2004 Football League First Division play-off final

Route to the final

Main article: 2003–04 Crystal Palace F.C. season, 2003–04 West Ham United F.C. season, 2003–04 Football League First Division

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.

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, a turnaround in form described by the BBC as "a remarkable transformation". 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. 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.

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. 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.

Match

Background

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. West Ham were making their first appearance in a second-tier playoff final. 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.

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. The referee for the match was Graham Poll representing the Hertfordshire County Football Association. Winning the final was estimated to be worth up to £30million to the successful team.

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.

Details

15:00 BST

|}

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". 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". 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. 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.

References

References

1. "Championship – 2003/2004 – Regular season".
2. (22 December 2003). "Dowie flies with the Eagles". [[The Guardian]].
3. "League Division 1 table after close of play on 22 December 2003". AFS Enterprises.
4. (29 May 2004). "Crystal Palace 1–0 West Ham". [[BBC Sport]].
5. "C Palace 3–2 Sunderland". [[BBC Sport]].
6. (17 May 2004). "Sunderland 2–1 C Palace". [[BBC Sport]].
7. "Ipswich 1–0 West Ham". [[BBC Sport]].
8. (18 May 2004). "West Ham reach final". [[BBC Sport]].
9. (25 May 2015). "Play-Off Final History & Stats". [[Sporting Life (British newspaper).
10. "Football League First Division – 2003/04". Centurycomm.
11. (25 November 2003). "Harewood seals Hammers move". [[BBC Sport]].
12. "Crystal Palace football club: record v West Ham United".
13. (29 May 2004). "Crystal Palace 1–0 West Ham". [[BBC Sport]].
14. It was the fourth time the second tier play-off final was hosted by the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.Foster, p. 132
15. Tongue, Steve. (30 May 2004). "Palace reach promised land". [[Sunday Tribune]].
16. "Crystal Palace 1–0 West Ham". [[ESPN]].
17. Wilson, Paul. (30 May 2004). "Shipperley strike sees Eagles soar to Premiership". [[Sunday Independent (Ireland).
18. Brown, Paul. (30 May 2004). "We'll Dow it my way". [[Sunday Life (newspaper).
19. Shaw, Phil. (31 May 2005). "Redemption for Pardew as Zamora lifts West Ham into the élite". [[The Independent]].
20. (15 May 2005). "Charlton 2–2 C Palace". [[BBC Sport]].