 The match was played at Wembley Stadium. | |||||||
| Event | 2016–17 EFL Championship | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| Afterextra time Huddersfield Town won 4–3 onpenalties | |||||||
| Date | 29 May 2017 | ||||||
| Venue | Wembley Stadium, London | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Aaron Mooy (Huddersfield Town) | ||||||
| Referee | Neil Swarbrick (Lancashire) | ||||||
| Attendance | 76,682 | ||||||
←2016 2018 → | |||||||
The2017 EFL Championship play-off final was anassociation football match that was played on 29 May 2017 atWembley Stadium, London, betweenHuddersfield Town andReading. The match determined the third and final team to gainpromotion from theEFL Championship, the second tier ofEnglish football, to thePremier League. The top two teams of the2016–17 EFL Championship season gained automatic promotion to the Premier League, while the teams placed from third to sixth place in the table partook in play-off semi-finals; Reading finished in third place while Huddersfield ended the season in fifth position. The winners of these ties competed for the final place for the2017–18 season in the Premier League.Sheffield Wednesday andFulham were the losing semi-finalists. Winning the play-off final was estimated to be worth £170 million through sponsorship and television deals to the successful team.
The game, which was refereed byNeil Swarbrick, was played in front of a crowd of 76,682. It ended goalless in regular time and the deadlock was not broken by the end of extra time. Apenalty shootout was required to determine the winner for the third time in the history of the second tier play-off final. AlthoughMichael Hefele was the first to miss, Reading'sLiam Moore's shot was wayward andJordan Obita's attempt was saved byDanny Ward, leavingChristopher Schindler to score the winning penalty for the Terriers. Huddersfield won the final 4–3 on penalties, and their midfielderAaron Mooy was selected as theman of the match.
The following season, Huddersfield's first back in the top tier of English football since 1972, saw them finish 16th in thePremier League. Reading ended the2017–18 EFL Championship season in 20th position, three points above the relegation zone.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Newcastle United | 46 | 29 | 7 | 10 | 85 | 40 | +45 | 94 |
| 2 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 46 | 28 | 9 | 9 | 74 | 40 | +34 | 93 |
| 3 | Reading | 46 | 26 | 7 | 13 | 68 | 64 | +4 | 85 |
| 4 | Sheffield Wednesday | 46 | 24 | 9 | 13 | 60 | 45 | +15 | 81 |
| 5 | Huddersfield Town | 46 | 25 | 6 | 15 | 56 | 58 | −2 | 81 |
| 6 | Fulham | 46 | 22 | 14 | 10 | 85 | 57 | +28 | 80 |
Reading F.C. finished the regular2016–17 season in third place in theEFL Championship, the second tier of theEnglish football league system, two places ahead ofHuddersfield Town. Both therefore missed out on the two automatic places forpromotion to thePremier League and instead took part in theplay-offs to determine the third promoted team. Reading finished four points behindBrighton & Hove Albion (who were promoted in second place) and nine behind league winnersNewcastle United. Huddersfield ended the season four points behind Reading, and were the only club in the top eleven to have a negativegoal difference.[1][2]
Reading facedFulham in their play-off semi-final and the first leg was played away atCraven Cottage. The match ended 1–1, with goals fromJordan Obita for Reading and Fulham'sTom Cairney. With ten minutes of the game remaining, Reading's defenderPaul McShane was shown a straight red for a foul onKevin McDonald.[3] In the second leg, Reading won 1–0 at their home ground, theMadejski Stadium, with a penalty scored byYann Kermorgant after Fulham'sTomáš Kalas had handled the ball. This gave them a 2–1 aggregate victory and qualification for the play-off final.Ali Al-Habsi, the Reading goalkeeper, made a number of saves to keep aclean sheet and was praised by his managerJaap Stam: "It was a terrific performance. That's why he's paid to be in goal and be our last line of defence".[4]
Huddersfield Town went into their first leg match againstSheffield Wednesday having failed to beat them in their last seven encounters. The game ended in a draw at Huddersfield's home ground, theKirklees Stadium, despite Huddersfield's domination in possession and shots.[5] The second leg finished 1–1 after extra time, as Wednesday scored first throughSteven Fletcher only forTom Lees to score anown goal to equalise for Huddersfield Town. The resultingpenalty shoot-out finished 4–3 in Huddersfield's favour with their goalkeeper,Danny Ward saving two Wednesday penalties, fromSam Hutchinson andFernando Forestieri. Prior to the game, Hudderfield's German managerDavid Wagner had joked: "everyone knows Germans are able to win penalties".[6]
| Reading | Round | Huddersfield Town | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opponent | Result | Legs | Semi-finals | Opponent | Result | Legs |
| Fulham | 2–1 | 1–1 away; 1–0 home | Sheffield Wednesday | 1–1 (4–3p.) | 0–0 home; 1–1 (a.e.t.) away | |
Reading's last appearance in the play-off final had been in2011 when they lost 4–2 toSwansea City.[7] Reading had never won a play-off competition, having previously lost toBolton Wanderers in the1995 First Division play-off final and toWalsall in the2001 Second Division play-off final.[8][9] Reading had also lost in the second-tier play-off semi-finals in2003 and2009.[10][11] Huddersfield had an extensive history in the play-offs, including four appearances in the finals: promotions from the second tier in1995 and from the third tier in2004 and2012, having lostthe previous season. Prior to the 2017 final, Huddersfield had played twenty-two matches in league play-offs, winning eight, drawing eight and losing six.[12] During the regular season, both teams had won their home fixtures against one another, with a 1–0 win for Reading in September and a win by the same scoreline in February for Huddersfield.[13] The German-bornElias Kachunga was Huddersfield's top scorer for the season with 12 goals, while Reading's Kermorgant was his team's most prolific striker having scored 18 times prior to the semi-finals.[14] Reading had last been in the top flight of English football in 2013 while Huddersfield had last experienced football at the highest domestic tier in the1971–72 season.[15]
Reading were without captain Paul McShane who was shown astraight red card in their play-off semi-final first leg game at Fulham.[16] Other than Jordan Obita being named among the substitutes, Reading named the same team as for their previous match.[17] Huddersfield's starting line up was unchanged from their semi-final second leg, including Elias Kachunga who had recovered from a hamstring injury suffered in the second leg of the semi-final.[18]
The final was refereed byNeil Swarbrick from theLancashire County Football Association, with assistant referees Jake Collin and Darren Cann, whileStuart Attwell acted as the fourth official.[19] It was widely reported that the game was worth at around £170 million over three years to the winners through sponsorship and television deals.[20][21] Reading were allocated 38,342 tickets for the final in the eastern half of Wembley Stadium, with Huddersfield being allocated the western half of the ground. Ticket prices ranged from £36 to £98 for adults, with concessions being half price.[22] Huddersfield were considered favourites by the media and bookmakers to win the match, which was broadcast in the UK onSky Sports.[21] Before the match commenced, a minute's silence was held to commemorate the victims of theManchester Arena bombing.[15]
Kermorgant kicked off for Reading at 3:04 p.m. in front of a crowd of 76,682. In the 4th minute, Huddersfield won afree kick which was taken byAaron Mooy but the resulting cross was headed wide byMichael Hefele.[23] The Yorkshire club dominated the early stages and in the 11th minute a cross to the far post from Kachunga was struck wide of the post byIzzy Brown from three yards. Two minutes later,Lewis Grabban's shot passed wide of Huddersfield's post. Kachunga was then brought down byJoey van den Berg who received the firstyellow card of the game from the referee Neil Swarbrick. Two minutes later Kermorgant was also booked, for a foul on the Huddersfield captainTommy Smith. Midway through the first half, Kermogant foundChris Gunter, who needed treatment after he was tackled strongly byChris Löwe.[15] In the 28th minute,Jonathan Hogg fouledDanny Williams and received the third yellow card of the game.[24] Five minutes later Mooy brought down Kermorgant and was awarded a free kick, whichJohn Swift struck wide of the Huddersfield goal from 35 yards. The half ended goalless with Reading dominant in possession but Huddersfield having the better chances to score.[25][26]
Early in the second half, a shot from Löwe from distance was caught by Reading's Al-Habsi.[26] Two minutes later, Swift was put through on goal byGeorge Evans but his shot was saved by the Huddersfield goalkeeper Ward. In the 54th minute, a deep Van den Bergcorner was hooked over the bar by Kermogant. Reading had the majority of the second half possession and won a free-kick wide on the left after Kachunga fouledTyler Blackett. The cross into the box was punched clear by Ward. In the 60th minute Kachunga was booked fordissent. A minute later Hefele was brought down in the area by Van den Berg but Huddersfield's appeals for a penalty were turned down. The first substitution of the game was made in the 64th minute as Reading's Obita came on to replace Van den Berg. Two minutes later, Huddersfield made their first substitution withCollin Quaner coming on for Kachunga.[25] Chances for both sides followed before Grabban was replaced byGarath McCleary in the 74th minute.[27] Smith was then booked for a foul on Williams before a snatched shot by Quaner from a Mooy cross, intended forNahki Wells, went wide. In the 82nd minute, a shot fromTiago Ilori after a cross by Obita was deflected out by Hefele. With three minutes of normal time remaining, Smith was stretchered off the pitch after a challenge from Kermogant, and was replaced byMartin Cranie. Two minutes into the seven minutes of injury time, Gunter headed over the bar from a McCleary cross. A late shot from Swift went wide and with seconds remaining, a low shot from Wells was well covered by Al-Habsi. The half ended goalless sending the match into extra time.[28][29]
Huddersfield kicked off the first period of extra time and within two minutes, a header from Brown header was cleared by the Reading defenderLiam Moore. Once again Reading dominated possession but made few chances. After eight minutes, Huddersfield made their final substitution withKasey Palmer replacing Brown, with Reading'sLiam Kelly coming on for Swift two minutes later. Al-Habsi then stopped aRajiv van La Parra chance before McCleary shot high and wide past the Huddersfield goal.[28] Obita was then booked for whatBarry Glendenning ofThe Guardian referred to as a "rugby tackle" on Quaner.[30] In the last action of the first half of extra time, Kelly played McCleary in only for him to shoot wide of the right post; the half ended 0–0.[31] Reading started the second half of extra time but Huddersfield enjoyed the early possession with missed chances from Hefele and Van La Parra. With three minutes of extra time remaining, Palmer passed to Wells just inside the Reading penalty area but his shot was wide of the left post. A last-minute free kick from Löwe came to nothing and extra time ended goalless, sending the second tier play-off final to a penalty shootout for the third time ever.[30][32]
Penalties were taken at the Huddersfield end, with Reading's Kermorgant commencing the shootout. Ward dived the right way but Kermogant's shot was too good. Löwe stepped up to equalise the shootout with a low, hard shot. Williams' strike was down the centre, narrowly missed by Ward's feet, to regain Reading's lead. Next for Huddersfield was Hefele whose weak strike was saved by Al-Habsi, keeping the score 2–1 to Reading.[32] The third penalty for Reading was taken by Kelly who struck the ball high into Ward's net, while Huddersfield scored their second with a well placed strike from Wells. Moore's spot kick went over the bar and Mooy equalised the shootout at 3–3 after four penalties each. Obita's shot was then saved by Ward, allowingChristopher Schindler to strike the winning penalty, securing Huddersfield's promotion to the Premier League with a 4–3 penalty win.[21][30][33]
          Huddersfield Town |      Reading |
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Man of the Match: |
| Huddersfield Town | Reading | |
|---|---|---|
| Goals scored | 0 | 0 |
| Shots on target | 2 | 1 |
| Shots off target | 8 | 10 |
| Fouls committed | 12 | 12 |
| Corner kicks | 7 | 4 |
| Yellow cards | 3 | 3 |
| Red cards | 0 | 0 |
It was the first time since the play-off format was introduced in 1987 that a final ended goalless. Huddersfield's coach Wagner stated: "we said no limits and now we know what our limits are – the Premier League".[21] He went on to call his players "legends for sure. Everybody will remember what this group of players have done with a small budget. And they deserve it. This football club has written an unbelievable story".[35] Schindler, the winning penalty-taker, said: "I think nobody's feeling 100% confident under this pressure, but you have to do it".[30] Aaron Mooy was named theman of the match; according to BBC reporter Ian Woodcock, Mooy "has been incredibly influential throughout the season and his energy and guile drove his side forward for 120 minutes".[34] Reading's captain Chris Gunter observed: "nobody knows what to say to each other ... the first thing is to make sure that this manager is in charge for the first game of next season".[36]
Huddersfield's first season back in the top tier of English football since 1972 saw them end thePremier League in 16th place, four points ahead of the relegation zone.[35][37] It was described by Paul Doyle inThe Guardian as "the Premier League's greatest survival story", with Wagner in particular noted as "a leader of rare charisma and intelligence".[38] Reading finished the2017–18 EFL Championship season in 20th position, three points above the relegation places,[39] with Stam leaving the club in March 2018 after a run of one win in eighteen games.[40]
