Boreham Wood v Rochdale playoff final: Latest ticket sales, odds, what both clubs have said

Ahead of the Boreham Wood v Rochdale playoff final we take a look at the latest ticket sales, odds, and what both clubs have said.

Rochdale finished the regular season heartbroken, York City, 1st, with 107 points, Rochdale, 2nd, with 105 points… Rochdale scored in the 95th minute to make it 1-0, but York City equalised in the 103rd minute to win the league title.

So playoffs it came down to for Dale for a chance of getting a place back into the Football League for the first time since being relegation from it in 2023.

Rochdale beat Scunthorpe 2-1 in the National League playoff semi finals, and now take on Boreham Wood, who finished 4th, then beat Forest Green and Carlisle to reach the final at Wembley Stadium.

Tuesday 28th April 2026 – Playoff eliminator
Scunthorpe United (1) 1-0 (0) Southend United – 6,248

Wednesday 29th April 2026 – Playoff eliminator
(AET) Boreham Wood (0) 1-0 (0) Forest Green Rovers – 2,452

Sunday 3rd May 2026 – Playoff semi finals
(AET) Carlisle United (1) 1-2 (1) Boreham Wood – 13,814
Rochdale (1) 2-1 (0) Scunthorpe United – 7,552

In the last update, Rochdale tweeted that they had sold around 7,000 tickets, but one fan said they received an email from club on Thursday morning saying over 8,000 had been sold.

WHAT ARE THE ODDS SAYING:

BetVictor – To be promoted
Rochdale – 4/7
Boreham Wood – 5/4

William Hill – To be promoted
Rochdale – 8/13
Boreham Wood – 6/5

Sky Bet – To lift the trophy
Rochdale – 4/6
Boreham Wood – 11/10

The lads have a message for you 🫵

🎟️ https://t.co/hbjCzddzuI 🎟️#rafc pic.twitter.com/H0sGPuduUu

— Rochdale AFC (@officiallydale) May 8, 2026

Rochdale’s Jim McNulty told BBC Radio Manchester: “I would say the past three games have been exactly that because our game away at Braintree was must-win and so we’ve been in must-win scenarios for a few weeks now.

“I think that being accustomed to that in the past few weeks has certainly helped us going into what becomes now another must-win at Wembley on Sunday.”

On if his side have practised penalties: “Yes, we have, which is regular practise for anyone to go into a final.

“I’ve got nothing special to say about it though, other than the lads are just walking up, taking a pen and seeing what goes in.”

He added: “I feel very fortunate to be at the helm of the club during a period of such growth. We fully deserve to be where we are with earning the right for these sort of opportunities.”

In the last update, Boreham Wood tweeted that they had sold over 5,500 tickets, over 15% of their town on their way to Wembley.

Manager Luke Garrard said to BBC’s football podcast 72+: “Two years ago relegating Boreham Wood really hurt me. This is my club. I left and there were some dark times in the six months not having a job.

“It was a reset for me, I went away and worked at my my craft, spoke to a lot of good managers and when I returned my language changed, there was a different mindset.

“I was very negative in the build-up to the relegation season but when I returned 16 months ago the mindset was all about getting back to the National League.

“I said it from the start of this season we have enough to get promotion.

“I worked it out that we’d have won three leagues in the past 12 or 13 years with the 90 points we got.

“What went on with Wrexham and Notts County (in 2022-23) was incredible to see. Rochdale and York having a proper ding-dong on the last day of the season and to achieve what they did was incredible.

“For us to get 90 points normally wins you a division but for us that season is done – it’s a two-part season for us. We accumulated 90 points, won the National Cup, and reached the third round of the FA Cup but that’s done now.

“Our aim was to be successful in this second part of the season and we’re two thirds of the way through that now. I don’t want to be talking about we got 90 points, I want to go to Wembley and win now.

“There are going to be households who are excited, mums and dads, there are staff who are excited but we need to be calm, we’re going to Wembley for business.

“I don’t want any dramas on tickets, no dramas on Wembley and if anyone discusses it from Friday onwards they’re going to be fined because it’s another game of football but it happens to be at Wembley.”

Over 15% of our town will be marching up Wembley Way on Sunday. There’s still time to secure your Promotion Final tickets! 🏆

Read here ➡️ https://t.co/vfr8jzMk5u#WeAreTheWood pic.twitter.com/E07dZLm1kn

— Boreham Wood FC (@BOREHAM_WOODFC) May 8, 2026

Luke Garrard said via the club’s media. Asked how he and the lads are feeling, he replied: “Probably focus comes to mind the most. I think we’ve had a really good week. Obviously come back on the bus from Carlisle. Good energy, good enthusiasm, and they shifted to work mode really, really quickly on Tuesday.

“We’ve had a full week to prep, to plan. We slowed them up just in time for them to speed up come tomorrow. We worked ever so hard on our data to ensure that they’re ready and they’re at their optimum come 3pm tomorrow.

“But one of focus is obviously excitement, but for me, I’ve told to find comfort in chaos, enjoy the journey, and get to work come 3pm at Wembley.”

Interviewer: “You speak about the importance about the lads being at their optimum. They’ve been training on the pitch. They went to Wembley early. How much do you think small things like that have aided them?”

Luke: “You learn from a lot of things. Eight years ago, we went to Wembley and I talked with the chairman and speak to him openly about probably the mistakes that we felt we made going there and obviously myself during the the game, we’re a different club now. We’re a different beast. I’m a different manager. This club’s presented in a different light.

“The chairman’s unbelievable in the work that he’s done. He’s left no stone unturned for our prep. Enabled us to utilise the pitch. We finish here in an hour or so and we travel up to the hotel 35 minutes away from Wembley. It enables us to just get away from the chaos. It’s just us, the players, the staff to focus on the job in hand.”

Interviewer: “As you’ve mentioned so many times, success for this team this season isn’t simply getting to Wembley. It’s sealing that promotion. How much would that mean to you, this club, this town?”

Luke: “Yeah. Listen, I don’t want to get emotional with it. We know the the magnitude of the game on Sunday. We know and appreciate what comes with success. It’s the process for me.

“I spoke to people and staff about what that looked like two weeks ago and we’ve implemented exactly how I felt it was going to be the case. Little videos and analogies going into the Carlisle game and you speak it into existence at times. And I’m a strong believer in that.

“My language has got to be really, really important today, tomorrow, my enthusiasm, my energy, my calmness.

“But yeah, look, we all understand and appreciate come the 90, come the 120, or come the penalties, if we’re victorious, what that brings, and like I said, it’s been a long time since we’ve married up with what the chairman’s done off the pitch, all the builds, all the work he’s done, the work that’s coming in the next 18 months to two years for the first time.

“I think we can actually achieve a similar or a line to the similar progression of what’s going off the pitch, on the pitch.

“And yeah, look, I love this place. I love the people I work with. I love the chairman. I love this community.”