Wikipedia

2005 Football League Championship play-off final

(Redirected from2005 Football League Championship play-off Final)

The2005 Football League Championship play-off finalwas anassociation footballmatch which was played on 30 May 2005 at theMillennium Stadium,Cardiff,betweenPreston North EndandWest Ham United.The match was to determine the third and final team to gainpromotionfrom theFootball League Championship,the second tier ofEnglish football,to theFA Premier League.The top two teams of the2004–05 Football League Championshipseason 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 the2005–06 seasonin the Premier League.Ipswich TownandDerby Countywere the losing semi-finalists. Winning the final was estimated to be worth up to £31million to the successful team.

2005 Football League Championship play-off final
The match was played at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.
Preston North End West Ham United
0 1
Date30 May 2005
VenueMillennium Stadium,Cardiff
RefereeMike Riley
Attendance70,275
←2004
2006→

The 2005 final was refereed byMike Rileyand was watched by a crowd of 70,275. West Ham won the match 1–0 with the only goal of the game coming fromBobby Zamorain the second half, and were promoted back to the Premier League after an absence of two years. His teammateMatthew Etheringtonwas namedman of the 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 toLeeds Unitedin the semi-final.

Route to the final

edit
Main articles:2004–05 Preston North End F.C. season,2004–05 West Ham United F.C. season,and2004–05 Football League Championship
Football League Championship final table, leading positions[1]
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Sunderland 46 29 7 10 76 41 +35 94
2 Wigan Athletic 46 25 12 9 79 35 +44 87
3 Ipswich Town 46 24 13 9 85 56 +29 85
4 Derby County 46 22 10 14 71 60 +11 76
5 Preston North End 46 21 12 13 67 58 +9 75
6 West Ham United 46 21 10 15 66 56 +10 73

Preston North Endfinished the regular2004–05 seasonin fifth place in theFootball League Championship,the second tier of theEnglish football league system,one place and two points ahead ofWest Ham United.Both therefore missed out on the two automatic places forpromotionto thePremier Leagueand instead took part in theplay-offs,along withIpswich TownandDerby County,to determine the third promoted team. Preston finished twelve points behindWigan Athletic(who were promoted in second place) and nineteen behind league winnersSunderland.[1]

West Ham United faced Ipswich Town in their play-off semi-final, with the first leg taking place at theBoleyn GroundinEast Londonon 14 May 2005. The home team opened the scoring early in the first half as acrossfromMatthew Etheringtonwas converted from 5 yards (4.6 m) byMarlon Harewood.They doubled their lead six minutes later when, once again, Etherington crossed the ball and this time it wasBobby Zamora's strike which beatKelvin Davisin the Ipswich goal. Just before half-time, the visitors halved the deficit when West Ham's goalkeeperJimmy Walkerconceded anown goal.Shefki Kuqithen equalised from close range following a defensive mix-up between Walker andAnton Ferdinandand match ended level on 2–2.[2]The return leg was played atPortman Roadin Ipswich four days later. After a goalless first half, Zamora scored twice in eleven minutes: the first was a close-rangeheaderfrom a Harewood cross while the second saw ZamoravolleyHarewood's pass into the Ipswich goal. West Ham won the match 2–0 and the semi-final 4–2 onaggregateto progress to the final.[3]

In the other play-off semi-final, Preston North End's opponents were Derby County, the first leg being played atDeepdalein Preston on 15 May 2005. The home side were dominant in the first half and took the lead in the 38th minute whenDavid NugentbeatLee Campin the Derby goal after picking up a flicked pass fromChris Sedgwick.Although Derby improved after the break, Preston doubled their lead in the final minute of the match. A defensive header deflected offRichard Cresswellpast Camp to make the final score 2–0 to the home side.[4]The second leg was played atPride Park Stadiumin Derby four days later. After a goalless first half,Grzegorz Rasiakwon apenaltywhen he was brought down byChris Luckettiin thepenalty 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.[5]

Match

edit

Background

edit

Preston were making their second appearance in a Championship play-off final, having lost in the2001 final3–0 againstBolton Wanderers.[6]Preston had also featured in the1994 Football League Third Division play-off finalat theold Wembley Stadiumwhere they lost 4–2 againstWycombe Wanderers.[7]West Ham were losing finaliststhe previous seasonwhen they were beaten 1–0 byCrystal Palace.[6]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.[8]During that match,Tomáš Řepkawas sent off for headbuttingBrian O'Neilin his right eye and a mass brawl ensued in the tunnel after the final whistle.[9][10]Cresswell was the highest scorer for Preston throughout the season with 16 goals, while West Ham's top marksman wasTeddy Sheringhamwho had 20 followed by Harewood with 17.[11]Preston had played in the second tier of English football since gaining promotion in the1999–2000 seasonas champions of theFootball League Second Division,and had not taken part in the top tier for 44 years.[12][13]Conversely, West Ham had played in the Championship for two seasons since being relegated from the Premiership in the2002–03 season.[14]Winning the play-off final was estimated in the media to be worth up to £35million to the successful team;[15][16][17][18]CNNdescribed the game as "the world's richest club match".[18]The referee for the match wasMike Rileywho represented theWest Riding County Football Association.[13]

The West Ham managerAlan Pardewopted for a4–4–2 formation,withShaun NewtonreplacingCarl Fletcherin right midfield.[15]Newton had been successful in the playoff finals on two previous occasions, winning withCharlton Athleticin the1998 finaland withWolverhampton Wanderersin the2003 final.[19]Billy Davies,the Preston manager named an unchanged side from that which secured the goalless draw in the play-off semi-final, despiteGraham Alexanderhaving recovered from injury.[15]

Summary

edit
Bobby Zamora scored the only goal of the game.

The game kicked off around 3p.m. in front of aMillennium Stadiumcrowd 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 byCarlo Nash.With West Ham defending in numbers, Preston were forced to derive chances to score fromset pieces,with Lucketti's header fromEddie 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 fromClaude Davisbut the defender made a last-ditch tackle, and the half ended goalless.[13][20][21]

Neither side made any changes during half time, and four minutes into the second half, aPaul McKennacorner headed toward the West Ham goal by Cresswell but Newton cleared the ball.Nigel Reo-Cokerthen passed to Harewood whose shot was pushed away one-handed by Nash. Zamora followed up but his attempt was cleared byYoul Mawénéand 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. 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 Etheringtonfree kickover the Preston crossbar. Nugent then went on a run, beating four West Ham defenders before striking his shot straight at Walker. Davies then brought onPatrick Agyemangfor Sedgwick, to play with three strikers. Zamora was then substituted by Pardew and replaced him withChristian Daillyin a holding midfield role. 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 byStephen 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.[13][20][21]

Details

edit
Preston North End0–1West Ham United
Report Zamora57'
Attendance: 70,275
Preston North End
West Ham United
GK 33 Carlo Nash
RB 15 Youl Mawéné 87'
CB 22 Claude Davis
CB 20 Chris Lucketti
LB 18 Matt Hill
RM 11 Chris Sedgwick 71'
CM 16 Paul McKenna
CM 3 Brian O'Neil81'
LM 17 Eddie Lewis
FW 25 Richard Cresswell
CF 35 David Nugent
Substitutes:
GK 12 Gavin Ward
DF 2 Graham Alexander 87'
DF 6 Marlon Broomes
MF 4 Dickson Etuhu 82'
FW 9 Patrick Agyemang 71'
Manager:
Billy Davies
GK 23 Jimmy Walker 87'
RB 2 Tomáš Řepka
CB 15 Anton Ferdinand
CB 22 Elliott Ward
LB 34 Chris Powell
RM 26 Shaun Newton 82'
CM 20 Nigel Reo-Coker
CM 17 Hayden Mullins
LM 12 Matthew Etherington
CF 10 Marlon Harewood
CF 25 Bobby Zamora 74'
Substitutes:
GK 1 Stephen Bywater 87'
DF 7 Christian Dailly 74'
MF 24 Mark Noble 82'
MF 6 Carl Fletcher
FW 8 Teddy Sheringham
Manager:
Alan Pardew
West Ham players celebrating the play-off final victory
Statistics[15]
West Ham United Preston North End
Total shots 10 8
Shots on target 5 5
Ball possession 50% 50%
Corner kicks 2 5
Fouls committed 19 14
Offsides 3 1
Yellow cards 2 2
Red cards 0 0

Post-match

edit

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 ".[22]Chris Powellnoted: "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".[21]Davies, the losing manager, was proud of his team and said: "I can ask no more of the players. 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. "[21]He conceded: "We didn't play particularly well on the day, but we had one or two chances and the first goal was crucial".[23]West Ham's Etherington was named asman of the match.[21]

West Ham finished theirfollowing seasonin ninth place in thePremier League.[24]Preston'snext seasonsaw them finish in fourth place in theChampionship,[25]and qualify for theplay-offs,where they lost 3–1 on aggregate toLeeds Unitedin the semi-final.[26]

References

edit
  1. ^ab"Championship – 2004/2005 – Regular season".Soccerway.Archivedfrom the original on 14 March 2013.Retrieved8 August2020.
  2. ^"West Ham 2–2 Ipswich".BBC Sport.14 May 2005.Archivedfrom the original on 14 March 2006.Retrieved8 August2020.
  3. ^"Ipswich 0–2 West Ham".BBC Sport.18 May 2005.Archivedfrom the original on 27 October 2005.Retrieved8 August2020.
  4. ^"Preston 2–0 Derby".BBC Sport.15 May 2005.Archivedfrom the original on 22 February 2007.Retrieved9 August2020.
  5. ^"Derby 0–0 Preston (agg 0–2)".BBC Sport.19 May 2005.Archivedfrom the original on 22 February 2007.Retrieved9 August2020.
  6. ^ab"Play-Off Final History & Stats".Sporting Life.25 May 2015. Archived fromthe originalon 9 October 2016.Retrieved3 May2020.
  7. ^Thomas, Russell (30 May 1994)."Wycombe earn new rise".The Guardian.p. 17.Retrieved9 August2020– viaNewspapers.
  8. ^"West Ham United football club: record v Preston North End".11v11.Archivedfrom the original on 30 August 2016.Retrieved14 August2020.
  9. ^Callow, Nick (6 March 2005)."Preston gain as Repka loses head".The Independent.Retrieved15 August2020.
  10. ^Taylor, Louise (29 May 2005)."Finney hoping for success".The Daily Telegraph.Archivedfrom the original on 6 July 2016.Retrieved15 August2020.
  11. ^"Championship – 2004/05 – Top scorers".Soccerbase.Centurycomm.Archivedfrom the original on 6 March 2019.Retrieved14 August2020.
  12. ^"Preston North End".fchd.info.Archivedfrom the original on 24 December 2017.Retrieved14 August2020.
  13. ^abcd"West Ham 1–0 Preston".BBC Sport.30 May 2005.Archivedfrom the original on 29 August 2007.Retrieved14 August2020.
  14. ^"West Ham United".fchd.info.Archivedfrom the original on 19 April 2012.Retrieved14 August2020.
  15. ^abcd"West Ham 1–0 Preston: Bobby dazzler".ESPN.30 May 2005. Archived fromthe originalon 13 July 2012.Retrieved20 May2012.
  16. ^Ogden, Mark (30 May 2005)."Preston poised to jet back to the top flight".The Daily Telegraph.Archivedfrom the original on 6 July 2016.Retrieved15 August2020.
  17. ^Rich, Tim (31 May 2005)."Zamora pops Preston bubble".The Daily Telegraph.Archivedfrom the original on 6 July 2016.Retrieved15 August2020.
  18. ^ab"Zamora puts Hammers in Premiership".CNN.31 May 2005.Archivedfrom the original on 3 February 2020.Retrieved15 August2020.
  19. ^Foster, pp. 208, 213
  20. ^abScott, Matt (31 May 2005)."Zamora strikes gold for Hammers".The Guardian.Archivedfrom the original on 9 March 2016.Retrieved14 August2020.
  21. ^abcdeShaw, Phil (31 May 2005)."Redemption for Pardew as Zamora lifts West Ham into the élite".The Independent.Retrieved14 August2020.
  22. ^"Pardew joy at Hammers promotion".BBC Sport.30 May 2005.Retrieved15 August2020.
  23. ^"Davies philosophical after loss".BBC Sport.30 May 2005.Archivedfrom the original on 30 May 2006.Retrieved15 August2020.
  24. ^"Premier League table at close of 2005–06 season".11v11.Retrieved16 August2020.
  25. ^"League Championship table at close of 2005–06 season".11v11.Retrieved16 August2020.
  26. ^"Preston 0–2 Leeds (agg 1–3)".BBC Sport.8 May 2006.Archivedfrom the original on 22 December 2006.Retrieved23 July2020.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2005_Football_League_Championship_play-off_final&oldid=1235048915"