Championship - Derby County won promotion to the Premiership after a 1-0 play-off final win over West Brom at Wembley.

A Stephen Pearson goal just after the hour mark won the match for the Rams in an entertaining match.

Derby will feel they deserved promotion, finishing highest of the four play-off sides in the Championship and turning their fortunes around after finishing 20th last season.

It was an even match that was always going to be separated by one goal, Diomansy Kamara showing his quality in the first minute, running straight at the heart of the Rams' defence before forcing a low save from Stephen Bywater.

Derby stabilised and strong by play Steve Howard put Paul Peschisolido clean through but the former West Brom striker, 36, shot weakly at Dean Kiely on ten minutes.

The match was quickly developing into an end-to-end contest and the Baggies thought they had a strong claim for a penalty when Jason Koumas ghosted past three players and went down in the box under a flying challenge by Tyrone Mears but he did appear to get at least some of the ball and play was waved on.

Craig Fagan then went close for the Rams on 20 minutes, cutting in from the right and curling a shot just wide of the far post.

Kamara, however, was starting to hit his rhythm though, with one piece of sublime skill in particular impressing - a smooth backheeled cut-back on the left wing followed by a ferocious outswinging cross although Zoltan Gera's first-time volley was blocked.

Fagan almost set Matthew Oakley up with a clever chest-down from a Jay McEverley cross but the former Southampton midfielder's volley skewed well-wide, while for West Brom Koumas showed his quality again with a superb left-wing run and cross from the byline that Bywater palmed away.

The Baggies were purring now and Kevin Phillips had the best chance of the first half with a trademark first-time shot from the edge of the box that clipped the bar, following excellent approach play from Kamara.

The match continued in the same vein after the break, Koumas stinging the palms of Bywater early on and showing his class in finding the spaces on the flanks and getting Mears booked for a desperate foul all within the first 120 seconds of the second half.

A brief lull in the action was ended when Oakley forced an excellent reflex stop from Kiely after superbly half-volleying a low Fagan cross just before the hour and Derby took the lead soon afterwards when a period of West Brom pressure was repelled and Howard lead the charge on a swift counter, finding Giles Barnes on the right, his first-time cross slipped under Kiely by Stephen Pearson.

Gera tried to bite back for West Brom, firing a left-footed shot at Bywater that the former West Ham shot-stopper almost spilled into the path of Phillips, while Paul Robinson rose imperiously above his markers to head another pinpoint Koumas delivery on goal on 72 minutes, but Derby custodian Bywater was well-placed and held on, as he did when Phillips volleyed left-footed after a Kamara centre.

Koumas went close with an injury-time free-kick that no-one had the cunning to latch onto, but Derby shut-up shop and despite continued effort from Phillips and Koumas in particular, Billy Davies' men held on to win promotion to the Premiership after five years in England's second tier.

Reda Maher

Reda Maher