Brighton 0 Crystal Palace 2 - Crystal Palace win 2-0 on aggregate

Posted Tuesday, May 14, 2013 by thesun.co.uk

FRIED AT LAST ... Wilfried Zaha's double at the AMEX put Crystal Palace through to the play-off final

WILFRIED ZAHA fired Crystal Palace to the £120million Championship play-off final.

The wing wizard was desperate to get to Wembley and repay the club he loves before his £15m move to Manchester United.

And he showed why he was named the best player in the second tier with a stunning double strike to sink Brighton.

A tense derby clash was going the same way as the goalless first leg until Zaha’s 69th-minute opener.

And the England man, 20, killed off the Seagulls with a fabulous turn and shot with two minutes remaining.

It means Ian Holloway’s Palace, who only secured their place in the top six on the final day of the season, will play Gianfranco Zola’s Watford on May 27.

It will be the third time in four seasons that Ollie has led out a team in the match dubbed the richest in the world, having won and lost with Blackpool.

He said: “Not many gave us a chance coming here but now we have the chance to go to Wembley.

“I am so proud, I am bursting with pride for those supporters and the players were fantastic.

“Wilf will be a match winner at the top, top, top level and I thought he wanted to keep playing well for us, and he did today.”

Brighton boss Gus Poyet had no doubt that Zaha was the class act on show as his side misfired.

He said: “They used him better than they used him in the past.

“He was probably the player that Manchester United saw and can become a world star. Until today, against us, he was not a £15m player.

“Sometimes good players stand up on big occasions and Zaha did.

“We were poor technically. We made too many mistakes. The feeling is terrible.”

The odds were stacked against Holloway’s side as they arrived at the Amex to face a side that had not lost at home in 2013.

And they were without leading scorer Glenn Murray who was carried off injured during Friday’s 0-0 draw at Selhurst Park.

Unsurprisingly it was the Seagulls who bossed the early stages.

Palace keeper Julian Speroni had to dive bravely at the feet of Argentine Leonardo Ulloa. And then had to move sharply to keep out a Will Buckley drive before David Lopez’s shot was deflected narrowly over.

Dean Hammond was also off target with a fierce, low drive and Andrea Orlandi’s volley was at Speroni.

But Palace were a different proposition after the break.

Wales midfielder Jonny Williams should have put them ahead when sent clean clear by Aaron Wilbraham but rolled his shot just wide.

Brighton striker Ashley Barnes twice went close to breaking the deadlock just a minute after coming on.

He latched onto Ulloa’s flick only for Speroni to tip his shot on to the crossbar.

And had his header from the resulting corner cleared off the line by Dean Moxey.

The fine margins which often decide these play-off encounters were brought home to Brighton moments later.

Palace sub Yannick Bolasie got the better of Inigo Calderon on the left and swung in a cross which Zaha met with a firm diving header that flew in.

And as Brighton pushed for an equaliser they left a hole at the back.

Kagisho Dikgacoi was able to thread the ball into Zaha.

And he turned Gordon Greer before thumping his shot into the roof of the net.

It thrilled the Palace fans behind that goal who now have a Wembley date to look forward to.

But for Poyet, who has been linked with the vacant Everton job, the future is not so clear.

He said: “I’m not going to stay forever. I’m under contract, but we’ll see.”

BRIGHTON: Kuszczak, Calderon (LuaLua 72), Greer, Upson, Bridge, Bridcutt, Lopez, Hammond, Buckley, Ulloa, Orlandi (Barnes 64). SUBS NOT USED: Brezovan, El-Abd, Crofts, Dicker, Painter.

BOOKED: Calderon, Buckley.

PALACE: Speroni, Ward, Delaney, Gabbidon, Moxey, Dikgacoi, Garvan (Moritz 61), Jedinak, Zaha (O’Keefe 90), Williams (Bolasie 62), Wilbraham. SUBS NOT USED: Price, Richards, Phillips, Ramage.

BOOKED: Dikgacoi.

GOALS: Zaha 69,88.

ATT: 29,518