© EuroFootball.com
On Tuesday evening, the first second-leg playoffs for the right to play in the "Premier" League were played in the "Championship" division in England. "Derby," who finished 3rd in the regular season, defeated "Southampton" who finished 6th after a dramatic battle and moved closer to their dream of returning to the prestigious English division after a 5-year break.
"Derby" 2 - 3 "Southampton", penalties 4-3 (First leg 2-1, aggregate result 4-4) 3' [1 – 0] Darren Moore 4' [1 – 1] John Viafara 54' [1 – 2] John Viafara 65' [2 – 2] Leon Best (own goal) 89' [2 – 3] Grzegorz Rasiak
Just 3 minutes in, after a corner, Darren Moore scored a goal with a strong header and increased "Derby's" overall lead to 2 goals. However, "Southampton" equalized just a minute later, when John Viafra scored with a long shot. This "Saints" defender then reversed the result in favor of the visitors at the beginning of the second half.
However, it soon went wrong for "Southampton" player Leon Best - he tried to clear the ball with a kick after a corner but it ended up spinning into his own net.
The visitors needed another goal and they achieved it at the end of the match, when Polish striker Grzegorz Rasiak, who previously played for "Derby," scored after a pass from L. Best, who had just come on as a substitute.
Since away goals do not count in England, extra time had to be played. During extra time, the hosts had a slight advantage - once "Southampton" defender Chris Baird headed the ball off the goal line.
During extra time, neither team scored, so the match had to be extended to penalties. Here, two of the visiting players, Leon Best and Inigo Idiakez, failed to score and "Derby," who scored without errors, celebrated victory with a penalty shootout of 4-3.
After the match, the home team's fans stormed the field and celebrated success together with the players.
"It was an unbelievable evening. It was a great match, both teams deserved each other, and I think we performed excellently and won deservedly," said the winning coach Billy Davies, soaked from the rain and excited after the match.
In the decisive match for the right to play in the "Premier" League at the end of May at London's "Wembley" stadium, "Derby" will face "Wolves" or "W.B.A." These teams will determine their relationship on Wednesday.
Earlier, "Sunderland" and "Birmingham" were promoted directly from the "Championship" division to the "Premier" League, having only dropped out of the top flight last year.
