West Ham clinched promotion to the Premier League as Ricardo Vaz
Te's late winner sealed a dramatic 2-1 victory over Blackpool in the
Championship play-off final at Wembley on Saturday.Sam
Allardyce's side survived a nervous start to take the lead through
Carlton Cole's first half strike, but Tom Ince equalised soon after the
break and Blackpool had several good chances to go ahead.Portuguese
forward Vaz Te made the Seasiders pay for their profligacy when he
struck from close-range in the 87th minute to ensure the Hammers
returned to the top-flight just 12 months after relegation.Vaz
Te's winner was crucial for a club who had invested heavily in winning
promotion and the east London outfit's place in the Premier League will
rake in between £45 million and £90 million in increased revenue
according to varying reports.Defeat was cruel on Blackpool, who
almost made the perfect start when poor defending from Matt Taylor
allowed Stephen Dobbie to squeeze past him and drive in a low strike
that Robert Green pushed onto his near post.That narrow escape
seemed to unsettle West Ham and their defence parted with alarming ease
as Matt Phillips surged clear, only to shoot tamely at Green with just
the goalkeeper to beat.West Ham's nerves were on show again when
right-back Guy Demel made a hash of clearing on the edge of his own
penalty area and Phillips stole possession before curling just wide with
the goal at his mercy.But West Ham, making their first
appearance at Wembley since 1981, gradually grew into the match and,
after Vaz Te fired just wide, Allardyce's team took the lead in the 35th
minute.As Blackpool appealed in vain for a foul on Ince, Taylor
looked up and dinked a sublime diagonal pass over the Seasiders defence
towards Cole, whose perfect first touch brought the ball under control
before his second guided a cool strike past Matt Gilks.Vaz Te
should have increased West Ham's advantage moments later when
Blackpool's statuesque back-four allowed him a clear sight of goal, but
the striker snatched at the chance and dragged it wide.West Ham
finished third, 11 points ahead of fifth-placed Blackpool, but spent
most of the season struggling to cope with the demands of their fans and
directors, who had both expected automatic promotion to the Premier
League.And they looked like cracking again as Ince fashioned a fine equaliser early in the second half.Ince's
father Paul has never been forgiven for posing in a Manchester United
shirt prior to moving to Old Trafford from West Ham and the young winger
was taunted by the Hammers fans at Wembley.They were silenced in
the 48th minute when West Ham's defenders failed to deal with Phillips'
long pass towards Ince, who produced a superb first-time strike angled
across Green into the far corner.Alex Baptiste should have given
Ian Holloway's men the lead seconds later when he ran onto a Kevin
Phillips pass, but the defender's prodded effort was cleared off the
line by Taylor.Blackpool threatened again as a flowing move cut
through the Hammers defence to set up Dobbie, who clutched his head in
frustration after scuffing woefully wide from Neal Eardley's cross.But West Ham captain Kevin Nolan hit the bar with a ferocious volley in the closing stages.And
it was Nolan who proved the catalyst for West Ham's winner as he found
the energy to sprint down the left before whipping over a low cross that
caused havoc in the Blackpool defence.Baptiste failed to clear
and Cole flicked the ball towards Vaz Te, who had the simple task of
firing high into the empty net from close-range to spark wild
celebrations.
Source: AFP