Palace crown promotion push

Crystal Palace FC are back in the English Premiership after a six-year absence after beating London rivals West Ham United FC in the first division play-off final.

Shipperley winner
West Ham, only relegated last season, finished two places ahead of Palace in the first division in fourth. But Neil Shipperley's close-range strike on 61 minutes in Cardiff's Millennium Stadium ensured Ian Dowie's Palace were promoted.

Superb comeback
Ironically, only a goal in the final minutes of the regular season by West Ham's Brian Deane at Wigan Athletic FC gave Palace a play-off place. But it marked a superb comeback for Palace, who were 19th when Dowie took over in December.

Offside efforts
In a close game, Shipperley - who left Palace after their 1998 relegation before rejoining last summer - pounced when Stephen Bywater parried Andy Johnson's shot. David Connolly and Bobby Zamora both then had efforts ruled out for offside, but luck was not on West Ham's side.

'Momentous achievement'
Dowie said: "I thought that our game plan worked - West Ham are a top quality side and we have come up trumps. We showed that we are a footballing side. Now we have got the worry of dealing with some superpowers in the Premiership but what a day for our fans. It was a momentous achievement."