Tranmere Rovers went one better in the 1990-91 season, ending fifth in the league but winning the Third Division playoffs with a great 1-0 win over local rivals Bolton Wanderers. Chris Malkin's extra time goal saw the club gain promotion to the Second Division for the first occasion since the 1930s. They also made a second successive appearance in the Associate Members' cup final, this occasion suffering a 3-2 defeat to Birmingham City. This made the play-off wins over Bolton Tranmere's fourth appearance in a Wembley final in just over a year. Another memorable event that season was in Tranmere's home match against Southend United on new year's day 1991, when right back Tony Thomas scored after just eight seconds, at the time the fastest televised goal in history.