Sheffield Wednesday have made English Football League history after becoming the first team to overturn a four goal deficit in the playoffs.
After an impressive finish to the regular season on 96 points, the Owls narrowly missed out on automatic promotion and found themselves in the playoffs.
Fan favourite and Wednesday veteran Liam Palmer told reporters: “I don’t think it’s quite sunk in yet to be honest.”
“We knew we needed half a miracle, but miracles do happen,” he said.
A 4-0 defeat at Peterborough’s London Road stadium last week meant Sheffield Wednesday had to score four goals in 90 minutes in order to stand a chance of going through to the play-off final at Wembley.
The build-up had been marred by racial abuse aimed at Wednesday boss Darren Moore and owner Dejphon Chansiri on social media, and the mood around the fanbase was largely lacklustre.
But some 31,000 fans at Hillsborough were rocking from the get-go for the second leg.
After scoring the equaliser to send the game into extra time, Palmer said the victory felt “amazing”.
He said the confidence was there to do the job on the night despite the disappointing away leg.
“We were just resetting our minds. I said to the boys before, any team that’s got the ingredients to do it, it’s ours.”
‘Just knew we’d do it’
After getting on the end of the equaliser, players and fans piled on top of a celebrating Palmer at the corner flag.
“When the fourth goal went in, when I managed to get a touch on it, just trying to stay alive under that pile my face was pressed against the turf and just trying to hold my breath.”
“I think it took us about 15 minutes to recover mentally but again going down another goal and coming back, once we got to penalties I just knew we’d do it.”
The job, however, is only half-done, with the Owls facing either Bolton or South Yorkshire rivals Barnsley at Wembley.
“It’s what we set out to do at the start of the season, it’s what a lot of players stuck around for,” said Palmer.
“We don’t just want to get to Wembley, we want to win, we want to make it a good day out and get the club back to the championship.”
Manager Moore told reporters after the game that preparation was key in a game where many had written the Owls off, but that they had gotten their tactics right.
He said he was delighted with the role fans had played in pushing his men over the line.
“It was excellent to see this place in full voice”, he said.
“It means everything because for me I asked everybody to come together tonight and we did that against the adversity of the first game.”
‘Like a rollercoaster’
Conrad Davies, 20, a lifelong Owl and a season ticket holder, said he had no hope going into the game.
“I was only going because it was a ‘”‘what if’ scenario, and the ‘what if’ happened,” he said.
Davies added that it was “the greatest game I have ever been to”.
“I have no words, I have supported and gone to games for 13 years and all of that combined doesn’t compare.”
Sophie Wilson, 20, was at the game and said the atmosphere was “electric”.
She said as a fan she felt “deflated to not get promoted automatically”.
“Watching the game last night was like a rollercoaster.”
“I cried tears of happiness, anger, sadness and pure pride throughout the 120 minutes last night.”