West Ham rejoin English élite
Monday, May 30, 2005
Article summary
West Ham United FC ended a two-year Premiership exile by beating Preston North End FC 1-0 in the play-off final.
Article body
One goal enough
Bobby Zamora's 57th-minute goal settled the promotion play-off final in favour of the London team, who had hit the post in the opening minutes through Tomáš Repka and had also seen Marlon Harewood and Zamora denied by desperate blocks by Preston goalkeeper Carlo Nash and defender Claude Davis shortly before the goal.
No return
Preston, English football's original champions, in 1889 and then 1890, were aiming to return to the élite following a 44-year absence. But the nearest the north-west club came to scoring was when Richard Cresswell's header was cleared off the line early in the second half.
Semi-final successes
West Ham had defeated Ipswich Town FC 4-2 on aggregate in their play-off semi-final while Preston overcame Derby County FC 2-0 over two legs.