2004 Football League First Division play-off final

Association football match in Cardiff, UK December 2017 December 2017 2004 Football League First Division play-off final Principality Stadium May 3, 2016.jpg The match was played at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. Crystal Palace 1 West Ham United 0 29 May 2004 Millennium Stadium Cardiff Graham Poll (Herts) 72,523 2003 2005 The 2004 Football League First Division play-off final was an association football match which was played on 29 May 2004 at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, between Crystal Palace and West Ham United. The match was to determine the third and final team to gain promotion from the Football League First Division, the second tier of English football, to the FA Premier League. The top two teams of the 2003–04 Football League First Division season 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; West Ham ended the season in fourth position while Crystal Palace finished sixth. The winners of these semi-finals competed for the final place for the 2004–05 season in the Premier League. Ipswich Town and Sunderland were the losing semi-finalists. Winning the final was estimated to be worth up to £30million to the successful team. The 2005 final was played in front of a crowd of 72,523 and was refereed by Graham Poll. After a goalless first half, Crystal Palace took the lead with a goal from Neil Shipperley in the 62nd minute. West Ham twice had goals ruled out for offside and were denied a penalty late in the second half, and Palace held on to win 1–0. West Ham finished the following season in sixth place in the Championship and gained promotion through the play-offs, beating Preston North End in the final. Palace were relegated on the final day of the following season finishing in 18th place in the table, making an immediate return to the second tier. Route to the final 2003–04 Crystal Palace F.C. season 2003–04 West Ham United F.C. season 2003–04 Football League First Division main WDL Q right auto Football League Championship final table, leading positions NWC Norwich City WBA West Bromwich Albion SUN Sunderland WHU West Ham United IPS Ipswich Town CRY Crystal Palace 28 10 8 79 39 25 11 10 64 42 22 13 11 62 45 19 17 10 67 45 21 10 15 84 72 21 10 15 72 61 complete West Ham United finished the regular 2003–04 season in fifth place in the Football League First Division, the second tier of the English football league system, two places and one point ahead of Crystal Palace. Both therefore missed out on the two automatic places for promotion to the Premier League and instead took part in the play-offs, along with Sunderland and Ipswich Town, to determine the third promoted team. West Ham finished twelve points behind West Bromwich Albion (who were promoted in second place) and twenty behind league winners Norwich City. https://uk.soccerway.com/national/england/championship/2003-2004/regular-season/ Soccerway 6 September 2020 Championship – 2003/2004 – Regular season 20 September 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20110920103647/http://uk.soccerway.com/national/england/championship/2003-2004/regular-season/ live Crystal Palace manager Iain Dowie had been appointed in December 2003 with the club in 19th position, before losing just six times in the final half of the season to finish sixth, https://www.theguardian.com/football/2003/dec/22/newsstory.crystalpalace The Guardian Dowie flies with the Eagles Press Association 10 September 2020 22 December 2003 1 October 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20151001070131/http://www.theguardian.com/football/2003/dec/22/newsstory.crystalpalace live https://www.11v11.com/teams/crystal-palace/tab/leagueTables/22-december-2003/ 11v11.com League Division 1 table after close of play on 22 December 2003 10 September 2020 AFS Enterprises 23 September 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200923103353/https://www.11v11.com/teams/crystal-palace/tab/leagueTables/22-december-2003/ live a turnaround in form described by the BBC as "a remarkable transformation". https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_div_1/3750773.stm BBC Sport 11 September 2020 29 May 2004 Crystal Palace 1–0 West Ham 28 September 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20180928203847/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/3750773.stm live Their qualification for the play-offs was secured in injury time of the final game of the season when West Ham's Brian Deane equalised against Wigan Athletic. Palace faced Sunderland in their play-off semi-final with the first leg being played at Selhurst Park on 14 May 2004. After a goalless first half, Sunderland took the lead early in the second through a Marcus Stewart penalty. Within a minute, Neil Shipperley equalised with a header before Danny Butterfield's deflected shot gave Palace the lead ten minutes later. Kevin Kyle levelled the tie with five minutes to go before Andrew Johnson restored Palace's lead two minutes later, with the match ending 3–2. https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_div_1/3710149.stm BBC Sport 6 September 2020 C Palace 3–2 Sunderland 10 July 2004 https://web.archive.org/web/20040710053253/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/3710149.stm live The second leg took place at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland three days later. Although Palace's Aki Riihilahti hit the woodwork in the sixth minute, Kyle scored in the 42nd minute to level the tie on aggregate. Stewart scored with a header just before half-time to make it 4–3 to Sunderland before substitute Darren Powell's header made it 4–4 on aggregate and sent the semi-final to penalties. John Oster and Jason McAteer both missed penalties for Sunderland while Mart Poom saved twice, from Shaun Derry and Wayne Routledge. Jeff Whitley then failed to score and Michael Hughes struck the winning spot-kick. https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_div_1/3710227.stm BBC Sport 6 September 2020 17 May 2004 Sunderland 2–1 C Palace 12 September 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20170912200637/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/3710227.stm live West Ham's play-off semi-final opponents were Ipswich Town, and the first leg took place at Portman Road in Ipswich on 15 May 2004. Ian Westlake's shot was cleared off the line by West Ham's Andy Melville in the first half, which ended goalless. Twelve minutes into the second half, Darren Bent scored with a header after Richard Naylor's initial shot rebounded off the crossbar, and the game ended 1–0. https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_div_1/3713769.stm Ipswich 1–0 West Ham BBC Sport 6 September 2020 22 July 2004 https://web.archive.org/web/20040722055743/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/3713769.stm live The return leg was played at the Boleyn Ground three days later. Bent missed an early chance to extend Ipswich's lead and Steve Lomas hit the post for West Ham, the first half ending goalless. In the 50th minute, Matthew Etherington scored from inside the Ipswich penalty area with a strike described by the BBC as a "screamer" to level the tie. Twenty minutes later, an Etherington corner was poorly defended by Ipswich, and Christian Dailly's shot was deflected into the Ipswich goal off Tommy Miller's heel. Westlake hit the post in the last minute but West Ham held on to win the semi-final 2–1 on aggregate to qualify for the final. https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/3713951.stm BBC Sport West Ham reach final 18 May 2004 6 September 2020 22 July 2004 https://web.archive.org/web/20040722062943/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/3713951.stm live Match Background right|alt=Graham Poll|upright|thumb|Graham Poll was the match referee. This was Crystal Palace's fourth appearance in the second tier play-off final, with their most recent being in the 1997 final at the old Wembley Stadium which they won 1–0 against Sheffield United. Palace had also won the 1989 final (over two legs) against Blackburn Rovers and had lost the 1996 final in extra time against Leicester City. https://web.archive.org/web/20161009214128/https://www.sportinglife.com/football/news/article/165/9864357/play-off-final-history-stats https://www.sportinglife.com/football/news/article/165/9864357/play-off-final-history-stats 9 October 2016 25 May 2015 Sporting Life 6 September 2020 Play-Off Final History & Stats West Ham were making their first appearance in a second-tier playoff final. Crystal Palace's Johnson was the league's leading scorer with 27 goals in the regular season, while his teammate Dougie Freedman was the club's second highest scorer with 13. https://www.soccerbase.com/tournaments/tournament.sd?tourn_id=147 6 September 2020 Football League First Division – 2003/04 Soccerbase.com Centurycomm 25 September 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20180925221427/http://www.soccerbase.com/tournaments/tournament.sd?tourn_id=147 live West Ham's top scorer was Marlon Harewood who had struck 25 goals during the regular league season, although 12 of them were for his previous club, Nottingham Forest, from whom he moved in November 2004. https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/w/west_ham_utd/3233250.stm Harewood seals Hammers move BBC Sport 6 September 2020 25 November 2003 17 December 2003 https://web.archive.org/web/20031217221952/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/w/west_ham_utd/3233250.stm live During the regular league season, both sides won at home in the matches between them: in October 2003, West Ham won 3–0 at Boleyn Park while six months later, Palace triumphed 1–0 at Selhurst Park. https://www.11v11.com/teams/crystal-palace/tab/opposingTeams/opposition/West%20Ham%20United/ 11v11.com Crystal Palace football club: record v West Ham United 6 September 2020 28 May 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20170528160857/http://www.11v11.com/teams/crystal-palace/tab/opposingTeams/opposition/West%20Ham%20United/ live The referee for the match was Graham Poll representing the Hertfordshire County Football Association. https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_div_1/3750773.stm Crystal Palace 1–0 West Ham 29 May 2004 6 September 2020 BBC Sport 28 September 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20180928203847/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/3750773.stm live Winning the final was estimated to be worth up to £30million to the successful team. It was the fourth time the second tier play-off final was hosted by the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.Foster, p. 132 Summary The match kicked off around 3p.m. in front of a Millennium Stadium crowd of 72,523 spectators. Early in the first half, Dailly fouled Riihilahti and from the resulting Palace free kick, Butterfield's shot was just wide of the West Ham goalpost. On 17 minutes, Johnson's free header from a Routledge cross went over the crossbar despite Shipperley being in a better position. Palace defender Danny Granville subsequently missed a chance after West Ham's goalkeeper Stephen Bywater fumbled a Shaun Derry corner. In the 20th minute, Michael Carrick's chipped through-ball sent Bobby Zamora free but his shot was straight into Nico Vaesen's legs. Approaching half time, Routledge played in a cross and Hughes' initial strike was blocked. His second attempt from the rebound beat Bywater but was cleared off the line by Tomáš Řepka. Zamora then saw a penalty appeal denied after he felt he was fouled by Mikele Leigertwood on the edge of the Palace box. The first half ended goalless. Early in the second half, West Ham increased the pressure with Vaesen saving a 25 yd Lomas shot, and Melville's appeal for a penalty was turned down mafter his shot was blocked. The deadlock was broken in the 62nd minute as Shipperley scored for Palace. Johnson twisted and struck a shot through Dailly's legs which Bywater failed to hold, allowing Shipperley to tap the ball in from close range. David Connolly and subsequently Zamora then saw goals disallowed for offside. Carrick's shot from distance was then saved by Vaesen. In the 68th minute, West Ham made a double substitution with Deane and Nigel Reo-Coker coming on to replace Zamora and Harewood. A minute later Palace brought on Powell for Butterfield before West Ham made their third and final substitution, with Don Hutchison replacing Connolly. In the 83rd minute, Leigertwood appeared to bring down Carrick in front of Poll, but no penalty was awarded. Palace held on to win 1–0 and secure promotion to the Premier League. https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002321/20040530/500/0051 British Newspaper Archive 11 September 2020 Palace reach promised land Steve Tongue 30 May 2004 51 Sunday Tribune subscription Details 29 May 200415:00 BST Crystal Palace 1–0 West Ham United Report Shipperley 61 Millennium Stadium, Cardiff 72,523 Graham Poll (Hertfordshire) GK 27 BEL Nico VaesenRB 4 ENG Danny Butterfield 69CB 6 AUS Tony PopovićCB 24 ENG Mikele LeigertwoodLB 3 ENG Danny GranvilleRM 22 ENG Wayne Routledge CM 15 FIN Aki RiihilahtiCM 10 ENG Shaun Derry LM 17 NIR Michael Hughes CF 11 ENG Neil Shipperley (captain)CF 8 ENG Andrew JohnsonSubstitutes:GK 13 FRA Cédric BerthelinDF 32 ENG Darren Powell 69MF 14 ENG Ben WatsonMF 16 ENG Tommy BlackFW 9 SCO Dougie FreedmanManager:NIR Iain Dowie GK 32 ENG Stephen BywaterRB 2 CZE Tomáš Řepka CB 7 SCO Christian Dailly (captain)CB 22 WAL Andy MelvilleLB 17 ENG Hayden Mullins RM 10 ENG Marlon Harewood 68CM 6 ENG Michael CarrickCM 11 NIR Steve LomasLM 12 ENG Matthew Etherington CF 25 ENG Bobby Zamora 68CF 8 IRL David Connolly 74Substitutes:GK 30 CZE Pavel SrníčekDF 3 ENG Rufus BrevettMF 4 SCO Don Hutchison 74MF 20 ENG Nigel Reo-Coker 68FW 29 ENG Brian Deane 68Manager:ENG Alan Pardew +Statisticshttp://soccernet.espn.go.com/report?id=151531&cc=5739 https://archive.today/20120722205725/http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report?id=151531&cc=5739 22 July 2012 Crystal Palace 1–0 West Ham 6 September 2020 ESPN dead Statistic Crystal Palace West Ham UnitedTotal shots 12 10Shots on target 8 4Ball possession 50% 50%Corner kicks 4 9Fouls committed 17 10Offsides 2 6Yellow cards 3 4Red cards 0 0 Post-match Winning manager Dowie was quick to praise his team: "The players have shown great commitment and desire. We showed today that we are a good football side and now we have to take on the superpowers". https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002324/20040530/331/0036 British Newspaper Archive 11 September 2020 Shipperley strike sees Eagles soar to Premiership Sunday Independent 30 May 2004 36 Paul Wilson subscription He was realistic about the forthcoming season, noting "we have got to come up with a format for keeping us in the Premier League; it is a huge ask". https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002341/20040530/564/0116W British Newspaper Archive 11 September 2020 We'll Dow it my way Sunday Life 116 Paul Brown 30 May 2004 subscription His counterpart Alan Pardew described it as a "dark day" for West Ham, suggesting: "all our fans, their dreams and ambitions for the club, have been ended and it hits your right between the eyes". West Ham finished the following season in sixth place in the Championship and gained promotion through the play-offs, beating Preston North End 1–0 in the final. https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/football-league/redemption-for-pardew-as-zamora-lifts-west-ham-into-the-lite-223864.html Phil Shaw Redemption for Pardew as Zamora lifts West Ham into the élite The Independent 31 May 2005 14 August 2020 3 October 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20201003002823/https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/football-league/redemption-for-pardew-as-zamora-lifts-west-ham-into-the-lite-223864.html live Palace were relegated on the final day of the following season after a 2–2 draw with Charlton Athletic consigned them to 18th place in the table and assured their immediate return to the second tier. https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_prem/4525099.stm Charlton 2–2 C Palace BBC Sport 11 September 2020 15 May 2005 3 October 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20201003002824/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_prem/4525099.stm live References The Agony & The Ecstasy Richard Foster 978-1-910906-00-2 Ockley Books 2015 1 Football League First Division play-off final 2004 Category:EFL Championship play-off finals Category:Football finals in Wales Football League First Division play-off final Football League First Division play-off final 2004