Derby County On To the Premiership

In a game that was not as up-and-down or exciting to watch as advertised, Derby County made a 61st minute goal by Stephen Pearson stand up and held on for a 1-0 victory over West Bromwich Albion. Talented English youngster Giles Barnes, who surprisingly did not start today, came off the bench and provided a brilliant low cross to allow Pearson to literally slide the ball home. It was Pearson's first goal in a Derby uniform and you can't imagine how much it meant for his side and for the fans who had longed to see Derby back in the Premiership.

Graham Poll handed out 8 yellow cards in total today (5 to Derby, 3 to West Brom), though a few of them were questionable; I'm not sure if they merited a yellow card but Poll is one of the better referees in England in my opinion so I trust his judgment. Poll has stated that he will retire, and many managers will be happy to see him go as he been the center of many a controversy over the years, most notably the World Cup game in 2006 between Australia and Croatia where he handed out three yellow cards to the same Croatian player before dismissing him.

Great crowd at Wembley today. The new stadium can hold 90,000 for soccer and the official attendance was 74,993, which is great for a Championship final, considering neither team is based near London.

Congratulations to the Rams, it's back to England's top flight for them next season after a five-year absence.

Stephen Pearson's goal can be found here: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x23y91_10-pearson