Championship Play-Off Final Photos: Reading 2-4 Swansea – The Welsh Are Coming, The Welsh Are Coming!

By Chris Wright

A penalty-ridden hat-trick from top-scorer Scott Sinclair (goals no. 25, 26 and 27 of the season) proved the difference as Swansea beat Reading 4-2 in the Championship play-off final at Wembley this afternoon to secure promotion to the top flight of English football for the first time since 1983 – becoming the first Welsh side to snare a spot in the Premier League in the process, just eight years after the club narrowly avoided being relegated from the football league altogether.

The ‘£90 million game’ looked as good as over when Stephen Dobbie notched the Swans’ third unanswered goal five minutes before the interval, but Noel Hunt and Matt Mills struck back in the second-half to ensure a rollicking finale before Sinclair’s 80th-minute spot kick effectively ended the Royals’ dreams of a Herculean comeback.

What a match!

Pies dymuniadau chi i gyd y lwc yn y byd boyos tymor nesaf!

Photos…

Scott Sinclair scores his second goal of the afternoon

Stephen Dobbie celebrates after providing the assist for Scott Sinclair’s second goal


Stephen Dobbie celebrates after scoring Swansea’s third goal

Reading centre-back Matt Mills celebrates after scoring his side’s second goal


Scott Sinclair celebrates after wrapping up his hat-trick from the penalty spot

Photos: PA

Posted in Championship

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10 Comments

  1. theredflag says:

    I get the feeling they’re going straight back down.

  2. Lewis says:

    Same could be said of Norwich this year and alot of teams that have come up lately

  3. theredflag says:

    True, Norwich are down next year aswell, as Wolves. You heard it here first.

  4. Peter says:

    Anyone know the story behinf the player on the Swansea players shirts? What happened to Besian Idrizaj?

  5. Peter says:

    @theredflag People said that about Newcastle & West Brom last year and with Stoke and Wigan even further back so you can’t predict anything. Also, never forget Hull City!

  6. Joe says:

    @Peter, I’m still trying to, especially Phil Brown’s permatan. The pattern over the last few seasons is only one championship side going down, so they’d have a 1/3 chance of staying up based on that. I’d say Norwich will go down, (near) successive promotions often turn out to be too much of a good thing for a mostly league one-level squad (Blackpool, anyone?) For the rest, it’ll be Wigan and Wolves.

  7. TT says:

    @Peter, Here is the story about Besian

    Swansea’s former Liverpool striker Besian Idrizaj has died aged 22, his agent has confirmed.

    Idrizaj, a former Austria Under-21 international, is believed to have suffered a heart attack at his family home in Linz.

    A statement from Swansea read: “Swansea City can confirm that the agent of young striker Besian Idrizaj has informed the club that the striker has sadly passed away.

    “It is understood that the popular 22-year-old died in his sleep on Friday night while at home with his family in Austria. The exact cause of death has not been confirmed and our thoughts are with his family, friends and team-mates at this time.”

    Idrizaj, who joined Swansea in August 2009, previously spent three years with Liverpool but failed to make a first-team breakthrough. He had loan spells at Luton and Crystal Palace before moving to play in Germany and Austria.

    He underwent extensive tests in 2008 after he twice collapsed during games, but spoke in March of his optimism that his medical problems were behind him.

  8. krak says:

    it is alright to kiss a guy, but don’t close your eyes in the process.

  9. Santi says:

    FUCK YOU THE WELSH!

  10. chimpo says:

    expect a load of roided up freaks infesting your away stands imminently

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