On May the 4th 2008, after 23 wins fifteen draws and nine defeats for Stoke, the final game of the Championship season was played, the Potters facing Leicester City at the Britannia Stadium. The situation was simple for Stoke, who Mike Williams Jersey sat second in the Championship table,three points ahead of third placed Hull but with an inferior goal difference. Win or draw the game and we were up, and would return to the top-flight of English football for the first time in 23 years that had seen many more lows than highs. For Leicester, the day was also a crucial one. Though they started the day outside of the relegation zone, they needed to at least match the results of Southampton and Coventry to avoid the drop to League One, the league Isaiah Spiller Jersey Stoke had left behind after a play-off victory six years before.The packed Britannia Stadium awaits kick-off A crowd of 26,609, a record for a league match, filled the ground, and though the first half of the game was a dull affair, it wasnt long before both sets of fans had something to celebrate, with news coming in from elsewhere that Ipswich had taken the lead against Hull, as had Sheffield United at Southampton, meaning that as things stood, Stoke would be promoted and Leicester would be safe. The second half of the game was little better as a spectacle, with Ricardo Gerald Everett Jersey Fuller having Stokes best chance after an excellent run, and Gareth McAuley hitting the post with a looping header for the visitors. As the game drew to a conclusion, while the Stoke supporters were jubilant, the travelling Leicester support was stunned into silence by the news that Southampton had turned the game at St. Marys and now led 3-2. With Coventry also winning, it seemed Leicester would have to score or would go down. Foxes bo s Ian Holloway, who would leave the club after the game, urged his side forward, with four strikers on the pitch, but the Stoke rearguard stood firm, as did those of Ipswich, Southampton and Coventry around the country. After a premature pitch invasion had been dispelled by referee Mike Dean, the final whistle was blown, the goalle s score line good enough to send Stoke up and Leicester down. The celebration could now begin in earnest as close to 20,000 Stokies flooded the pitch, engulfing their heroes who had sealed the promotion Kyzir White Jersey .The back page of The Sun shows fans favourite Carl Dickinson welcoming the onrushing supporters The scoreboard proclaimed Congratulations Stoke City, We are Premier League! and amidst the ma s of Stoke fans on the pitch I thought we had done it, after 23 years we would be welcoming the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal to Stoke once again. We were Premier League!The jubilant fans flood the pitchThe players celebrate their achievementOne Leicester fan celebrates a little prematurelyStoke side on the day:NashWilkinson Cort Los Angeles Chargers Jersey Shawcro s Dickinson Lawrence Delap Whelan Cre swell Sidibe FullerSubstitutions: Buxton for Wilkinson (21), Ameobi for Sidibe (90), Lawrence for Pugh (90+1)Subs not used: Simonsen, Pearson
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