Penalty Shootout ends, Sheffield Wednesday 5(5), Peterborough United 1(3).Penalty missed! Dan Butler (Peterborough United) right footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right.Penalty saved! Cameron Dawson (Sheffield Wednesday) saves in the centre of the goal.Penalty scored! Jack Hunt (Sheffield Wednesday) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the bottom right corner.Penalty scored! Matt Godden (Peterborough United) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the bottom left corner.Penalty scored! Josh Windass (Sheffield Wednesday) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the bottom left corner.Penalty scored! Barry Bannan (Sheffield Wednesday) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the bottom left corner.Penalty scored! Nathan Thompson (Peterborough United) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the bottom left corner.Penalty scored! Will Vaulks (Sheffield Wednesday) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the bottom right corner.
On an unforgettable night in South Yorkshire, Sheffield Wednesday pulled off the greatest play-off comeback in English Football League history to beat Peterborough United on penalties and secure their place at Wembley in the League One play-off final. Wednesday had trailed 4-0 from the first leg, but made the perfect start when Michael Smith slotted home a penalty in the opening 10 minutes to give the home fans renewed hope a miracle could be on the cards. Lee Gregory then tapped in to make it 2-0 after 25 minutes and Reece James got the third with a close-range finish before Liam Palmer scrambled home with the last kick of the 90 minutes to spark pandemonium.
A shell-shocked Posh had scarcely got out of their own half in the second half of normal time but Gregory deflected a Nathan Thompson header into his own net in extra time to put the visitors back in front on aggregate, only for Callum Paterson to poke home at the second attempt to send the tie to penalty kicks. Dan Butler’s effort hit the crossbar and went over while every other penalty was scored in a shootout befitting the 120 minutes which had preceded it.
Wednesday, who were the first team in EFL history to win 96 points and not go up automatically, will now face either Bolton or Barnsley at Wembley on Monday, 29 May. Prior to this tie no team had ever overcome more than a two-goal first-leg deficit in the EFL play-offs to reach the final.
In front of a raucous crowd, Marvin Johnson was clattered to the ground on the very edge of the penalty area by Joe Ward and Smith confidently rolled home his spot-kick. Posh were rocked but still came close to a leveller on the night when Kwame Poku showed good feet before drilling a low shot at goal that Cameron Dawson got down well to. Wednesday had wrested control of the play by the time the whistle was blown on an utterly frenetic first half.
They picked up where they had left off in the second half and Norris made a superb diving save to keep out a spectacular overhead kick from Gregory, and then denied Josh Windass with a more routine stop. Wednesday continued to pour forward in search of a third and 29-goal Posh striker Jonson Clarke-Harris was frequently left to fill in as an extra centre-back as the visitors’ defending became ever more desperate. It was just a matter of time until the pressure told and James struck from six yards after Gregory cleverly dummied a through ball.
Moore brought on centre-back Aden Flint to play up front for the final few minutes of time added on and it proved crucial as the defender headed down a deep cross for Palmer to smuggle over the line. Peterborough had not had a shot for the whole of the second half but retook the lead on aggregate when Gregory unfortunately deflected in Thompson’s header from a Butler free-kick just before half-time in extra time. Wednesday did not give in though and after Paterson popped up with another leveller, Smith, Will Vaulks, Barry Bannan, Josh Windass and finally Hunt scored from the spot to spark wild celebrations as home fans raced on to the pitch.
Peterborough were ultimately the fall guys on this surreal night. Boss Darren Ferguson, in his fourth spell with the club, had looked set to lead them to Wembley and the possibility of his fifth promotion with the club. The Scot returned in January after Grant McCann’s departure and led the team into the play-offs at the expense of Derby, who lost at Hillsborough, courtesy of a final-day win at Barnsley. His contract with the club is now up and he said things were “too raw” for him to think about next season. Ferguson also said the referee’s decision to play eight minutes of time added on at the end, having signalled a minimum of six, was “not right”.
No two games are the same, we knew this is a very rare place in League One in terms of the momentum that the place can give you. Sheffield Wednesday overcame an insurmountable mountain to climb after Friday’s 4-0 thumping in Cambridgeshire and will now face either Bolton or Barnsley at Wembley on Monday, 29 May. It was a cruel game at times, but congratulations to Sheffield Wednesday for pulling off this incredible comeback and making history.