PLAYOFF FINAL WEMBLEY 2013; King Kev’s Wembley Penalty Lifts Eagles Out Of Championship As Zaha Leaves Parting Gift Of Premier League Legacy!

A 1 – 0 extra time victory over Watford at Wembley Stadium courtesy of a Zaha inspired Phillips penalty fired Palace into the Premier League... And dreamland! A crowd in excess 82,000 of which 35,000 were Palace fans witnessed the game it could be argued changed Crystal Palace’s history and future.

Billed as a £120,000,000 game this Wembley final was the climax to an epic Palace season. Team Spirit, hard work, raw emotion and determination to succeed typified this palace campaign. It was my first trip to new Wembley but I was fortunate enough to witness both the 1996 and 1997 Playoff finals at Wembley as a teenager. This was the first match I have ever witnessed in the gods of a stadium, (apart from Newcastle). It was like watching a giant Subbuteo match played on a carpet. It was fantastic to follow passages of play and sharp passes with an aerial perspective to mapping the game. It was also great to get this perspective on Wilfried Zaha’s last game for the club. Viewing his silky skills, turns, and mesmerising talent one last time from the air.

Crystal Palace was unchanged from the starting line up of the second leg of the semi final against Brighton playing in a 4-2-3-1 formation with Ward Delaney Moxey and Gabbidon at the back. Aaron Wilbraham played a lone role upfront with Zaha lining up alongside Williams on the flanks for the last time. KG, Garvan and Jedinak lined up across the middle of midfield. Watford matched up in a 3-5-2 formation with semi final hero Deeney partnering Vydra upfront.

The first half was tight and scrappy passing relatively quickly. The key moment of the half, indeed possibly the match was the injury to KG Dikgacoi and the introduction of his replacement Stuart O’Keefe. O’Keefe who had played so well in another big match at Old Trafford in 2011 fitted seamlessly alongside Jedinak in midfield leaving Palace’s momentum unaffected. He marked his arrival into the game with a crunching tackle on Jonathan Hogg. Later in the second half he was lucky not to be sent off for kicking the ball at Abdi’s face after the Watford player made a bad tackle. O’Keefe played the midfield role well and was unlucky not to score after drawing a fantastic save from the excellent Manual Almunia in the Watford goal.

A village atmosphere existed around Wembley prior to kick off. A potent mix of nervous tension and excitement among the 35,000 Palace fans excitement at the prospect of Zaha’s final bow for Palace on the biggest stage of all. Both sides mixed well and could have sold a lot more tickets but for the stupid Club Wembley ticketing system that deprived both teams of more fans in the stadium. Large swathes of the centre of the stadium were empty but they were engulfed by colour and noise red, blue, yellow and black from either end behind the goals.

I was relieved not to be playing Leicester after the pain of the 2 – 1 Wembley defeat in 1996. Steve Claridge’s shin had caused untold emotional pain and frustration on a then fourteen year olds football psyche in the 120^th minute of that match. Yet however that changed Palace’s history then, it was about to be rewritten again now. Not just because of the cruel fashion of Leicester City’s semi final defeat to Watford in 2013, but because of the magic in twenty year olds Wilfried Zaha’s feet and the penalty Prowess of a forty year old ageless superhero.... Kevin Phillips!

In the second half defences remained on top. Both goalkeepers pulled off some superb saves especially Speroni. Gabbidon and Delaney showed the defensive understanding that had propelled Palace to the top of the league in the autumn. Again Palace played the match not the occasion but this time they were roared on by 35,000 Palace fans, not the 2,000 they were restricted to at the AMMEX. Watford could not live with the Eagles energy and determination present in abundance for the final hurdle. Despite Watford taking the match into extra time substitutions again proved crucial for Ian Holloway. Wilbraham worked tirelessly without reward, but the timings of the introduction of Phillips and Moritz for Williams and Garvan gave Palace the platform to make the breakthrough.

Zaha in his final appearance for Crystal Palace before joining up with his Manchester United team mates was unplayable. He rose to the big occasion his skill and ability unlocking the door to the Premier League for Crystal Palace.  Supported by the hard work and off the ball running, tracking back, closing down and commitment from his team mates as Jedinak, O’ Keefe and Ward was immense at covering ground feeding Phillips.

The breakthrough came on 105 minutes when Zaha’s skill and Palace pressure forced Cassetti to concede a penalty. Kevin Phillips duly dispatched an unstoppable shot into the top corner. A place in the Premier League was fifteen minutes away. Seventeen years to the exact date and Memories of Leicester in 1996 were been wiped away by the boot of a forty year old Phillips. When Joel Ward cleared a last minute Forestieri shot off the line with his head, Steve Claridge’s shin punt disappeared into the ether of time and Palace won the £120 million game to return to the Premier League for the first time since 2004.

Wembley and South London rose to acclaim the fairytale of the old and the young. Thanks to Zaha, Phillips, and the foresight of the CPFC 2010 group Crystal Palace have returned back where they belong in the top flight. The dream of a legacy of sustainability and stability now is within the grasp of the Crystal Palace Football Club family as a parting gift from Wilfried Zaha!!!