Final, Route to the final
In the other play-off semi-final, Preston North End's opponents were Derby County, the first leg being played at Deepdale in Preston on 15 May 2005. The home side were dominant in the first half and took the lead in the 38th minute when David Nugent beat Lee Camp in the Derby goal after picking up a flicked pass from Chris Sedgwick. Although Derby improved after the break, Preston doubled their lead in the final minute of the match. A defensive header deflected off Richard Cresswell past Camp to make the final score 2–0 to the home side.


2005 Football League Championship play-off Final, Route to the final
The second leg was played at Pride Park Stadium in Derby four days later. After a goalless first half, Grzegorz Rasiak won a penalty when he was brought down by Chris Lucketti in the penalty area. Rasiak himself took the spot kick but struck the post, and the game ended 0–0, with Preston qualifying for the final with a 2–0 aggregate victory.


2005 Football League Championship play-off Final, Match, Background
Preston were making their second appearance in a Championship play-off final, having lost in the 2001 final 3–0 against Bolton Wanderers. Preston had also featured in the 1994 Football League Third Division play-off Final at the old Wembley Stadium where they lost 4–2 against Wycombe Wanderers. West Ham were losing finalists the previous season when they were beaten 1–0 by Crystal Palace. During the regular season, Preston had won both league encounters between the two clubs. They secured a 2–1 victory at Deepdale in December 2004 and won by the same scoreline at the Boleyn Ground the following March.


2005 Football League Championship play-off Final, Match, Background
During that match, Tomáš Řepka was sent off for headbutting Brian O'Neil in his right eye and a mass brawl ensued in the tunnel after the final whistle. Cresswell was the highest scorer for Preston throughout the season with 16 goals, while West Ham's top marksman was Teddy Sheringham who had 20 followed by Harewood with 17. Preston had played in the second tier of English football since gaining promotion in the 1999–2000 season as champions of the Football League Second Division, and had not taken part in the top tier for 44 years.


2005 Football League Championship play-off Final, Match, Background
Conversely, West Ham had played in the Championship for two seasons since being relegated from the Premiership in the 2002–03 season. Winning the play-off final was estimated in the media to be worth up to £35 million to the successful team; CNN described the game as "the world's richest club match". The referee for the match was Mike Riley who represented the West Riding County Football Association.


2005 Football League Championship play-off Final, Match, Background
The West Ham manager Alan Pardew opted for a 4–4–2 formation, with Shaun Newton replacing Carl Fletcher in right midfield. Newton had been successful in the playoff finals on two previous occasions, winning with Charlton Athletic in the 1998 final and with Wolverhampton Wanderers in the 2003 final. Billy Davies, the Preston manager named an unchanged side from that which secured the goalless draw in the play-off semi-final, despite Graham Alexander having recovered from injury.


2005 Football League Championship play-off Final, Match, Summary
The game kicked off around 3 p.m. in front of a Millennium Stadium crowd of 70,275 spectators. After four minutes, Newton played a pass to Řepka whose shot struck the Preston goalpost. Walker's clearance then found Harewood who passed to Zamora. He found Etherington who took the ball into the Preston penalty area before seeing his shot palmed away by Gerard Nash. With West Ham defending in numbers, Preston were forced to derive chances to score from set pieces, with Lucketti's header from Eddie Lewis' corner being saved by Walker. Five minutes before the break, Nugent ran onto a long ball into the West Ham penalty area, but was tackled by Řepka. Just before half time, Zamora took advantage of poor defending from Claude Davis but the defender made a last-ditch tackle, and the half ended goalless.


2005 Football League Championship play-off Final, Match, Summary
Neither side made any changes during half time, and four minutes into the second half, a Paul McKenna corner headed toward the West Ham goal by Cresswell but Newton cleared the ball. Nigel Reo-Coker  then passed to Harewood whose shot was pushed away one-handed by Nash. Zamora followed up but his attempt was cleared by Youl Mawéné and the second rebound was struck straight at Nash who gathered it. In the 57th minute  Zamora sent a looping ball to Etherington down the left wing who beat Mawene.


2005 Football League Championship play-off Final, Match, Summary
Davis slipped, allowing Etherington to cross for Zamora to score from 6 yards (5.5 m), his fourth goal in three play-off games, and put West Ham 1–0 ahead. There minutes later he had a chance to double his tally but headed an Etherington free kick over the Preston crossbar. Nugent then went on a run, beating four West Ham defenders before striking his shot straight at Walker. Davies then brought on Patrick Agyemang for Sedgwick, to play with three strikers. Zamora was then substituted by Pardew and replaced him with Christian Dailly in a holding midfield role.


2005 Football League Championship play-off Final, Match, Summary
With three minutes remaining, Walker sprinted out to claim a high ball and took the ball out of his area, falling and twisting his right knee. He was booked and stretchered off and replaced by Stephen Bywater. His first action was to save the resulting Alexander free kick. Seven minutes of injury time were played before the match ended 1–0 to West Ham.


2005 Football League Championship play-off Final, Post-match
Pardew commended his players: "It's a team effort. We defended well and we're back where we belong ... We're back in the Premiership, we'll do it justice and this lot will work hard next year". Chris Powell noted: "We've been fighting against all the critics, our gaffer has been under pressure but we stood firm. We've put this club back where it belongs, but we had to work hard". Davies, the losing manager, was proud of his team and said: "I can ask no more of the players.


2005 Football League Championship play-off Final, Post-match
We have to be very proud of our season, we've learnt a lot ... this is football, we have to learn from the mistakes we've made." He conceded: "We didn't play particularly well on the day, but we had one or two chances and the first goal was crucial". West Ham's Etherington was named as man of the match.


2005 Football League Championship play-off Final, Post-match
West Ham finished their following season in ninth place in the Premier League. Preston's next season saw them finish in fourth place in the Championship, and qualify for the play-offs, where they lost 3–1 on aggregate to Leeds United in the semi-final.


2005 Football League Cup Final
The 2005 Football League Cup Final was a football match played between Liverpool and Chelsea on 27 February 2005 at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. It was the final match of the 2004–05 Football League Cup, the 45th season of the Football League Cup, a football competition for the 92 teams in the Premier League and Football League. Liverpool were appearing in their tenth final; they had previously won seven and lost two while Chelsea were appearing in the final for the fourth time. They had previously won twice and lost once.


2005 Football League Cup Final
As both teams were in the Premier League, they entered the competition in the third round. Liverpool's matches were generally close affairs, with only two victories secured by two goals or more. A 2–0 win over  Middlesbrough in the fourth round was followed by a 4–3 victory in a penalty shootout after their quarter-final match with Tottenham Hotspur finished 1–1. Chelsea's matches were also close affairs, their only victory by more than one goal was against Newcastle United in the fourth round, which they won 2–0.


2005 Football League Cup Final
Watched by a crowd of 78,000 Liverpool scored inside the first minute when John Arne Riise volleyed a Fernando Morientes pass into the Chelsea goal. Neither side was able to score despite a number of chances, until the 79th minute when Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard headed a Paulo Ferreira free-kick into his own net. José Mourinho was ordered to the stands after Chelsea's equaliser for making a gesture to the Liverpool fans. Despite the incident, Chelsea continued their dominance into extra-time and a goal each from Didier Drogba and Mateja Kežman gave them a 3–1 lead. A minute later Antonio Núñez of Liverpool scored a header to reduce the deficit to 3–2, but Chelsea held to win the match and the League Cup for the third time.


2005 Football League Cup Final, Route to the final, Liverpool
As Liverpool were competing in the Premier League, they entered the competition in the third round and were drawn against Millwall, who were in the Championship. Liverpool fielded a team that did not feature many of their regular starters including Steven Gerrard and Xabi Alonso. Despite this, they won the match at Millwall's home ground The New Den, 3–0 courtesy of two goals from striker Milan Baroš and midfielder Salif Diao. Liverpool were drawn against fellow Premier League side Middlesbrough in the fourth round. Again Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez did not field many of his first choice players, however two goals from striker Neil Mellor secured a 2–0 victory at their home ground of Anfield.


2005 Football League Cup Final, Route to the final, Liverpool
Tottenham Hotspur were the opposition in the quarter-final held at their opponent's home ground White Hart Lane. With neither side scoring during 90 minutes, the match went to extra time. Tottenham took the lead in the 108th minute when striker Jermain Defoe scored. Tottenham appeared to be on course for victory, but a handball in their penalty area by Frédéric Kanouté resulted in a Liverpool penalty, which striker Florent Sinama Pongolle scored. With no further goals, the match went to a penalty shoot-out. Liverpool won the subsequent shootout 4–3 to progress to the semi-final.


2005 Football League Cup Final, Route to the final, Liverpool
Championship side Watford were the opposition in the semi-final which were held over two legs. Unlike previous rounds, Benítez picked a near full-strength team for the first leg at Anfield. The only goal of the match was scored in the 56th minute by Liverpool captain Gerrard. The second leg at Watford's home ground, Vicarage Road finished in the same scoreline, with Gerrard again scoring the winning goal. As a result, Liverpool won the match 1–0 and 2–0 on aggregate to progress to the final.


2005 Football League Cup Final, Route to the final, Chelsea
West Ham United were Chelsea's opposition, as they entered the competition in the third round due to being in the Premier League. The match held at Chelsea's home ground Stamford Bridge, saw a Mateja Kežman goal secure a 1–0 victory for Chelsea. Their opponents in the fourth round were fellow Premier League team Newcastle United. The match, held at Newcastle's home ground St James' Park, was goalless for the first 90 minutes and went to extra-time. Goals from Eiður Guðjohnsen and Arjen Robben resulted in a 2–0 victory for Chelsea.


2005 Football League Cup Final, Route to the final, Chelsea
Local rivals Fulham were Chelsea's opposition in the quarter-final, with the match held at Fulham's home ground, Craven Cottage. A goal in the 55th minute from midfielder Damien Duff gave Chelsea a 1–0 lead. However, Fulham equalised in the 74th minute when striker Brian McBride scored. With both teams pushing forward to score the winning goal, substitute Frank Lampard scored in the 88th minute to secure a 2–1 victory for Chelsea.


2005 Football League Cup Final, Route to the final, Chelsea
Chelsea were drawn against Manchester United in the semi-final. The first leg at Stamford Bridge finished 0–0 with both teams missing chances to score. The second leg was held at United's home ground Old Trafford. Chelsea took an early lead when Lampard scored in the 29th minute, but United equalised in the 67th minute when midfielder Ryan Giggs scored. In the 87th minute, Duff scored from a 50 yards (46 m) free kick to make the score 2–1. Thus, Chelsea won the tie 2–1 on aggregate to progress to the final.


2005 Football League Cup Final, Match, Background
Liverpool were appearing in their tenth final they had won seven (1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1995, 2001, 2003) and lost two (1978, 1987). This was Chelsea's fourth appearance in the final. They had won twice in 1965 and 1998 and lost once in 1972. The last match between the two sides before the final was on 1 January 2005, when an 80th-minute goal by midfielder Joe Cole secured a 1–0 victory for Chelsea at Anfield. Both sides last match before the final was in the 2004–05 UEFA Champions League. They were playing the first leg of their round of 16 matches. Liverpool faced German team Bayer Leverkusen, whom they beat 3–1, while Chelsea were beaten 2–1 by Spanish team Barcelona.


2005 Football League Cup Final, Match, Background
Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez was adamant that opponents Chelsea were the team under the most pressure to win the match: "There will be more pressure on them, they have spent a lot of money and are the best team in the league, because they are in first position, but they've lost their last two important games. That means they will be under pressure. People will see them as the favourites, I'm sure, so the pressure is on them and not us."


2005 Football League Cup Final, Match, Background
Benítez was confident that playing in a cup final would be beneficial to his players: "We need experiences like this to progress, when I decided to come here I said I wanted to win trophies. Our challenge is to win the Premier League, the Champions League, the Uefa Cup, the FA Cup and the Carling Cup. This is a chance to start." Goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek believed winning the competition in 2003 would benefit Liverpool: "It was great to win there before and I also had one of my best performances for Liverpool. There's a great buzz around the place; we know that the club expects to win trophies, and we're in a position to deliver that later this week."


2005 Football League Cup Final, Match, Background
Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole was keen to win his first trophy in the final: "We don't feel under any great pressure, but we do feel excited about the possibility of winning our first trophy, we've just been imagining what it would be like to lift the trophy, who's going where in the line if we win it, and how we'll run round Cardiff with it." Teammate Frank Lampard was also keen to win his first trophy: "If you haven't won anything, a runners-up medal is not what you want at all."


2005 Football League Cup Final, Match, Background
He also stated that Chelsea manager José Mourinho's desire to win had been rubbing off on the players: "He actually gets angrier with each one, so every time we lose it's the worst I've seen him, he's a winner, though, that's what you expect, and that's the attitude that's needed at Chelsea these days."


2005 Football League Cup Final, Match, Background
Chelsea goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini, who had played in four matches during the competition was suspended after being shown a red card in a FA Cup match against Newcastle United. He would be replaced by Petr Čech. Captain Steven Gerrard and striker Fernando Morientes were expected to return to the starting line-up for Liverpool, while midfielder Xabi Alonso would miss out after breaking his leg in the last fixture between the two sides. Going into the match Chelsea were the favourites with the bookmakers at Even odds to win the match, while Liverpool were 9-4. However, a poll on the BBC Sport website had 63% of fans backing Liverpool to win.


2005 Football League Cup Final, Match, First half
Within a minute of the kick-off, Liverpool had scored. Striker Fernando Morientes ran over to the right-hand side of the pitch, his cross to the edge of the Chelsea penalty area was met by midfielder John Arne Riise, who volleyed the ball into the Chelsea goal to give Liverpool a 1–0 lead. As of 2015 The goal was the fastest scored in a League Cup final. Liverpool continued to attack and two minutes later Riise had another chance, however his shot hit Chelsea defender Paulo Ferreira.


2005 Football League Cup Final, Match, First half
Liverpool defender Sami Hyypiä received the first yellow card of the match in the 13th minute for a challenge on Didier Drogba. Chelsea started to come into the game and they were awarded a free-kick in the 19th minute when Liverpool defender Steve Finnan was penalised for a foul on Damien Duff. However, the free kick from Ferreira was cleared by Liverpool. A run by Finnan in the 27th minute saw him go past Duff and defender William Gallas before he passed to Luis García, but his shot was blocked by Ricardo Carvalho.


2005 Football League Cup Final, Match, First half
A minute later Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard was shown a yellow card for a foul on García. The resulting free-kick found Steven Gerrard, but he fell to the ground after a challenge from Claude Makélélé. The referee Steve Bennett ignored Liverpool claims for a penalty and Chelsea went straight on the attack, but an effort by Drogba went wide of the Liverpool goal. Chelsea continued to attack in an effort to score an equalising goal, but attempts by Duff and Joe Cole failed to find the target.


2005 Football League Cup Final, Match, First half
Liverpool defender Djimi Traoré was the third player to be shown a yellow card for a foul on Ferreira in the 35th minute. However, minutes later he made an important tackle as Duff beat the Liverpool offside trap, but a poor touch outside of the Liverpool penalty area allowed Traoré to dispossess him. As half-time approached Liverpool were content to remain in their own half and allow Chelsea to attack them, but any attack was dealt with by the Liverpool defence.


2005 Football League Cup Final, Match, Second half
Chelsea replaced midfielder Jiří Jarošík with striker Eiður Guðjohnsen at the start of the second half, and started the second half in the same manner that they finished the first, with Liverpool withholding the pressure on their penalty area. Cole passed the ball over the Liverpool defence to Drogba in the 54th minute, but defender Jamie Carragher was able to get back and clear the ball. The ball was played back into the penalty area and met by Guðjohnsen, whose header was saved by Dudek, the ball fell to Gallas and Dudek again saved the subsequent shot.


2005 Football League Cup Final, Match, Second half
Midfielder Antonio Núñez replaced Harry Kewell in the 56th minute. Against the run of play, Liverpool had an attack in the 64th minute. A counter-attack resulted in a Dietmar Hamann shot, but it was saved by Čech. Liverpool made another substitution following the attack as Igor Bišćan replaced an injured Djimi Traoré. Chelsea continued to push forward and were close to a goal in the 71st minute, but Riise cleared a Gallas after the ball was played to him by Makélélé. Both teams made substitutions in the following minutes. Striker Milan Baroš replaced Morientes for Liverpool while Chelsea substituted Gallas for striker Mateja Kežman.


2005 Football League Cup Final, Match, Second half
Liverpool had a chance to extend their lead in the 74th minute, but Gerrard was unable to score from a cross by Núñez, with his shot going wide of the Chelsea goal. Liverpool pressed forward and a sliding tackle from Chelsea captain John Terry prevented Baroš from shooting in the Chelsea penalty area. Chelsea were awarded a free-kick in the 79th minute which was taken by Ferreira, the ball was met by Gerrard who intended to head it clear, but scored an own goal after heading the ball into the Liverpool goal. The score was now 1–1.


2005 Football League Cup Final, Match, Second half
Chelsea made their final substitution following the goal, with Glen Johnson replacing Cole. Chelsea manager Mourinho was sent off following the goal for making a gesture towards the Liverpool fans. Chelsea nearly took the lead in the 82nd minute, but Duff's shot was saved by Dudek. Chelsea had a few chances to score in the following exchanges, but all the efforts missed the Liverpool goal. Liverpool's only chance in the rest of the half fell to Baroš, but he also put his shot wide. With the scores at 1–1, following the end of 90 minutes the match went to extra time.


2005 Football League Cup Final, Match, Extra time
Chelsea had the first chance in extra time when Duff's cross was met by Drogba, but his header hit the post. The pace of the game had slowed in extra time, neither side dominated the match. The best chances for both sides came in the final minutes of the first half of extra time. A García cross was met by Bišćan, but he headed the ball over the crossbar while Kežman had a shot saved by Dudek. However, in the first minute of the second half of extra time Chelsea had scored.


2005 Football League Cup Final, Match, Extra time
A long throw-in to the near post of the Liverpool goal was missed by Terry and Hyypiä, but Drogba beat Carragher to the ball  and gave Chelsea a 2–1 lead. Four minutes later, Chelsea had extended their lead to 3–1. A Lampard free-kick was punched clear by Dudek, but the ball fell to Guðjohnsen who played the ball across the Liverpool goal to Kežman who scored. Two minutes later Liverpool scored. A Gerrard free-kick was headed in by Núñez to make the score 3–2. However, Liverpool were unable to find an equalising goal in the remaining minutes and Chelsea won 3–2 to win the League Cup for the third time.


2005 Football League Cup Final, Post-match
Following the match, Chelsea manager José Mourinho claimed that the gesture he made had been intended for the media and not Liverpool fans: "The signal of close your mouth was not for them but for the press, they speak too much and in my opinion they try to do everything to disturb Chelsea. Wait, don't speak too soon. We lost two matches and in my opinion you (the media) try to take confidence from us and put pressure on us." Mourinho was happy that Chelsea had won but said the victory was not special: "It's just one more.


2005 Football League Cup Final, Post-match
I had a few before this, I'm very happy to win. It's important for the fans, for the club and especially for the players." Striker Eiður Guðjohnsen said Chelsea's victory was down to their hard work ethic: "It was a very intense and even game and it was hard to break them down, but hard work pays off in the end."


2005 Football League Cup Final, Post-match
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard was determined to move on from the final after scoring an own goal: "Losing cup finals and scoring an own goal is a bad day for myself, but I'll look forward to the next game now." He also said that Chelsea deserved the victory: "We scored early on and tried to see the clock out because we were 15 minutes away from lifting the cup, but credit to Chelsea they came back and deserved the win."


2005 Football League Cup Final, Post-match
Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez believed that Liverpool would have won the match had they scored when they were leading 1–0: "If you have clear chances at 1–0 and you score the second goal you finish the game, but we made some mistakes and at the end we conceded in our own goal." Despite the defeat he was proud of his players' efforts: "I say to the players we must be proud because we played a good game, Chelsea controlled the game when they started playing, but we re-organised the team with three midfielders and had some opportunities."


2005 Football League Cup Final, Post-match
The two sides faced each other again in the semi-finals of the 2004–05 UEFA Champions League. A goalless first leg at Stamford Bridge was followed by a 1–0 victory for Liverpool in the second leg as they progressed to the final. A 3–2 victory in a penalty shootout against Milan after the match finished 3–3 ensured Liverpool won the UEFA Champions League for the fifth time. Chelsea would go on to win the 2004–05 FA Premier League, their first League title since 1955.


2005 Football League One play-off Final
The 2005 Football League One play-off Final was an association football match which was played on 29 May 2005 at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, between Hartlepool United and Sheffield Wednesday. It determined the third and final team to gain promotion from Football League One to the Football League Championship. The top two teams of the 2004–05 Football League One season, Luton Town and Hull City, gained automatic promotion to the Championship, while the teams placed from third to sixth place in the table took part in play-off semi-finals. The winners of these semi-finals competed for the final place for the 2005–06 season in the Championship. The losing semi-finalists were Tranmere Rovers and Brentford.


2005 Football League One play-off Final
The referee for the match, which kicked off in front of 59,808 spectators, was Phil Crossley. Late in the first half, Craig Rocastle played a one-two with Lee Peacock before crossing to Jon-Paul McGovern who scored to put Sheffield Wednesday ahead at half-time. Early in the second half, a long throw-in from Ritchie Humphreys found first-half substitute Eifion Williams who equalised for Hartlepool. Jon Daly, who had been on the pitch for a minute, scored to put Hartlepool into the lead with a header from Gavin Strachan's free-kick in the 71st minute.


2005 Football League One play-off Final
In the 81st minute, Drew Talbot was brought down in the penalty area by Chris Westwood which the referee adjudged to have been a foul:  he awarded a penalty to Sheffield Wednesday and sent off Westwood. Steven MacLean took the spot kick which Hartlepool goalkeeper Dimitrios Konstantopoulos was unable to keep out. With three minutes remaining, McGovern shot over the Hartlepool bar and regular time ended with score at 2–2, sending the match into extra time. Four minutes into the first period of additional time, Glenn Whelan scored it 3–2 to Sheffield Wednesday and Talbot secured the victory for Sheffield Wednesday when he scored in the 120th minute to make it 4–2 to see his side promoted to the Championship.


2005 Football League One play-off Final
In their following season, Sheffield Wednesday finished in 19th place in the Championship, three places above the relegation zone. Hartlepool ended their next season in 21st position in League One and were relegated to League Two for the 2006–07 season.


2005 Football League One play-off Final, Route to the final
Sheffield Wednesday finished the regular 2004–05 season in fifth place in Football League One, the third tier of the English football league system, one place ahead of Hartlepool United. Both therefore missed out on the two automatic places for promotion to the Football League Championship and instead took part in the play-offs to determine the third team to be promoted. Sheffield Wednesday finished fourteen points behind Hull City (who were promoted in second place) and twenty-six behind league winners Luton Town.


2005 Football League One play-off Final, Route to the final
Hartlepool United's opponents in their play-off semi-final were Tranmere Rovers with the first match of the two-legged tie taking place on 13 May 2005 at Victoria Park in Hartlepool. In the 32nd minute, Jon Daly flicked on a long throw from Ritchie Humphreys, and Adam Boyd struck a shot past goalkeeper John Achterberg. Boyd doubled his tally on 68 minutes: after a one-two with Joel Porter, Boyd scored with a curling shot from 20 yards (18 m). Eugène Dadi's late shot for Tranmere was cleared off the goal-line by Matty Robson and the match ended 2–0.


2005 Football League One play-off Final, Route to the final
The second leg of the semi-final was held at Prenton Park near Tranmere four days later. The first half ended goalless but second-half goals from Ryan Taylor and David Beresford made it 2–0 to Tranmere and levelled the aggregate score, sending the game into extra time. With no addition to the score, the tie went to a penalty shootout. Dimitrios Konstantopoulos, the Hartlepool goalkeeper, saved strikes from both Taylor and Ian Sharps, and although Mark Tinkler missed his spot kick, Humphreys' goal secured a 6–5 penalty win and passage to the final.


2005 Football League One play-off Final, Route to the final
Sheffield Wednesday faced Brentford in the other play-off semi-final and the first leg was contested at Hillsborough in Sheffield on 12 May 2005. Jon-Paul McGovern put the home side ahead in the 11th minute: he received the ball from a James Quinn backheel before striking past Stuart Nelson in the Brentford goal, despite Sam Sodje's attempt to clear it off the line. McGovern also struck the Brentford crossbar in a first half dominated by Sheffield Wednesday. The second half was more evenly matched and with no further goals, the match ended 1–0.


2005 Football League One play-off Final, Route to the final
The second leg, played at Griffin Park in Brentford, took place four days later. The Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper David Lucas made a save from Deon Burton allowing his side to make a quick break from which they won a free-kick. Paul Heckingbottom took the set piece and his pass allowed Lee Peacock to score with a header. Soon after half-time, Chris Brunt scored from another free-kick, this time after taking a deflection off Brentford defender Chris Hargreaves. Andy Frampton scored a late consolation goal with a volley but the match ended 2–1 to Sheffield Wednesday who progressed to the Millennium Stadium with a 3–1 aggregate victory.


2005 Football League One play-off Final, Match, Background
Neale Cooper, the Hartlepool manager, left the club in May 2005 "by mutual consent" with his side needing only a draw in their final league game to secure a place in the play-offs. Martin Scott took over as caretaker manager, and led Hartlepool to the play-offs after securing a 2–2 draw against Bournemouth. His counterpart for the final, Paul Sturrock, had taken over with Sheffield Wednesday in September 2004 with the club in 14th place in League One.


2005 Football League One play-off Final, Match, Background
This was the fifth time in six years that Hartlepool had been involved in the play-offs but the first time they had progressed to the final. They had been promoted to the third tier when they finished as runners-up in the 2002–03 Third Division season but had never played in the second tier of English football. Sheffield Wednesday were making their first appearance in the play-offs and had played in League One since suffering relegation in 2002–03 season.


2005 Football League One play-off Final, Match, Background
In the matches between the clubs during the regular season, both teams won their home games, with Sheffield Wednesday winning 2–0 at Hillsborough in November 2004 and Hartlepool winning 3–0 at Victoria Park the following April. Boyd was the leading scorer for Hartlepool with 26 goals in all competitions (22 in the league, 3 in the FA Cup and 1 in the League Cup), followed by Porter with 15 (14 in the league and 1 in the FA Cup) and Antony Sweeney with 14 (13 in the league and 1 in the League Cup). Steven MacLean was leading marksman for Sheffield Wednesday having scored 18 goals (all in the league) during the regular season.


2005 Football League One play-off Final, Match, Background
Sheffield Wednesday were considered favourites to win the match by bookmakers. Both teams adopted a 4–4–2 formation. The match was broadcast live in the United Kingdom on Sky Sports.


2005 Football League One play-off Final, Match, Summary
The match kicked off at around 3 p.m. on 29 May 2005 in front of 59,808 spectators at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, around 41,000 of them Sheffield Wednesday supporters. Sheffield Wednesday dominated the early stages but their only attempt on goal was a shot from Brunt in the 16th minute at Konstantopoulos. Sweeney then passed Gavin Strachan's corner to Boyd who struck the ball over the Wednesday goal from around 12 yards (11 m). Hartlepool's Thomas Butler was replaced through injury in the 31st minute by Eifion Williams before Porter's lob was too high. Glenn Whelan's through-ball then found Peacock but his shot on the turn went over Hartlepool's bar. Late in the first half, Craig Rocastle played a one-two with Peacock before crossing to McGovern who scored to put Sheffield Wednesday ahead at half-time.


2005 Football League One play-off Final, Match, Summary
No personnel changes were made by either side during the interval and Hartlepool controlled the opening stages of the second half. In the 47th minute, a long throw-in from Humphreys found Williams who equalised for Hartlepool. Robson made a run in the 52nd minute and despite beating McGovern, struck his shot high over the bar as the second half became a more evenly matched contest. Darren Craddock then came on in the 61st minute to replace Michael Barron for Hartlepool and nine minutes later, Porter pulled up with an injury and was replaced by Jon Daly.


2005 Football League One play-off Final, Match, Summary
Within a minute, the substitute had scored to put Hartlepool into the lead with a header from Strachan's free-kick. On 75 minutes, Sheffield Wednesday made a triple-substitution with Pat Collins, MacLean and Drew Talbot coming on for Alex Bruce, Quinn and Peacock. Talbot's first attempt on goal was a bicycle kick. In the 81st minute, he was then brought down in the penalty area by Westwood which the referee adjudged to have been a foul:  he awarded a penalty to Sheffield Wednesday and sent off Westwood. MacLean took the spot kick which Konstantopoulos was unable to keep out. With three minutes remaining, McGovern shot over the Hartlepool bar and regular time ended with score at 2–2, sending the match into extra time.


2005 Football League One play-off Final, Match, Summary
Four minutes into the first period of additional time, a mistake from Nelson allowed Whelan to strike the ball across the Hartlepool goalkeeper and into the goal to make it 3–2 to Sheffield Wednesday. Hartlepool gradually sent more players forward but Talbot secured the victory for Sheffield Wednesday when he scored in the 120th minute to make it 4–2 to see his side promoted to the Championship.


2005 Football League One play-off Final, Post-match
Sturrock said he was "relieved, tired and in need of a drink" but paid his respect to the opposing team, noting "credit to Hartlepool, they came out and rolled on top of us". His counterpart Scott noted that "Wednesday played well, we played well, but when you lose three players injured and one is sent off you feel it isn't your day ... We have overachieved again and we have gone one step farther than last year." Westwood described the decision of the referee to send him off as "life-changing". He said: "I just hope the ref is happy ...


2005 Football League One play-off Final, Post-match
I have been told several times by people who are nothing to do with our club that it wasn't a penalty. The ball bounced in his favour, we both scrambled for it and Talbot went down. He looked for it, but that's his job." In an interview to commemorate the 15th anniversary of their win, Sheffield Wednesday's captain Lee Bullen noted that team-bonding was a key part of their success. Players were contractually obliged to live within 15 miles (24 km) of Sheffield, and team-bonding exercises prior to the final included a canoeing trip. On their journey back to Sheffield, gridlocked roads meant the players were able to disembark their team coach and start "a conga on the M4".


2005 Football League One play-off Final, Post-match
In their following season, Sheffield Wednesday finished in 19th place in the Championship, three places above the relegation zone. Hartlepool ended their next season in 21st position in League One and were relegated to League Two for the 2006–07 season.


2005 Football League Trophy Final
The 2005 Football League Trophy Final was the 22nd final of the domestic football cup competition for teams from Football Leagues One, Two and The Conference, the Football League Trophy. The final was played at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on 10 April 2005. The match was contested between Southend United and Wrexham. Wrexham won the match 2–0 with goals from Juan Ugarte and Darren Ferguson. The game was unfortunate for Southend, who had lost the final the previous year to Blackpool, by the same scoreline.


2005 Football League Two play-off Final
The 2005 Football League Two play-off Final was an association football match played on 28 May 2005 at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, between Southend United and Lincoln City. The match determined the fourth and final team to gain promotion from Football League Two, English football's fourth tier, to Football League One.


2005 Football League Two play-off Final
The top three teams of the 2004–05 Football League Two season gained automatic promotion to League One, while the teams placed from fourth to seventh in the table took part in play-off semi-finals; the winners of these semi-finals competed for the final place for the 2005–06 season in League One. Southend United finished in fourth place while Lincoln City ended the season in sixth position. They defeated Northampton Town and Macclesfield Town, respectively, in the semi-finals.


2005 Football League Two play-off Final
The match was refereed by Martin Atkinson in front of 19,653 spectators. The first 90 minutes finished goalless, and was described by Jamie Jackson in The Observer as "tepid, uninventive fare", so the game went into extra time. The first goal was scored just before half-time in the first period of extra time, when Spencer Prior flicked on Nicky Nicolau's corner and Freddy Eastwood struck Matt Bloomer's clearance into the Lincoln goal.


2005 Football League Two play-off Final
With ten minutes of extra time remaining, Eastwood ran at the Lincoln defence and passed the ball square to Duncan Jupp who scored his first league goal in a decade to give Southend a 2–0 lead. No further goals were scored, securing Southend a 2–0 win and promotion to League One.


2005 Football League Two play-off Final
Lincoln City ended their following season in seventh position in League Two and qualified for the play-offs where they lost 3–1 on aggregate to Grimsby Town in the semi-final. Southend United secured back-to-back promotions when they finished the following season as champions of League One.


2005 Football League Two play-off Final, Route to the final
Southend United finished the regular 2004–05 season in fourth place in Football League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system, two places ahead of Lincoln City. Both therefore missed out on the three automatic places for promotion to Football League One and instead took part in the play-offs to determine the fourth promoted team. Southend United finished two points behind Swansea City and Scunthorpe United (who were promoted in third and second place respectively, the latter having superior goal difference) and five behind league winners Yeovil Town. Lincoln City ended the season six points behind Southend United.


2005 Football League Two play-off Final, Route to the final
Lincoln City's opposition for their play-off semi-final was Macclesfield Town and the first match of the two-legged tie took place at Sincil Bank in Lincoln on 14 May 2005. Gareth McAuley scored in the 11th minute when he headed a free kick from Kevin Sandwith into the Macclesfield goal. Although Lincoln dominated the second half, they failed to increase their lead and the match ended 1–0. The second leg of the semi-final was held a week later at Moss Rose in Macclesfield. Once again, McAuley gave Lincoln an early lead, scoring with a header in the 15th minute. Paul Harsley equalised for Macclesfield in the 76th minute with a shot on the turn but the match ended 1–1 and Lincoln progressed to the final with a 2–1 aggregate victory.


2005 Football League Two play-off Final, Route to the final
Southend United faced Northampton Town in the second semi-final with the first leg hosted at Sixfields Stadium in Northampton on 15 May 2005. Both sides had chances to score and although the visitors were more dominant, the match ended 0–0. The second leg took place six days later at Roots Hall in Southend-on-Sea. The first half ended 0–0 but four minutes into the second, Nicky Nicolau was fouled in the Northampton penalty area and Freddy Eastwood converted the resulting penalty. It gave Southend a 1–0 victory both in the match and on aggregate, and they qualified for the final.


2005 Football League Two play-off Final, Match, Background
It was Southend United's first appearance in the play-offs. They had played in the third tier of English football since they were relegated at the end of the 1997–98 season. This was their second visit to the Millennium Stadium of the season, having played in the Football League Trophy Final the month before where they lost 2–0 to Wrexham. Lincoln City were making their third consecutive appearance in the play-offs, having lost 5–2 against Bournemouth in the 2003 Football League Third Division play-off Final and failing to progress past the semi-final in the 2004 play-offs.


2005 Football League Two play-off Final, Match, Background
They had played in the third tier since being relegated in the 1998–99 season. Both matches between the sides during the regular season ended in 1–1 draws, first at Sincil Bank in August 2004, and again at Roots Hall the following March. Simon Yeo was Lincoln City's top scorer with 23 goals in the regular season (21 in the league, 2 in the League Cup) followed by Gary Taylor-Fletcher with 11 (10 in the league, 1 in the League Cup). Eastwood led the scoring for Southend United with 19 goals (all in the league) while both Adam Barrett and Wayne Gray had 11 (all in the league).


2005 Football League Two play-off Final, Match, Background
The referee for the match was Martin Atkinson from Yorkshire. Southend adopted a 4–4–2 formation and Lincoln played as a 3–4–3.


2005 Football League Two play-off Final, Match, Summary
The match kicked off around 3 p.m. on 28 May 2005 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff in front of 19,653 spectators. The match was an even affair during the first half: early on, Francis Green's header for Lincoln was off-target, and the team then saw a goal from Yeo ruled out. Southend had two goal-bound chances cleared as the Lincoln goalkeeper Alan Marriott saved shots from both Carl Pettefer and Mark Bentley.


2005 Football League Two play-off Final, Match, Summary
Southend dominated the second half, with Eastwood creating the best chance in the 56th minute but falling over the ball with only Marriott to beat from around 8 yards (7.3 metres). Green then blocked a shot from Southend's Che Wilson before Bentley was denied a penalty after Paul Morgan appeared to foul him. Regular time ended goalless, sending the match into extra time. Jamie Jackson, writing in The Observer, described the first 90 minutes of the match as "tepid, uninventive fare". The first goal was scored just before half-time in the first period of extra time.


2005 Football League Two play-off Final, Match, Summary
Spencer Prior flicked on Nicolau's corner and Eastwood struck Matt Bloomer's clearance into the Lincoln goal to make it 1–0. With ten minutes of extra time remaining, Eastwood ran at the Lincoln defence and passed the ball square to Duncan Jupp who scored his first league goal in a decade to give Southend a 2–0 lead. With no further additions to the scoreline, the match ended 2–0 and Southend secured promotion to League One.


2005 Football League Two play-off Final, Post-match
Steve Tilson, the winning manager, praised his side's resilience: "After not getting automatic promotion, to bounce back and win today was a great achievement ... I thought we were worthy winners in the end." His counterpart Keith Alexander suggested that his team needed to be improved: "We have to go out and get a better team ... I've got to get better players and we have to go up from the top three."


2005 Football League Two play-off Final, Post-match
Lincoln City ended their following season in seventh position in League Two and qualified for the play-offs where they lost 3–1 on aggregate to Grimsby Town in the semi-final. Southend United finished the following season as champions of League One, securing back-to-back promotions, to participate in the Championship for the 2006–07 season.


2005 Football League play-offs
The Football League play-offs for the 2004–05 season were held in May 2005, with the finals taking place at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. The play-off semi-finals were played over two legs and were contested by the teams who finished in 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th place in the Football League Championship and League One and the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th placed teams in the League Two table. The winners of the semi-finals progressed to the finals, with the winner of the matches gaining promotion for the following season.


2005 Football League play-offs, Background
The Football League play-offs have been held every year since 1987. They take place for each division following the conclusion of the regular season and are contested by the four clubs finishing below the automatic promotion places.


2005 Football League play-offs, Background
In the Championship, Ipswich Town, who were aiming to return to the top flight for the first time since 2002, finished 2 points behind second placed Wigan Athletic, who in turn finished 7 points behind champions Sunderland, who returned to the top flight at the second attempt after relegation from the Premier League in 2003. Derby County who were also relegated along with Ipswich from the top flight in 2002, finished in fourth place in the table. Preston North End who have not been in the top flight since 1961, finished in fifth place. West Ham United finished 2 points behind Preston North End and were looking for a place back in the Premiership after 2 seasons outside the top division.


2005 Football League play-offs, League One, Semi-finals
Tranmere Rovers 2–2 Hartlepool United on aggregate. Hartlepool United won 6–5 on penalties.


2005 Forbes Global CEO Conference
The 2005 Forbes Global CEO Conference was held from 30 August to 1 September 2005, at the Sydney Opera House, in Sydney, Australia.


2005 Forbes Global CEO Conference
The Forbes website described the conference attendees as "senior figures from the world's leading companies and institutions will discuss the best ways to nurture and capitalize on innovation and reveal the latest global trends."


2005 Forbes Global CEO Conference, Attendees
The conference had around 350 attendees, including Australian Prime Minister John Howard, former New South Wales Premier Bob Carr, and former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.


2005 Forbes Global CEO Conference, Attendees
In the weeks before the conference, it was reported in the media that George H. W. Bush would be attending, however this was later found to be a hoax propagated by the protest group 30A Network.


2005 Forbes Global CEO Conference, Protest
A large protest was held to coincide with the conference. The protest assembled at 5pm in Customs Square, near Circular Quay, with about 1,000 people listening to numerous speeches. The protestors then marched along the Quay to the barricades that had been set up to prevent public access to the Opera House forecourt.


2005 Forbes Global CEO Conference, Protest
A small number of protestors started rocking one of the barricades, causing it to collapse. A number of arrests were made, and the protest continued in a peaceful fashion until 9:30pm.


2005 Ford 400
The 2005 Ford 400 was a NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race held on November 20, 2005, at Homestead Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida. Contested over 267 laps on the 1.5 miles (2.4 km) speedway, it was the 36th and final race of the 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season. Greg Biffle of Roush Racing won the race and Tony Stewart of Joe Gibbs Racing won the championship.


2005 Ford 400, Background
Homestead-Miami Speedway is a motor racing track located in Homestead, Florida. The track, which has several configurations, has promoted several series of racing, including NASCAR, the Verizon IndyCar Series, the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series, and the Championship Cup Series.


2005 Ford 400, Background
Since 2002, Homestead-Miami Speedway has hosted the final race of the season in all three of NASCAR's series: the Sprint Cup Series, Xfinity Series, and the Camping World Truck Series. Ford Motor Company sponsors all three of the season-ending races; the races have the names Ford 400, Ford 300, and Ford 200, respectively, and the weekend is marketed as Ford Championship Weekend.


2005 Ford 400, Qualifying
Carl Edwards would win the pole with a 30.673, beating out Ryan Newman by 2 thousandths of a second.


2005 Ford 400, Qualifying
There were numerous qualifying crashes throughout the day. The first would occur when during Carl Long's qualifying run, Long's car would get loose heading into Turn 1, causing his car to go into a tailspin. The car went up the track and eventually, the rear of the car hit the middle of the Turn 1-2 wall, severely damaging his car. Long would not get a qualifying time, and since the 80 car, owned by Hover Motorsports was not top 35 in owner's points, did not get a provisional and thus Long would not qualify.


2005 Ford 400, Qualifying
Morgan Shepherd would also suffer a spin on his warmup lap. Shepherd would pull into pit road, with his team scrambling to get back out on track. His car was not able to get out within the 5 minute clock Shepherd was forced to qualify in, classifying Shepherd as a Did Not Start (DNS). Shepherd would not qualify. The third accident of the day was when Michael Waltrip suffered a similar crash to Carl Long earlier in the day, totaling Waltrip's car.


2005 Ford 400, Qualifying
The rear of the car was extremely damaged, forcing Waltrip to take a provisional and to be in a backup car. The last accident of the day happened when Hamlin also entered into a tailspin and hit the Turn 1 wall, ironically with the crash being the same as both Long's and Waltrip's crashes. Although Hamlin had only competed in very select races that year, the No. 11 team was Top 35 in the points that year. Hamlin would take a provisional and start 42nd. Eerily, Hamlin's crash was about the same as the one as he had suffered in the Busch Series race he was qualifying for.


2005 Ford 400, Race
Greg Biffle won the race and leading Roush Racing 1–2–3–4 finish, a feat not repeated until the 2021 Drydene 400 at Dover. Meanwhile, Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle, Tony Stewart, and Jimmie Johnson each had a mathematical chance to win the championship. However, Johnson crashed out at Lap 127 with a blown tire in Turn Three. Despite the fact that Edwards and Biffle finished upfront while Stewart finished 15th, Stewart still won the championship. The race was also the last for Rusty Wallace as he retired afterward, having competed in NASCAR Cup racing for 25 years.


2005 Fordham Rams football team
The 2005 Fordham Rams football team was an American football team that represented Fordham University during the 2005 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Fordham tied for second-to-last in the Patriot League.


2005 Fordham Rams football team
In their second and final year under head coach Ed Foley, the Rams compiled a 2–9 record. James Caffarello, Edward Gordon and Marcus Taylor were the team captains.


2005 Fordham Rams football team
The Rams were outscored 326 to 150. Their 2–4 conference record tied for fifth out of seven in the Patriot League standings.


2005 Fordham Rams football team
Fordham played its home games at Jack Coffey Field on the university's Rose Hill campus in The Bronx, in New York City.


2005 Formula 3 Euro Series
The 2005 Formula 3 Euro Series season was the third championship year of Europe's premier Formula Three series. The championship consisted of ten rounds – each with two races – held at a variety of European circuits. Each weekend consisted of one 60-minute practice session and two 30-minute qualifying sessions (one at Monaco), followed by one c.110 km race and one c.80 km race. Each qualifying session awarded one bonus point for pole position and each race awarded points for the top eight finishers, with ten points per win. Lewis Hamilton dominated the season, winning 15 of the 20 races and scoring nearly twice as many points as his nearest rival, team-mate Adrian Sutil. As of now, six drivers (Hamilton, Sutil, Sebastian Vettel, Paul di Resta, Lucas di Grassi, and Giedo van der Garde) have competed in Formula One.


2005 Formula 3 Euro Series, Summary
The 2005 calendar included events at the historic circuits of Pau (France), Spa-Fracorchamps (Belgium), Zandvoort (Netherlands) and Monaco. Monaco has a long tradition of Formula 3 events, but this was the first since 1997. The debut of a new street circuit in the French town of Avignon was to take place in September, but the plans fell through and its date was given to the Lausitzring.


2005 Formula 3 Euro Series, Summary
Thirteen countries were represented in the drivers' entry list, which included drivers from Argentina, the USA and the Czech Republic for the first time. There were teams from France, Germany, Britain, Austria, Italy, Netherlands, Luxembourg and the Czech Republic.


2005 Formula 3 Euro Series, Summary
After a promising debut season with Manor Motorsport that ended with a win in the non-championship Bahrain F3 Superprix, and a contract with ASM for 2005, Lewis Hamilton was regarded as the championship favourite. He exceeded expectations by winning 15 races from 20 starts, securing 13 pole positions, posting ten fastest race laps, and scoring nearly twice as many points as his nearest rival, team-mate Adrian Sutil. Lucas di Grassi made a full-time return to the series (he entered two rounds in 2003) and finished in 3rd place overall, with one win. The highest-placed rookie was the then-reigning Formula BMW Germany champion Sebastian Vettel, who was classified 5th overall with six podium finishes. He was beaten to 4th place by Franck Perera's more consistent points finishes.


2005 Formula 3 Euro Series, Summary
In the Teams’ Championship, ASM Formule 3 retained the title that it had secured in 2004, with Signature in a distant second place. Third place was taken by Prema Powerteam, which had won the Euro Series' first teams' title in 2003. Manor Motorsport was classified 4th overall, as it continued to improve its form against rivals with more experience in Europe. At this time, the Spiess-Opel engine was still numerically dominant, but won on only two occasions. HWA-Mercedes had begun to gain the upper hand in 2004 (with 13 wins from 20 races), and increased its development effort to win 18 races in 2005.


2005 Formula 3 Euro Series, Teams and drivers, Driver changes, Midseason changes
Maximilian Götz left HBR Motorsport after four rounds, to be replaced by Danny Watts, making his Euro Series debut. Watts was able to stay for only one round, and the HBR line-up was subsequently reduced to two cars. Götz returned at the final round as a substitute for Adrian Sutil at ASM. Sutil's absence was due to commitments in the A1 Grand Prix series. Five drivers shared Team Midland's #19 car. Richard Antinucci competed in the first four rounds, before Nico Verdonck of Belgium replaced him at Oschersleben and the Norisring.


2005 Formula 3 Euro Series, Teams and drivers, Driver changes, Midseason changes
He in turn was replaced by three British drivers, all Euro Series rookies: Stephen Jelley at the Nürburgring, Rob Austin at the Lausitzring and Zandvoort, and Ben Clucas in the final round of the season at Hockenheim. A number of registered drivers failed to complete the season, including Paulo Montin, who made only two starts with Ombra Racing; and Julia Kuhn, who made two starts in round 1 and attempted (but failed) to qualify for the first race of round 10. RZ Racing left the series after round 9 at Oschersleben.


2005 Formula 3 Euro Series, Season standings, Drivers Standings
† — Drivers did not finish the race, but were classified as they completed over 90% of the race distance.


2005 Formula 3 Euro Series, Season standings, Rookie Cup
Rookie drivers are only eligible for the Rookie Cup title if they have not previously competed in a national or international Formula 3 championship.


2005 Formula 3 Sudamericana season
The 2005 Formula 3 Sudamericana season was the 19th Formula 3 Sudamericana season. It began on 12 March 2005, at  Autódromo Internacional de Curitiba and ended on 11 December at Autódromo José Carlos Pace in São Paulo. Brazilian driver Alberto Valério won the title.


2005 Formula BMW ADAC season
The 2005 Formula BMW ADAC season was a multi-event motor racing championship for open wheel, formula racing cars held across Europe. The championship featured drivers competing in 1.2 litre Formula BMW single seat race cars. The 2005 season was the eighth Formula BMW ADAC season organized by BMW Motorsport and ADAC. The championship was contested over twenty races at ten meetings, one of them supporting the European Grand Prix.


2005 Formula BMW ADAC season, Standings
† — Drivers did not finish the race, but were classified as they completed over 90% of the race distance.


2005 Formula BMW UK season
The 2005 Formula BMW UK season was the second of four Formula BMW seasons based in United Kingdom for young drivers making the transition to car racing. The series supported every BTCC round apart from round three at Rockingham where it was part of a Kumho BMW and Miltek BMW event. Dean Smith won the championship at his second attempt with new team Nexa Racing after scoring in every round, his championship rival Sam Bird won six races but lost a lot of points with five DNFs during the season.


2005 Formula BMW UK season, Teams and drivers
All cars were Mygale FB02 chassis powered by BMW engines. Guest drivers in italics.


2005 Formula BMW USA season
The 2005 Formula BMW USA season was the second season of the American Formula BMW championship for young drivers making the transition to car racing. Both the Drivers' Championship and the Rookie Cup were won by Richard Philippe.


2005 Formula BMW USA season, Teams and drivers
All cars were Mygale FB02 chassis powered by BMW engines.


2005 Formula BMW World Final
The 2005 Formula BMW World Final was the first Formula BMW World Final race held at Bahrain International Circuit on 16 December 2005. The race was won by AM-Holzer Rennsport GmbH's driver Marco Holzer, who finished ahead Sébastien Buemi and Nico Hülkenberg.


2005 Formula Ford Zetec Championship Series
The 2005 Formula Ford Zetec Cooper Tires Championship Series was the fifth the USF2000 Ford Zetec championship. Aiken Racing driver Jay Howard took the title in a Van Diemen RF03. He was the second Brit to win the championship, after Dan Wheldon in 1999.


2005 Formula Nippon Championship
The 2005 Formula Nippon Championship was  contested over 9 rounds. 8 teams, 17 drivers competed. All teams had to use Lola B3/51 chassis and Mugen Honda (Mugen MF308) engines.


2005 Formula One World Championship
The 2005 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 59th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 56th FIA Formula One World Championship, contested over a then-record 19 Grands Prix. It commenced on 6 March 2005 and ended 16 October.


2005 Formula One World Championship
Fernando Alonso and the Renault team won the World Drivers' and World Constructors' championships, ending five years of dominance by Michael Schumacher and Ferrari since 2000. Alonso's success made him the youngest champion in the history of the sport, a title he held until Lewis Hamilton's 2008 title success. Renault's win was their first as a constructor. Alonso started the season off strongly, winning three of the first four races and his title success was in little doubt. He sealed the title in Brazil with two races left after a controlled third-place finish.


2005 Formula One World Championship
Alonso and Renault had to contend with the pace of the resurgent McLaren team with lead driver Kimi Räikkönen outshining teammate Juan Pablo Montoya, who came highly regarded from his time at Williams. Räikkönen won seven races like Alonso but would have won more if not for a series of reliability issues, resulting in qualifying engine change penalties and retirements from the lead on three occasions. Nevertheless, Räikkönen grabbed the headlines winning from near the back of the grid in Japan, passing Alonso's Renault teammate Giancarlo Fisichella on the final lap.


2005 Formula One World Championship
Reigning champions Michael Schumacher and Ferrari had a poor season by their standards, with Bridgestone unable to compete with Michelin after the tyre-change ban that only affected the 2005 season. Their only win came when Michelin deemed their own tyres unsafe after several incidents in the oval turn at Indianapolis. As a result, only the six Bridgestone cars took part. Schumacher just held on for third in the Drivers' Championship, in spite of the superior pace of McLaren, underlining the disappointing season Montoya had. The Colombian missed two races early on due to a tennis injury. He then won three races, showing glimpses of pace, but was well beaten by his teammate Räikkönen in the championship.


2005 Formula One World Championship
The 2005 season was the last before the Minardi, BAR and Jordan teams were taken over by new owners and changed names to Toro Rosso, Honda, and Midland respectively in the 2006 season. The former Jaguar team was sold from Ford to Red Bull GmbH and made its debut as Red Bull Racing during the 2005 season.


2005 Formula One World Championship, Teams and drivers
The following teams and drivers were competitors in the 2005 FIA Formula One World Championship.


2005 Formula One World Championship, Season calendar
The 2005 Formula One calendar featured one new event, the Turkish Grand Prix.


2005 Formula One World Championship, Rule changes
For a time there existed a distinct possibility that some teams would be running three race cars per Grand Prix: fewer than 10 teams, or 20 cars, starting on the grid would have resulted in some teams running three cars, under a term in the Concorde Agreement. By the first round of the season, though, there were ten teams, as Red Bull completed their takeover of Jaguar and were ready to race in Australia. Minardi, which initially received an injunction allowing them to compete despite their cars' non-conformity to new 2005 technical regulations, later modified their cars to adhere to 2005 regulations.


2005 Formula One World Championship, Season report
The most-noted aspect of the season was Ferrari's lack of pace caused mainly by a new rule prohibiting tyre changes during the course of a race. The Bridgestone tyres used by Ferrari could not find the right balance between performance and reliability, leaving the Michelin runners to battle for race victories. Further rule changes emphasised the new focus on reliability, with engines required to last two Grands Prix without being changed.


2005 Formula One World Championship, Season report
Renault appeared the fastest team in pre-season testing and it was no surprise they dominated the early fly-away rounds. Giancarlo Fisichella won the season opener in Australia before teammate Alonso demonstrated his title credentials with a series of victories in Malaysia, Bahrain and San Marino. As the season progressed the McLarens of Kimi Räikkönen and Juan Pablo Montoya became increasingly competitive and by the latter stages of the season the McLaren was generally considered the faster package. However, constant technical failures meant neither the team nor Räikkönen were able to translate their speed into championship success.


2005 Formula One World Championship, Season report
Alonso secured his Drivers' Championship with a third-place finish in the Brazilian Grand Prix. Despite both him and Räikkönen having six victories to their name at this point in the season, Alonso's greater consistency meant he was able to claim the championship with two rounds to spare. The Constructors' Championship was secured by Renault at the final race, with Alonso's seventh victory of the year. This gave Renault their first championship as a constructor (after only previously triumphing as an engine supplier) despite winning two fewer races than McLaren.


2005 Formula One World Championship, Season report
Ferrari finished third in the Constructors' Championship with only one win, at the United States Grand Prix, a race that was only contested by the six Bridgestone cars after Michelin declared their tyres unsafe to run in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's unique banked corner.


2005 Formula One World Championship, Season report
After a high-flying 2004 season the most conspicuous drop in performance after Ferrari was BAR-Honda, who were banned from two races after scrutineers in San Marino discovered a hidden fuel compartment that allowed their cars to run underweight. They were beaten in the championship by Williams, whose engine partner BMW had announced they were leaving to join Sauber in June, and Toyota, who achieved 5 podium finishes and were only beaten to third in the championship because of Ferrari's 1–2 in Indianapolis.


2005 Formula One World Championship, Season report
All the teams scored world championship points over the course of the season, Minardi scoring rare points in their final season courtesy of being able to run in the US race.


2005 Formula One World Championship, Results and standings
The 2005 Formula One calendar featured a new event in Turkey, just miles from the Europe–Asia dividing line. The newly built circuit in Istanbul joined the 2004 newcomers Bahrain and China. The 2005 season witnessed two of the hottest Grands Prix ever: the track temperature at the beginning of the Malaysian event was 51 °C (124 °F), while in Bahrain the mercury soared past 56 °C (133 °F).


2005 Formula Renault 2.0 Germany season
The 2005 Formula Renault 2.0 Germany season was the fourteenth Formula Renault 2.0 Germany season and the last before merging into Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup. The season began at Oschersleben on 23 April and finished on 9 October at the same venue, after sixteen races.


2005 Formula Renault 2.0 Germany season
SL Formula Racing driver Pekka Saarinen won two races on his way to championship title. Mikhail Aleshin of the Lukoil Racing Team, who won the opening race and four-time winner Filipe Albuquerque of the Motopark Oschersleben team, completed the top three.


2005 Formula Renault 2.0 Germany season, Standings
The series also rewarded the best Rookie driver (R) with 7, 5, 3, 1 points for the first four drivers in qualifying and in the races, plus 3 points for fastest lap and for pole position.


2005 Formula Renault 2.0 UK Championship
The 2005 Formula Renault 2.0 UK Championship was the 17th British Formula Renault Championship. The season began at Donington Park on 10 April and ended on 2 October at Donington, after twenty rounds held in England, all apart from round 8 supporting the British Touring Car Championship.


2005 Formula Renault 3.5 Series
The 2005 Formula Renault 3.5 Series was the first Formula Renault 3.5 Series season. The season began on 1 May at Zolder, Belgium and finished at Monza, Italy on 23 October after 17 races. Robert Kubica was crowned series champion.


2005 Formula Renault 3.5 Series, Points System
Points were awarded at the end of each race according to the following system:


2005 Formula Renault 3.5 Series, Points System
The maximum number of points a driver could earn each weekend (except Monaco) was 34 and the maximum number for a team was 58.


2005 Formula Renault seasons
This page describes all the 2005 seasons of Formula Renault series.


2005 Formula Renault seasons, Formula Renault 2.0L, 2005 Formula Renault 2.0 UK season
The series reward also the Graduate Cup (G) for young drivers.


2005 Formula Renault seasons, Formula Renault 2.0L, 2005 Formula Renault 2.0 Italia season
Point system : 30, 24, 20, 16, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 for 10th. In each race 2 point for Fastest lap and 2 for Pole position.


2005 Formula Renault seasons, Formula Renault 2.0L, 2005 Formula Renault 2.0 Italia season, 2005 Formula Renault 2.0 Italia Winter Series
Point system : 20, 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 3, 2, 1 for 10th.


2005 Formula Renault seasons, Formula Renault 2.0L, 2005 Formula Renault 2.0 Netherlands season
The following table is incomplete and show only the points results from each drivers.


2005 Formula Renault seasons, Formula Renault 2.0L, 2005 Copa Corona Formula Renault 2000 de America season
The June 12 round in the Autódromo de Aguascalientes was cancelled.


2005 Formula Renault seasons, Formula Renault 2.0L, 2005 Formula TR 2000 Pro Series season
The Formula TR 20000 Pro Series is held with the Formula TR 1600 Pro Series. The same point system is used.


2005 Formula Renault seasons, Formula Renault 1.6L, 2005 Championnat de France Formule Campus Renault Elf La Filière FFSA season
All drivers use the La Fillière car. The championship is held on various French circuits:


2005 Formula Renault seasons, Formula Renault 1.6L, 2005 Copa Corona Fórmula Renault Jr. 1600 season
The Copa Corona Formula 1600 Junior is held with the Formula Renault 2000 de America on the same races. The same point system is used.


2005 Formula Renault seasons, Formula Renault 1.6L, 2005 Formula TR 1600 Pro Series season
The Formula TR 1600 Pro Series is held with the Formula TR 2000 Pro Series. The same point system is used.


2005 Formula Renault seasons, Other Formulas powered by Renault championships, 2005 GP2 Series season
The GP2 Series are powered by 4 liters, V8 Renault engine and Bridgestone tyres with a Dallara chassis.


2005 Fort Worth Bowl
The 2005 edition of the Fort Worth Bowl (later known as the Armed Forces Bowl), the third edition, featured the Kansas Jayhawks and the Houston Cougars.


2005 Fort Worth Bowl, Game summary
Brian Murph of Kansas scored the first points of the game on an 85-yard touchdown return of a punt to give Kansas an early 7–0 lead. Houston's Ben Bell answered in the second quarter with a 32-yard field goal making it 7–3. Kansas quarterback Jason Swanson fired a 13-yard touchdown pass to Jon Cornish making it 14–3 Kansas. With 57 seconds left in the first half, Houston quarterback Kevin Kolb scored on a 1-yard touchdown run bringing it to 14–10 at halftime.


2005 Fort Worth Bowl, Game summary
In the third quarter, Jason Swanson again found Jon Cornish for a 30-yard touchdown pass, increasing Kansas's lead to 21–10. T.J. Lawrence of Houston kicked a 44-yard field goal for Houston to make it 21–13. Jason Swanson later threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to Mark Simmons, giving Kansas a 28–13 lead.


2005 Fort Worth Bowl, Game summary
In the fourth quarter, defensive end Charlton Keith intercepted a Houston pass and returned it 14 yards for a touchdown, making it 35–13. Jason Swanson's 48-yard touchdown pass to Brian Murph capped the scoring at 42–13 Kansas.


2005 Fortis Championships Luxembourg
The 2005 Fortis Championships Luxembourg was a women's tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts in Kockelscheuer, Luxembourg which was part of Tier II of the 2005 WTA Tour. It was the 15th edition of the tournament and was held from 26 September until 2 October 2005. First-seeded Kim Clijsters won the singles title, her fifth in total at the event, and earned $93,000 first-prize money.


2005 Fortis Championships Luxembourg, Finals, Doubles
Lisa Raymond /  Samantha Stosur defeated  Cara Black /  Rennae Stubbs, 7–5, 6–1