2007 Football League Championship Play-off Final - Route To The Final

Route To The Final

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 singing 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.

West Bromwich Albion were a permanent fixture in the top six from late December onwards and led the division briefly in February, but a run of four defeats in five games at home saw them fall out of contention for automatic promotion. They secured their play-off place with a 7–0 home win against Barnsley on the final day of the league season, finishing fourth in the process. This was one place above Wolverhampton Wanderers, by virtue of a superior goal difference, but eight points behind Derby. Albion scored 81 league goals during the campaign, the highest tally of any team in the Football League in 2006–07.

In the play-off semi-finals, Derby beat sixth-placed Southampton 2–1 away in the first leg, but lost the second leg at home 3–2. With the aggregate scores level after 180 minutes of play, and no further goals in extra time, the tie went to a penalty shootout. Former Derby player Iñigo Idiakez missed Southampton's fifth penalty to send Derby into the final.

Albion meanwhile faced local rivals and fifth-placed team Wolverhampton Wanderers, winning the first leg 3–2, and the second 1–0 to progress 4–2 on aggregate. The second leg was the fifth meeting between the two sides during 2006–07, setting a new record for the most times that the Black Country derby has been contested in a single campaign, while Albion's four wins against their rivals was also a season record for matches between the two.