2007 Football League Championship play-off final
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| Date | 28 May 2007 | ||||||
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| Venue | Wembley Stadium, London | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Matt Oakley | ||||||
| Referee | Graham Poll | ||||||
| Attendance | 74,993 | ||||||
| Weather | Rain | ||||||
The 2007 Football League Championship play-off Final, also known as the 2007 Coca-Cola Championship play-off Final due to sponsorship from Coca-Cola, was a football match played at Wembley Stadium on 28 May 2007, at the end of the 2006–07 season. It was the third Championship play-off final since the Football League's 2004 rebranding, the 21st play-off final in all at the second level of English football and the first of these matches to take place at the rebuilt Wembley. The match determined the third and final team to gain promotion from the Championship to the Premier League, and was contested by Derby County, who had finished third during the league season, and West Bromwich Albion, who had finished fourth. The teams reached the final by defeating Southampton and Wolverhampton Wanderers respectively in the two-legged semi-finals.
Stephen Pearson scored the only goal of the final to ensure that Derby County returned to the top division of English football after a five-year absence.
Derby County finished the season in third place in the Championship, four points behind champions Sunderland and two points behind runners-up Birmingham City. With new ownership, Derby had been able to compete in the transfer market for the first time in a number of years, with Luton Town's Steve Howard becoming the club's first £1 million signing since François Grenet six years previously and, alongside captures from Premiership club's such as West Ham United's Stephen Bywater and Fulham defender Dean Leacock, Davies began shaping a side capable of competing at the right end of the table. This wasn't apparent from the off, however, and a return of just 5 points from the club's opening 6 fixtures did not hint at instant success for Davies, leaving influential and creative players such as Tommy Smith and Iñigo Idiakez to depart the club prior to the closing of the August transfer window. However, a Steve Howard header in a 1–0 win at Wolves on 12 September 2006 proved a catalyst as the club lost only 4 of its next 27 fixtures (a run which included winning all 6 league fixtures in November 2006 and an 8 match winning streak, 6 league and 2 FA Cup, from 30 December 2006 up until 10 February 2007). After a 2–2 draw at home to Hull City on 10 February 2007, Derby were 7 points clear at the top of the table and had strengthened for the promotion run in with the signing of Tyrone Mears, Jay McEveley, Gary Teale, David Jones, Craig Fagan, Stephen Pearson and Jon Macken for a combined £5 million. However, a 0–2 defeat away to Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup Fifth Round preceded a notable wobble in results and the club recorded a return of just 6 points from the next 5 games, conceding top spot to Birmingham City after a 0–1 defeat at St. Andrews on 9 March 2007. A resounding 5–1 win against Colchester United (by far the biggest win of a campaign which saw victory by a two-goal or above margin on just 6 occasions) looked to have put the club back on track but after taking just 12 points from the next 10 fixtures, the club slipped out of the automatic promotion places altogether and a 0–2 defeat at Crystal Palace in the penultimate game of the season confirmed a 3rd-placed finish and entry into the 2006–07 Championship playoffs.
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