Derby 0-1 QPR: Super Hoops seal Premier League return with smash-and-grab victory
A ten-man Queens Park Rangers sealed an immediate return to the Premier League with a smash-and-grab Championship play-off final victory against Derby County.
Steve McClaren’s side dominated the 90 minutes but couldn’t find their way past heroic Super Hoops stopper Rob Green, and the Rams were punished for their lack of quality in front of goal when Bobby Zamora came off the bench to net a last-gasp winner.
It was a lively start at the home of football, with Derby forward Johnny Russell testing QPR’s back-four in the early stages, but the sides did well to limit each other’s attacking threat throughout the opening half.
England youngster Will Hughes looked to have won a Derby penalty in the 27th minute when he went down in the box under a challenge, but the referee waved away the Rams' protests, with replays showing the highly-rated 19-year-old was perhaps lucky to escape a booking having appeared to dive.
McClaren’s men began to edge proceedings as the game approached half-time, but it was one-way traffic after the break as Harry Redknapp’s side soon found themselves down to ten men, Gary O'Neil seeing red for a cynical professional foul just outside the box.
Nothing came from Russell’s resulting free-kick from a promising position, and that wastefulness was typical of the Rams forwards’ performance.
Green was outstanding in the second-half as a dominant Derby pushed to break the deadlock, pulling off a string of vital saves to deny the likes of former Tottenham striker Simon Dawkins and Craig Bryson.
QPR’s defence really came under siege late on but Derby lacked that cutting edge to break down Redknapp’s disciplined side.
Polarising midfielder Joey Barton then came close to being an unlikely saviour with ten minutes remaining when he hit a 20-yard piledriver which zipped just wide of the post.
But the blue and white half of Wembley soon erupted when Zamora had the ball in the back of the net totally against the run of play.
Always a danger from close-range, the lurking veteran striker needed no invitation after Richard Keogh's defensive blunder to rifle past Lee Grant into the top corner and send QPR back into the top flight.