Championship Football here we come! We're back!

Paul Sturrock put himself in the Wednesday history books yesterday as the man that helped stop the rot at Hillsborough. Wednesday's dramatic 4-2 League One Play-Off Final win over Hartlepool United sealed promotion into the Coca-Cola Championship for next season, and signalled a return to happier days for this club of ours.

It has been an amazing journey since Sturrock took over the reigns back in September, when Owls Chairman Dave Allen decided Chris Turner would not be the man to take Wednesday out of League One. It was a decision that required balls so early on in the season, but Allen's faith in Sturrock has proven to be the best thing that has happened to this club in over a decade.

Wednesday's promotion journey, which really began back in December when the Owls hit hot form, has been a topsy turvy one. In March it seemed we were likely to push for an automatic top two spot, until injuries and suspensions hit and all over a sudden it was a scramble for the play-offs. Wednesday's place in the top four was confirmed in dramatic fashion when James Quinn scored an injury time winner at Hull City. After overcoming Brentford over two legs of a Semi-final the Owls travelled to the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff for the final, where they faced Hartlepool United. It was to be an anxious thirteen day wait between the Semi-finals and the Final.

Over 40,000 Wednesday supporters packed into the spectacular looking stadium to cheer the Owls on. Hartlepool, a small town from the North-East with a population of just 90,000, took some 16,000 supporters with them. They were to be outnumbered and outsung, but make no mistake in thinking we wanted it more than they did.

Paul Sturrock made only one change to the side that beat Brentford in the Second Leg of the Semi-final at Griffin Park - Matthew Hamshaw was a late injury casualty which meant a starting place for Chris Brunt. Only one change in the starting line-up, but Sturrock was to spring the surprises of all surprises when naming Steven MacLean on the subs bench. The Scot, voted the Official Player of the Season, was supposedly out injured for the season but was to make a dramatic return to action on this sunny Sunday afternoon.

The game started with Wednesday looking the better of the two sides. It took Hartlepool a good 20-25 minutes to find their feet in this final, but in the meantime the Owls wasted some glorious chances to take the lead. None moreso than in the 13th minute when James Quinn found Chris Brunt out wide on the right. The Northern Ireland international beat his man to the ball before cutting inside, putting it on his favourite left foot and striking a tame shot straight into the hands of the goalkeeper.

Hartlepool were forced into their first change of the afternoon when midfielder Tommy Butler hobbled off, and was replaced by Eifion Williams. It was to be the first of a series of injury problems for Hartlepool that would in the end hamper their hopes of winning this game.

But Pool's first real chance of the game fell to Adam Boyd, targeted as a real threat to Wednesday's defence by manager Paul Sturrock, whose 25 yard lob went the right side of the crossbar.

Shortly before half-time Lee Peacock fired over the bar from just inside the edge of the box, after latching onto a neat through ball by Glenn Whelan.

They say the best time to score is right before the break. And so you can imagine Wednesday's jubilation, and that of Paul Sturrock's, when Jon-Paul McGovern gave the Owls the lead in injury time at the end of the first half. The move began with the ball at the feet of Craig Rocastle. The former Chelsea man assessed his options before playing a neat one-two with Peacock. Rocastle latched onto the return ball before firing a dangerous low ball across the face of the goal. Who else should be steaming in by JP McGovern. The little man sent 40,000 Owls fans in the stadium, and thousands more tuned into the game from around the world, into sheer ecstasy.

Half-time: Owls 1-0 Hartlepool

Whatever was said by manager Martin Scott said at half-time worked. They came out after the break and hit the Owls with an equalising goal almost immediately. A long throw in from the left was flicked on by Owls captain Lee Bullen and was met at the back post by Pools substitute Eifion Williams. Chris Brunt held his head in his hands after failing to stay with his man at the back post.

The momentum of the game swung back into Hartlepool's favour, but the Owls did go close to grabbing a second through a McGovern effort that hit the side netting and a 30 yard Brunt free-kick that narrowly missed. But with just 19 minutes of play left the unthinkable happened as Hartlepool took the lead. And it came from another set-piece, Wednesday's defence frailty these days.

It was too be a real day for the substitutes when former Stockport County striker Jon Daly, with his first touch of the ball, headed in Gavin Strachan's free-kick from the right. David Lucas hesitated but he would've done well to stop the bullet header from Daly. 2-1 to Hartlepool, and silence from 40,000 Owls supporters. All of a sudden the Owls were chasing the game and Paul Sturrock responded by making a huge gamble and throwing on three substitutes in one go. Both strikers, Peacock and Quinn, were replaced by youngster Drew Talbot and the unfit Steven MacLean. Patrick Collins also replaced Alex Bruce at right-back.

With just nine minutes away from defeat before Drew Talbot won them a penalty inside the box, defender Chris Westwood was the culprit and he was shown the red card. There seemed to be little contact on Talbot but a hand was definately placed on his shirt, and being just a couple of yards away from the goal it was clearly a goal scoring opportunity. And so upstepped Steven MacLean. The man who was never supposed to play in this final taking the penalty of his life. The Scot blasted the ball in off the goalkeeper to send the Owls fans barmy, and keep Wednesday's chances alive in this match. It was also his 20th goal of the season, the first man to reach the 20 goal mark since Mark Bright in the 1993/94 season.

Neither side could find a winner in the remaning nine minutes, despite desperate defending from a tired looking Hartlepool outfit, and so the game was forced into another 30 minutes of extra-time.

The Owls didn't have long to wait before they once again had their necks infront. Four minutes into extra-time Glenn Whelan collected the ball from Pool's defender Michael Nelson, who was caught guilty of failing to hoof the ball clear, and charged into the box before unleashing a powerful left foot drive into the corner of the net.

With the game at 3-2 Hartlepool appeared to be out of gas. The Owls kept possession and played a smart game. But in injury time in extra time, with whistles from Wednesdayites ringing around the stadium, Drew Talbot beat both central defenders before rounding Konstantopoulos and slotting the ball home for the decisive fourth and final goal. The young locally born Talbot was the game's fourth substitute to find the scoresheet.

The full time whistle blew much to he jubilation of Owls players, management and not to mention the entire Barmy Army inside the Millennium Stadium. Captain Lee Bullen lifted the League One Play-Off Trophy, Wednesday's first addition to the trophy cabinet in over 14 years, before going onto what was surely a massive night of celebrations both in Cardiff and back home in Sheffield.

All Hail King Sturrock - Up The Football League We Go!

Special Play-off Final Match Report by BigOwl

Special Play-off Final Match Report by Steve Beastie

Play-off Final Gallery

Paul Sturrock (Sheffield Wednesday manager)
"I've had seven goes at it [the play-offs] as a player and a coach and a manager and today's the first one I've won so I'm very pleased for everyone associated with Sheffield. The players have been incredible and the fans have been like a 12th man - they really dragged the players through a sticky patch earlier in the season."

"The club will now sit down and discuss a five-year plan to make sure we don't get a culture shock. The first part of that five-year plan would be consolidation in the next league - that's what the job will be next year."

Martin Scott (Hartlepool Utd manager)
"We lost Chris Westwood at a vital time and it was always going to be tough going down to 10 men against a side who have got a lot of good players. When three key players go off with injury and we get a player sent off you begin to think it's not your day. No qualms with the decision, but that's the way football is. The result has hurt us, but I am very proud of my players' commitment and the way they stuck together."

"I'm very disappointed but I'm also proud of what they've achieved this season - we've overachieved again."

Steven MacLean (Sheffield Wednesday striker)
"If you had told me three months ago that I'd have been playing in the play-off final, I'd have called you a liar. Shortly after I got the injury I went to see a specialist who told me my season was over, so just to be involved was a bonus. I was absolutely knackered and I didn't think I'd last the game after I came on, but I thought I'd just try to get through it and thankfully I did."

Chris Westwood (Hartlepool Utd defender)
"I just hope the ref is happy. These decisions change people's lives. If it was a penalty, then I take it all back; if it wasn't I hope he is pleased with himself. I didn't think it was a penalty, and I have been told several times by people who are nothing to do with our club that it wasn't a penalty. The ball bounced in his favour, we both scrambled for it and [Talbot] went down. He looked for it, but that's his job."

Neil Warnock (Sheffield Utd manager)
"United fans don't enjoy seeing Wednesday do well but I just feel that derby games are good for the city. They're great games to be involved in, with a wonderful atmosphere and we'll look forward to enjoying them once again next season. We don't have a bad record against them in recent times, so we'll look forward to the fixtures."


Kevin Blackwell (Leeds Utd manager)
"It's great for a club like Sheffield Wednesday coming back up and we'll certainly look forward to another derby game next season. Yorkshire derbies are always exciting affairs and next season we'll have a few to play, so it'll be an exciting season in that respect."