2014 Football League Championship play-off final

Association football match in London December 2017 December 2017 2014 Football League Championship play-off final Wembley-Stadion 2013.jpg The match was played at Wembley Stadium. 2013–14 Football League Championship Derby County 0 Queens Park Rangers 1 24 May 2014 Wembley Stadium London Richard Dunne Lee Mason 87,348 Rainy 2013 2015 The 2014 Football League Championship play-off final was an association football match which was played on 24 May 2014 at Wembley Stadium, London, between Derby County and Queens Park Rangers. The match was to determine the third and final team to gain promotion from the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football, to the Premier League. The top two teams of the 2013–14 Football League Championship season 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; Derby County ended the season in third place while Queens Park Rangers finished fourth. The winners of these semi-finals competed for the final place for the 2014–15 season in the Premier League. Winning the game was estimated to be worth up to £120million to the successful team. The 2014 final, refereed by Lee Mason, was watched by a crowd of more than 87,000 people in rainy conditions. Queens Park Rangers won 1–0, with the only goal of the game coming from Bobby Zamora in the last minute of the game. It was QPR's first appearance in a second tier play-off final, although they had lost in the League One playoffs to Cardiff City in the 2003 final. Queens Park Rangers were relegated back to the Championship the following season, as they finished bottom of the Premier League. Derby finished the following season in eighth place in the Championship, missing out on play-offs by a single point. Route to the final 2013–14 Football League Championship main WDL Q right auto Football League Championship final table, leading positions LEI BUR DER QPR WIG BHA 31 9 6 83 43 Leicester City 26 15 5 72 37 Burnley 25 10 11 84 52 Derby County 23 11 12 60 44 Queens Park Rangers 21 10 15 61 48 Wigan Athletic 19 15 12 55 40 Brighton & Hove Albion complete Derby County finished the regular 2013–14 season in third place in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system, one place ahead of Queens Park Rangers (QPR). Both therefore missed out on the two automatic places for promotion to the Premier League and instead took part in the play-offs to determine the third promoted team. Derby finished eight points behind Burnley (who were promoted in second place) and seventeen behind league winners Leicester City. QPR ended the season five points behind Derby.https://www.11v11.com/league-tables/league-championship/2014/ League Championship end of season table for 2013–14 season 11v11.com 2 May 2020 AFS Enterprises https://us.soccerway.com/national/england/championship/20132014/regular-season/r21389/ Soccerway 9 May 2020 Championship – 2013/2014 – Regular Season Queens Park Rangers faced Wigan Athletic in their play-off semi-final, with the first leg taking place at the DW Stadium. Wigan were without their top scorer Nick Powell who was suffering from tonsillitis. It was a game with few chances and neither team really dominated: it ended goalless. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/27269916 Wigan Athletic 0–0 Queens Park Rangers 2 May 2020 9 May 2014 Jonathan Jurejko BBC Sport https://web.archive.org/web/20200227231413/https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/27269916 27 February 2020 live The second leg was held at Loftus Road three days later. Wigan took the lead with an early goal from James Perch before Charlie Austin equalised from the penalty spot in the 73rd minute after Gary Caldwell fouled Junior Hoilett in the Wigan area. No further goals were scored in regular time so the game went into extra time. Austin scored his second and the winner in the 96th minute when his shot beat Scott Carson. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/27280896 Queens Park Rangers 2–1 Wigan Athletic 2 May 2020 12 May 2014 Nabil Hassan BBC Sport https://web.archive.org/web/20191121051709/https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/27280896 21 November 2019 live In the other play-off semi-final, Derby County's opponents were Brighton & Hove Albion, against whom they played the first leg at the Falmer Stadium. The home team took the lead after 18 minutes through Jesse Lingard but Derby equalised with a Chris Martin penalty awarded after Matthew Upson fouled Craig Forsyth. The winning goal for the visitors came in first-half injury time when Martin's shot rebounded off the bar, striking Brighton goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak on the back before crossing the line for an own goal. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/27269915 BBC Sport 2 May 2020 8 May 2014 Nabil Hassan Brighton & Hove Albion 1–2 Derby County https://web.archive.org/web/20191016020805/https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/27269915 16 October 2019 live In the return leg at Pride Park, Will Hughes scored Derby's first goal from a Jamie Ward cross and Martin doubled the lead early in the second half. A George Thorne volley made it 3–0 to the home side and Jeff Hendrick extended the lead from a Patrick Bamford pass, and although Brighton scored a consolation through Kazenga LuaLua, the match ended 4–1, and Derby progressed to the play-off final as 6–2 aggregate winners. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/27273132 Derby County 4–1 Brighton & Hove Albion 2 May 2020 11 May 2014 Michael Emons BBC Sport https://web.archive.org/web/20200111051711/https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/27273132 11 January 2020 live Derby CountyRound Queens Park RangersOpponentResultLegsSemi-finalsOpponentResultLegsBrighton & Hove Albion6–22–1 away; 4–1 home Wigan Athletic2–1 0–0 home; 2–1 away Match Background This was Derby's third Championship play-off final, having lost 2–1 against Leicester City in the 1994 final at the old Wembley Stadium, and winning 1–0 against West Bromwich Albion in the 2007 final. https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/play-records-derby-county-leeds-2841709 Derby Telegraph The play-off records of Derby County, Leeds United, West Brom and Aston Villa compared Josh Murray 2 May 2020 8 May 2019 Queens Park Rangers were making their first appearance in a second tier play-off final, although they had played in the League One playoffs, losing out to Cardiff City in the 2003 final in extra time. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/26644919 Championship play-off final: QPR and Derby in numbers BBC Sport 2 May 2020 23 May 2014 https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_2/3051017.stm Cardiff seal promotion 2 May 2020 25 May 2003 BBC Sport https://web.archive.org/web/20060308012757/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_2/3051017.stm 8 March 2006 live During the regular season, both teams had won their home games against one another. In November 2013, QPR won 2–1 at Loftus Road while Derby won the contest at Pride Park the following February. https://www.11v11.com/teams/derby-county/tab/matches/season/2014/ 11v11.com 2 May 2020 Derby County football club match record: 2014 AFS Enterprises QPR's top scorer for the season was Austin, with 20 goals, while Martin scored more than any other player for Derby, also with 20. https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2056447-championship-playoffs-2014-results-final-scores-and-updated-fixtures Bleacher Report 2 May 2020 Championship Playoffs 2014: Results, Final Scores and Updated Fixtures Gianni Verscheuren 8 May 2014 https://web.archive.org/web/20140514094557/http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2056447-championship-playoffs-2014-results-final-scores-and-updated-fixtures 14 May 2014 live https://www.brentfordfc.com/news/2014/july/championship-guide-derby-county/ Brentford F.C. 2 May 2020 Championship guide: Derby County Chris Wickham 2 July 2014 7 September 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200907065158/https://www.brentfordfc.com/news/2014/july/championship-guide-derby-county/ dead Derby midfielder Hughes had recently been named as the Football League Young Player of the Year at the Football League Awards. https://www.dcfc.co.uk/news/2014/03/hughes-named-fl-young-player-of-the-year Derby County F.C. Hughes named FL Young Player of the Year 17 March 2014 2 May 2020 Derby County fans were located in the West End of Wembley, with an allocation of 37,249, while QPR supporters were situated in the East End, with an allocation of 37,332. https://www.efl.com/news/2014/may/sky-bet-championship-play-off-final-ticket-information/ Sky Bet Championship Play-Off Final ticket information 13 May 2014 2 May 2020 English Football League The final was refereed by Lee Mason, with assistant referees Darren England and John Brooks, while Jonathan Moss acted as fourth official. https://www.qpr.co.uk/news/archive/championship-play-off-final-ref-watch-lee-mason/ Queens Park Rangers F.C. 2 May 2020 21 May 2014 Championship play-off Final ref watch: Lee Mason It was reported in the media and press that the match was worth up to £120million to the winning club over three years through sponsorship and television deals. https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/football-league/championship-play-off-final-2014-derby-v-qpr-match-preview-9422858.html The Independent 2 May 2020 23 May 2014 Championship play-off final 2014: Derby v QPR match preview Zander Swinburne QPR's Benoît Assou-Ekotto was expected to be fit for the final having missed both semi-finals with a knee injury, and although Niko Kranjčar picked up a hamstring injury in the second leg of their semi-final, he was also available. The club's long-term injuries included Alejandro Faurlín, Jermaine Jenas and Matt Phillips. Derby's Craig Bryson was back in full training after a semi-final back injury, otherwise their squad was fully fit. https://www.efl.com/news/2014/may/play-off-team-news-derby-county-v-queens-park-rangers/ 23 May 2014 Play-Off team news: Derby County v Queens Park Rangers 2 May 2020 English Football League Kranjčar was named in QPR's starting line-up but Assou-Ekotto missed out, while Derby's Bryson was on the bench. https://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/may/24/qpr-derby-championship-play-off-final-live The Guardian 24 May 2014 2 May 2020 Derby v QPR: Championship play-off final – as it happened Jacob Steinberg https://web.archive.org/web/20160405205826/http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/may/24/qpr-derby-championship-play-off-final-live 5 April 2016 live First half thumb|right|alt=Robert Green|Robert Green (pictured in 2010) made a number of important saves for QPR. Derby kicked the match off at around 3p.m. in wet conditions in front of a crowd of 87,348. In the fourth minute, Derby's Johnny Russell beat two QPR players and passed to Hughes who was fouled by Gary O'Neil. The resulting free kick was defended by the QPR wall. Two minutes later QPR won a corner, which was cleared by Thorne away from Richard Dunne before Derby's Austin struck over the bar at the other end. In the 15th minute, Richard Keogh brought Austin down but Joey Barton's free kick came to nothing. Subsequent shots from Kevin Doyle and Barton were both unsuccessful and on 24 minutes, Ward's cross was headed over by Forsyth. Three minutes later Derby's appeal for a penalty after Hughes went down in the QPR box was dismissed by the referee Mason. In the 29th minute another shot from Ward, this time from 25 yards, was deflected for a corner which was cleared by QPR. The first substitution of the game was forced upon the London club with Kranjčar suffering a hamstring injury. He was replaced in the 33rd minute by Armand Traoré after Hughes' shot for Derby went over the bar. Robert Green made his first save of the afternoon, pushing Ward's curling direct free kick around the post, going on to catch Hughes' subsequent corner. After one minute of injury time, the referee brought the half to a close with the score at 0–0. https://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/may/24/qpr-derby-championship-play-off-final-live The Guardian Derby v QPR: Championship play-off final – as it happened Jacob Steinberg 24 May 2014 3 May 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20160405205826/http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/may/24/qpr-derby-championship-play-off-final-live 5 April 2016 live Second half Queens Park Rangers started the second half and in the 51st minute, a Ward pass was put out for a corner by Dunne which was subsequently cleared by Danny Simpson. Two further corners followed but with no end product, as the game remained goalless. In the 57th minute, Doyle passed to Traore whose pull back found Austin who struck the ball wide of the post from 12 yards. It was Doyle's last involvement as he was then replaced by Bobby Zamora in QPR's second substitution of the afternoon. In the 60th minute, O'Neil was shown a red card for fouling Russell as he was about to shoot. Soon after, to bolster the QPR midfield, Clint Hill was replaced by Karl Henry. Derby made their first substitutions of the game, with Bryson on for Hughes and Simon Dawkins replacing Russell. Two minutes later Bryson forced Green to make a low save, then Martin's shot from a Bryson pass needed the QPR goalkeeper to make a reaction save from the corner of the six-yard box. Hendrick drew another save from Green in the 75th minute, the rebound from Ward being blocked by teammate Martin. Another Hendrick shot in the 87th minute went straight to Green and in the last minute of regular time, QPR's Zamora curled a shot past Grant to make the score 1–0. Three minutes of injury were indicated, and in the last of those, Bamford came on for Ward and his attempted overhead kick was deflected behind by Barton. Derby goalkeeper Grant came up for the corner which was kicked out for a throw by Keogh, and a minute later the final whistle was blown, QPR winning the match 1–0. Details 24 May 2014 15:00 BST Derby County 0–1 Report Queens Park Rangers Zamora 90 Wembley Stadium, London 87,348 Lee Mason (Lancashire) _derbyc1314h _derbyc1314h _derbyc1314h _derbyc1314h _derbyc1314hl FFFFFF FFFFFF FFFFFF 000000 FFFFFF Derby County _qpr1314a _qpr1314a _qpr1314a _qpraway13 000000 CF1F2A 000000 FF0000 000000 Queens Park Rangers GK 1 ENG Lee GrantRB 33ENG Andre WisdomCB 6 IRL Richard Keogh (c)CB 25ENG Jake BuxtonLB 3 SCO Craig ForsythRM 8 IRL Jeff HendrickCM 34ENG George ThorneLM 19ENG Will Hughes 68RF 11SCO Johnny Russell 67CF 9SCO Chris MartinLF 10 NIR Jamie Ward 90+2Substitutes:GK 26ENG Adam LegzdinsDF 27USA Zak WhitbreadMF 4 SCO Craig Bryson 68MF 14ENG John EustaceFW 18IRL Conor SammonFW 32JAM Simon Dawkins 67FW 35ENG Patrick Bamford 90+2Manager:ENG Steve McClaren300px GK 1 ENG Robert GreenRB 2 ENG Danny SimpsonCB 15ENG Nedum OnuohaCB 5 IRL Richard DunneLB 6 ENG Clint Hill (c) 67RM 19CRO Niko Kranjčar 33CM 17ENG Joey BartonCM 36ENG Gary O'Neil 0 60LM 23CAN Junior HoilettCF 9 ENG Charlie AustinCF 14IRL Kevin Doyle 57Substitutes:GK 26IRL Brian MurphyDF 3 SEN Armand Traoré 33DF 13KOR Yun Suk-youngDF 18NIR Aaron HughesMF 4 ENG Ravel MorrisonMF 20ENG Karl Henry 67FW 25ENG Bobby Zamora 90+1 57Manager:ENG Harry Redknapp Man of the Match: Richard Dunne Assistant referees: Darren England John Brooks Fourth official: Jonathan MossMatch rules: 90 minutes. 30 minutes of extra time if necessary. Penalty shoot-out if scores still level. Seven named substitutes. Maximum of three substitutions. Statistics right|upright|thumb|alt=Bobby Zamora|Bobby Zamora scored the only goal of the game. +Statisticshttps://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/27452294 Derby County 0–1 Queens Park Rangers BBC Sport 24 May 2014 24 May 2014 https://web.archive.org/web/20140524063904/http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/27452294 24 May 2014 live Derby County Queens Park RangersGoals 0 1Total shots 16 11Shots on target 5 1Ball possession 68% 32%Corner kicks 14 1Fouls committed 11 10Yellow cards 0 1Red cards 0 1 Post-match The Derby manager Steve McClaren said "it was the cruellest game ever... I've lost some games in my career but that is the cruellest." https://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/may/24/steve-mcclaren-derby-qpr-play-off-cruellest-game The Guardian 3 May 2020 24 May 2014 Stuart James Steve McClaren: Derby's play-off defeat to QPR was 'cruellest game ever' https://web.archive.org/web/20160103225004/http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/may/24/steve-mcclaren-derby-qpr-play-off-cruellest-game 3 January 2016 live His counterpart, Harry Redknapp, remarked "it was an amazing finish to the game. We were hanging on really and looking to get to extra time... And then Bobby sticks one in the top corner." The QPR midfielder Barton was gracious in victory, noting "I feel sorry for Derby, they played fantastic today and they deserved to win." The QPR defender Richard Dunne was named as man of the match. QPR ended the following season at the foot of the Premier League table, eight points from safety and were relegated back to the Championship for the 2015–16 season. https://www.11v11.com/teams/queens-park-rangers/tab/leagueTables/2015/ 11v11.com 3 May 2020 Premier League table at close of 2014–15 season AFS Enterprises Derby finished the next season in eighth place, missing out on the 2015 Football League play-offs by a single point. https://www.11v11.com/teams/derby-county/tab/leagueTables/2015/ 11v11.com 3 May 2020 League Championship table at close of 2014–15 season AFS Enterprises References C Category:EFL Championship play-off finals 1 Play-off Final Play-off Final 2014 Play-off Final 2014 Football League Championship play-off final Football League Championship play-off final