2013 Football League Championship play-off final

2013 Football League Championship play-off final

The match was played at Wembley Stadium.
Event	2012–13 Football League Championship
Crystal Palace Watford 1 0
After extra time
Date	27 May 2013
Venue	Wembley Stadium,London
Man of the Match	Wilfried Zaha
Referee	Martin Atkinson
Attendance	82,025

The2013 Football League Championship play-off finalwas anassociation footballmatch which was played on 27 May 2013 atWembley Stadium,London, betweenCrystal PalaceandWatford.The match was to determine the third and final team to gainpromotionfrom theFootball League Championship,the second tier ofEnglish football,to thePremier League.The top two teams of the2012–13 Football League Championshipseason gained automatic promotion to the Premier League, while the teams placed from third to sixth place in the table partook in play-off semi-finals; Watford ended the season in third position while Crystal Palace finished fifth. The winners of these semi-finals competed for the final place for the2013–14 seasonin the Premier League. Winning the game was estimated to be worth up to £120million to the successful team.

The 2013 final, refereed byMartin Atkinson,was watched by a crowd of more than 82,000 people. The game ended goalless in regular time, and proceeded into extra time. Crystal Palace won 1–0, with the only goal of the game coming fromKevin Phillipsin the last minute of the first half of extra time from the penalty spot. It was Palace's fourth win in five play-off finals.Wilfried Zahawas named man of the match.

Both teams finished mid-table in their respective leagues the following season. Crystal Palace ended the next season in 11th place in the Premier League, while Watford finished their following campaign in the Championship 13th place.

Route to the final

Main article:2012–13 Football League Championship

Football League Championship final table, leading positions

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Cardiff City	46	25	12	9	72	45	+27	87
2	Hull City	46	24	7	15	61	52	+9	79
3	Watford	46	23	8	15	85	58	+27	77
4	Brighton & Hove Albion	46	19	18	9	69	43	+26	75
5	Crystal Palace	46	19	15	12	73	62	+11	72
6	Leicester City	46	19	11	16	71	48	+23	68

Watfordfinished the regular2012–13 seasonin third place in theFootball League Championship,the second tier of theEnglish football league system,two places ahead ofCrystal Palace.Both therefore missed out on the two automatic places forpromotionto thePremier Leagueand instead took part in theplay-offsto determine the third promoted team. Watford finished two points behindHull City(who were promoted in second place) and ten behind league winnersCardiff City.Crystal Palace ended the season five points behind Watford.

Crystal Palace faced Brighton & Hove Albion in their play-off semi-final, the first leg being played atSelhurst Park.The game ended goalless but Palace's top scorerGlenn Murraywas injured and had to be carried off on a stretcher midway through the second half after suffering what was suspected to be acruciate ligamentinjury.The second leg was held three days later atFalmer Stadium,a venue at which Brighton had not lost since January. Palace went into the match having won once in their past eleven games and, as expected, without Murray. He was replaced byAaron Wilbrahamwho had scored once in his 25 appearances that season.Wilfried Zahaput Palace ahead midway through the second half with a header fromYannick Bolasieand double their advantage late in the game, striking the ball into the roof of the net. The 2–0 aggregate win ensured the London club's qualification for the final.

In the other play-off semi-final, Watford's opponents wereLeicester City,and the first leg was played at theKing Power Stadium.The hosts won the match 1–0 with aDavid Nugentheader from anAnthony Knockaertfree kicklate on.In the second leg,Matěj Vydra,recently named the Championship Player of the Year at theFootball League Awards,put Watford into the lead with a left-foot volley from aMarco Cassettipass into the far corner ofKasper Schmeichel's goal. Nugent restored parity in the leg with another header from a Knockaertcorner,before Vydra played aone-twowithTroy Deeneyto score his second and equalise the semi-final 2–2 on aggregate. Leicester were awarded an injury timepenalty:Knockaert stepped up to take it only to see it saved, and in the immediate counter-attack,Jonathan Hogg's knock-down was finished by Deeney to give Watford a 3–2 aggregate victory and passage to the final.

Crystal Palace			Round	Watford
Opponent	Result	Legs	Semi-finals	Opponent	Result	Legs
Brighton & Hove Albion	2–0	0–0 home; 2–0 away		Leicester City	3–2	0–1 away; 3–1 home

Match

Crystal Palace were without their top scorerGlenn Murraywho had scored 30 goals during the regular season.

Watford's top scorerMatěj Vydrawent off injured at half time in the final.

Background

This was Crystal Palace's fifth appearance in the second tier play-off final, with their most recent being in the2004 finalat theMillennium Stadiumwhich they won 1–0 againstWest Ham United.Palace had also won the1989 final(over two legs) and the1997 final,and had lost the1996 final.Watford also had play-off final experience, winning both their previous appearances, in the1999and2006 finals.During the regular season, Crystal Palace lost their home game against 3–2 in August 2012 in what wasGianfranco Zola's first league match as manager of Watford.The return game played atVicarage Roadthe following February ended in a 2–2 draw.Murray was Palace's top scorer with 30 while Vydra had scored the most for Watford with 22.

Both clubs sold out their allocation of tickets atWembley Stadium,with Palace selling 33,000 tickets and Watford more than 34,000.The final was refereed byMartin Atkinsonof theWest Riding County Football Association,with assistant referees Stuart Burt and Peter Kirkup, whileNeil Swarbrickacted as the fourth official.It was reported in the press and media that the match was worth more than £120million over four years to the winning club through sponsorship and television appearances.

Seven of Watford's starting line-up wereon loanat the club, four from Italian clubUdinese,two from Spanish teamGranadaand one fromChelsea.Palace's soul loanee was Zaha who had been sold toManchester Unitedin the Januarytransfer windowand loaned back to the south London club.He was declared fit to play despite picking up an ankle injury in the semi-final, so Palace's team was unchanged.Daniel Pudiland Hogg were recalled to the Watford side, having been absent from the team that defeated Leicester City in the semi-final.Wilbraham retained his place in the Palace team as Murray's first semi-final injury kept him sidelined.

First half

Watford kicked the match off shortly after 3p.m. in front of a Wembley crowd of 82,025. After a brief interlude to remove some balloons which had descended from the spectators into the Crystal Palace penalty area, Watford won a free kick for a foul on Deeney. The resulting set piece was cleared, and on 8 minutes, Palace'sJonny Williamswas brought down by Hogg for another free kick, which came to nothing. Three minutes later,Joel Ekstrandreceived the first yellow card of the game after a late tackle on Wilbraham. Palace'sSouth African internationaldefenderKagisho Dikgacoiwent down with a calf injury in the 15th minute and was replaced two minutes later byStuart O'Keefein the first substitution of the afternoon. A counter attack from Palace midway through the first half saw Zaha holding off two Watford defenders, enabling him to pass toOwen Garvanwho delayed his shot too long and allowedLloyd Doyleyto block. The second yellow card of the afternoon was shown to Jedinak in the 28th minute after a poor challenge onAlmen Abdi.Five minutes later, Vydra's first shot on goal was blocked by Palace defenderDamien Delaney,but by the end of the half the Watford striker was visibly struggling after picking up an injury. Despite the clubs being the two top-scoring teams in the division, the half ended goalless.

Second half

Over the half-time break, Watford's Vydra was replaced by the Spanish strikerAlexandre Geijo.Palace kicked off the second half and after two minutes the first chance fell to Watford's loaneeNathaniel Chalobahwhose long-range strike went wide. Abdi's shot was then blocked by Delaney; meanwhile Jedinak began to struggle. In the 58th minute, a Geijo shot was easily saved byJulián Speroniin the Palace goal. Two minutes later a Wilbraham shot was blocked by Watford's goalkeeperManuel Almunia.Abdi then brought down O'Keefe, who reacted to the challenge: both players were booked. Geijo then forced a save from Speroni in the 63rd minute before O'Keefe's effort from a Zaha square pass was saved by Almunia. In the 66th minute,Kevin Phillipscame on to replace Williams for Palace. Twice in quick succession the Watford defence failed to deal with Palace attacks, but still the deadlock remained. With 18 minutes remaining, a cross from Zaha was headed back across goal by Phillips but Garvan failed to find the target, curling his shot past the outside of the post. Chalobah was then substituted off, with another loanee,Cristian Battocchio,coming on to replace him. With seven minutes remaining, Almunia saved a Wilbraham shot before Garvan was replaced byAndré Moritzin Palace's final substitution of the match.Fernando Forestieriwas then brought on forIkechi Anya.Both teams had chances to break the deadlock but after three minutes of added-on time, the referee Martin Atkinson brought the second half to a close, still goalless, for extra time to be played.

Extra time

Watford kicked off the first period of extra time, and three minutes in, Deeney brought another save from Speroni. Forestieri then shot wide from a tight angle. Nine minutes in,Danny Gabbidonconceded a corner which, taken by Abdi, was struck by Battocchio through a group of defenders and saved by Speroni.Dean Moxeywas then booked for a foul on Forestieri, becoming the sixth player of the afternoon to receive a yellow card. On the brink of half time, Cassetti fouled Zaha in the Watford box and Palace were awarded a penalty. The spot kick was struck into the top-left corner by Phillips, putting Palace 1–0 ahead. Four minutes into the second half, a corner from Abdi was gathered by Speroni before Deeney could capitalise on the loose ball. In the 23rd minute, a free kick from Abdi from 25 yards (23 m) was easily caught by Speroni. With two minutes remaining,Joel Wardblocked an Ekstrand shot with his stomach; appeals for a penalty were dismissed by Atkinson. Forestieri then went close as Ward was forced to clear his shot off the Palace goal line. Two corners for Watford came to nothing and the referee blew his whistle to signify the end of extra time and the match, with Palace winning 1–0.

Details

27 May 2013

15:00BST

Crystal Palace	1–0 (a.e.t.)	Watford
Phillips105+1' (pen.)	Report

Wembley Stadium,London

Attendance: 82,025

Referee:Martin Atkinson(West Yorkshire)

Crystal Palace

Watford

GK 1 Julián Speroni RB 2 Joel Ward 80' CB 33 Danny Gabbidon CB 27 Damien Delaney LB 21 Dean Moxey 104' DM 15 Mile Jedinak(c) 28' CM 8 Kagisho Dikgacoi 18' CM 10 Owen Garvan 84' RF 20 Jonny Williams 66' CF 18 Aaron Wilbraham LF 16 Wilfried Zaha Substitutes: GK 34 Lewis Price DF 3 Jazz Richards DF 28 Peter Ramage MF 7 Yannick Bolasie MF 22 Stuart O'Keefe 60' 18' MF 30 André Moritz 84' FW 9 Kevin Phillips 66' Manager: Ian Holloway

GK 1 Manuel Almunia(c) RB 27 Marco Cassetti 105' CB 12 Lloyd Doyley CB 40 Joel Ekstrand 10' LB 18 Daniel Pudil DM 39 Nathaniel Chalobah 74' DM 8 Jonathan Hogg CM 22 Almen Abdi 60' RF 20 Matěj Vydra 46' CF 9 Troy Deeney LF 21 Ikechi Anya 86' Substitutes: GK 30 Jonathan Bond DF 6 Fitz Hall DF 17 Matthew Briggs MF 7 Mark Yeates MF 38 Cristian Battocchio 74' FW 36 Alexandre Geijo 46' FW 41 Fernando Forestieri 86' Manager: Gianfranco Zola

Man of the Match: Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace) Assistant referees: Stuart Burt Peter Kirkup Fourth official: Neil Swarbrick

Match rules: 90 minutes. 30 minutes ofextra timeif necessary. Penalty shoot-outif scores still level. Seven named substitutes. Maximum of three substitutions.

Statistics

Wilfried Zaha(pictured in 2016)was named man of the match.

Statistics

	Crystal Palace	Watford
Total shots	12	15
Shots on target	10	9
Ball possession	52%	48%
Corner kicks	6	8
Fouls committed	12	13
Yellow cards	4	3
Red cards	0	0

Post-match

Crystal Palace managerIan Hollowaysaid: "I've been very fortunate to have worked with some great players and I'm very grateful to this bunch. We're in the Premier League now and... god help us. We battled hard. "He went on to say "It all starts now for me because the minute we kick off next season we're on a hiding to nothing... We've got to make sure we can compete and I want to stay there. "Zola was gracious in defeat and conceded that Palace "played well and probably deserved it more than us, so congratulations to them... I had no complaints about their penalty... Wilfried Zaha made a huge difference. "Phillips spoke of his winning penalty strike and his future: "I had in my mind where I wanted to take it, I was happy to take it. I picked my spot and stuck to it. I don't know if that's going to be my last match, but if it is, what a way to sign off."Zaha was named man of the match.

Crystal Palace ended thenext seasonin 11th place in the Premier League, 12 points above the relegation zone.Watford finished thefollowing seasonin 13th place, 16 points above the relegation zone but 12 points outside theplay-offs.