Moments, Gary McAllister, the Leeds United manager, had said, define matches. Doncaster Rovers seized one and a season that began with Leeds on minus 15 saw them end with nothing.

At the final whistle, the familiar sight of tears dripping from Leeds eyes contrasted with the unusual experience of Doncaster celebrating promotion to the Coca-Cola Championship, their third ascent in five years. It is five decades since they were in football’s second tier and only five seasons since they left non-League.

This was a Yorkshire derby victory made much farther south, the winning goal scored by James Hayter, a 29-year-old born on the Isle of Wight and bought from Bournemouth, the former club of Sean O’Driscoll, the manager.

If Leeds are the archetypal warning of the dangers of excess, Doncaster are an inspiration to collapsing clubs: in a new stadium and one division from the Barclays Premier League just a decade after sliding into non-League.

While Leeds lived their dream, Doncaster endured a nightmare: relegation, financial crisis and a former chairman who tried to burn down their ground. In the week that Leeds lost to Valencia in the semi-finals of the Champions League in May 2001, Doncaster were mid-table in the Conference and defeated at home by Telford United.

They met as equals at Wembley yesterday because of Leeds’ fiscal and footballing implosion and the money and graft of John Ryan, the Doncaster chairman, who, having made his fortune in cosmetic surgery, knows something about transformations.

His team are conventionally attractive — quick interchanges, good technique and lively wingers. They missed out on automatic promotion by failing to beat Cheltenham Town on the final day of the regular season and finished third, four points ahead of Leeds — or 11 behind, as Elland Road revisionists would argue.

The best-supported club in the Football League, Leeds’ allocation of 36,000 tickets proved inadequate. With many of their fans buying seats from Doncaster, segregation turned into a bit of a Yorkshire pudding. Hundreds of Leeds fans congregated behind enemy lines in the top tier behind one of the goals, separated by only a line of stewards from the Doncaster fans sitting a couple of rows below.

The supporters had a bird’s-eye view of Doncaster’s adept passing. It was easy to see how they savaged Southend United 5-1 in the semi-final, second leg because they were rampant in the opening minutes, the match’s tempo rapid on a surface made slick by rain.

First, Paul Huntington, the Leeds defender, deflected a close-range shot from Jason Price narrowly over. Soon after, from the left, Richie Wellens danced into the box and smacked the ball into the side netting from an implausible angle. After nine minutes, Casper Ankergren, the Leeds goalkeeper, dashed out to save smartly at the feet of James Coppinger.

Within seconds, an even better chance arrived but Ankergren was alert again. The busy Price dinked the ball over the top of the defence to the onrushing Hayter, clean through. Ankergren shovelled the ball away from under the forward’s feet as he attempted to round the Danish goalkeeper.

However, the torrent of attacks abruptly dried to a trickle and Leeds improved, though imprecise efforts from the edge of the area were about as close as they came to opening the scoring. At least it was far more even than the last time Leeds were in the play-offs, a division higher in 2006 when they were thumped 3-0 by Watford and relegated the following season.

Doncaster started the second half strongly and this time added an end product. Ninety seconds after the re-start, the unmarked Hayter dived to connect with Brian Stock’s outswinging corner, heading Doncaster into the lead from ten yards.

Three minutes later, Jermaine Beckford, the Leeds forward, failed to muster enough power when well-placed. The contest was even and open after that. The red half of the stadium’s dismay at the revelation that there would be at least four minutes of injury time spoke of how close the match was, but McAllister’s side never quite carved out any of the defining moments he had talked about in the build-up and Neil Sullivan’s handling was immaculate against his former club.

Jonathan Douglas flashed a shot past the post in the last five minutes and it was Leeds’ last hope: no repeat of the late goals that were decisive in the semi-final games against Carlisle United. They now have another negative experience to reverse.

How they rated

Doncaster Rovers (4-3-3): N Sullivan Y 8 – J O’Connor 8, M Mills Y 7, S Hird 7, G Roberts 7 – P Green 7, B Stock 7, R Wellens 6 – J Coppinger 6, J Price 8, J Hayter 7.

Leeds United (4-4-2): C Ankergren 8 – F Richardson 6, P Huntington 6, L Michalik 6, B Johnson 6 – N Kilkenny 6, J Douglas 6, J Howson Y 5 – D Prutton Y 6, D Freedman 5, J Beckford 7.