Huddsf’ld 0 – 1 N Forest
Nottingham Forest sealed their return to the Premier League after 23 years away thanks to a 1-0 win against Huddersfield at Wembley.
Levi Colwill’s own goal after 43 minutes was the difference between the sides in the Championship play-off final on Sunday, meaning Forest will play in the top flight for the first time since 1999.
It completes a remarkable season for Forest, who were bottom of the table after eight games when Steve Cooper took over in late September.
Huddersfield, meanwhile, see their dream of getting back to the Premier League after three years away come to an end.
How Forest sealed their top-flight return
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Huddersfield’s Levi Colwill turns the ball into his own net
The breakthrough came just before half-time for Forest via the unfortunate Colwill, who inadvertently turned James Garner’s shot into his own net with an outstretched leg that left Lee Nicholls in the Huddersfield goal helpless.
Huddersfield were struggling to create chances and threw on their semi-final matchwinner Jordan Rhodes and Duane Holmes with a quarter of the game to go to try and find a way back into the game.
A short while later they finally got in behind Forest as Holmes raced in and found Harry Toffolo in the middle. He then appeared to go down under the challenge of Jack Colback, but referee Jon Moss deemed it a dive and booked the Huddersfield man – with a VAR check then upholding his decision. Appeals were also waved away for a later appeal when Max Lowe got into a tangle with Lewis O’Brien in the box.
And that would be that for Huddersfield’s challenge, in a disappointing conclusion to what has otherwise been an unexpectedly brilliant campaign from Carlos Corberan’s side.
Should Huddersfield have had two penalties?
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Huddersfield were denied two penalties after challenges on Harry Toffolo and Lewis O’Brien were not given as spot-kicks
The fact of the matter is that Huddersfield barely troubled Forest in open play throughout 90 minutes at Wembley, but they may have felt they should have been given a penalty on two occasions in the closing stages of the second.
In the first event, Toffolo was booked for diving after he seemed to be clipped by Colback, the second as O’Brien was felled by Max Lowe in the penalty area. Again, though, referee Moss was not interested.
Stuart Pearce on Sky Sports Football:
“I think there’s contact. I would have given a penalty on the back of that. I think there’s an element of frustration in that the referee wasn’t asked to go to his monitor to re-check it.”
Former Huddersfield defender Michael Hefele on Sky Sports Football:
“It’s shocking. Huddersfield were robbed. The VAR is here. If you don’t give the penalty for the first one then you have to give this one as you know you made a mistake for the first one.”
‘Forest will be a credit to the Premier League’
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Forest lift the Championship play-off trophy as they return to the Premier League for the first time in 23 years
Nottingham Forest legend Stuart Pearce on Sky Sports Football:
“Forest will be a massive credit to the Premier League next season. Credit to Huddersfield, but over the 90 minutes the better side won.
“The atmosphere inside the stadium was incredible. I never played in a Forest team at Wembley with this type of atmosphere. You can see what it means to this football club. They have waited so long for this. I’m very proud of their achievement.
“On a one-off occasion, this is a wonderful way of getting promoted, especially with the way Forest have done it with their history. This is now the manager and player’s job to create the next chapter of history at the club.”
Worrall: I’m proud of everyone
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Forest defender and life-long fan Joe Worrall gives an emotional interview after the victory
Nottingham Forest captain Joe Worrall on Sky Sports Football:
“I’m just so proud of the players, of the staff, the fans. We’ve been fantastic all season and were really unlucky not to go up automatically, in my opinion. We’ve played with honesty and we play the right way.
“We’ve been really good, and it’s not just this season – I’m not saying we’ve been good in the past seasons because we’ve been sh**e – but it has been a long time coming. This club hasn’t been in the top flight for a long time and I’ve seen a lot of good people come and go, who have all added to this football club. It’s such an honour to captain Forest.”
What’s next?
The fixtures for the 2022/23 Premier League season will be released on Thursday, June 16. The EFL fixtures will be on Thursday, June 23. You can follow both days of announcements across Sky Sports.
