Bobby dazzler as Hammers pile on agony for Ipswich

Ipswich 0 West Ham 2 (West Ham win 4-2 on aggregate)

Striker Bobby Zamora, the man drafted in as cover for the injured Teddy Sheringham, was the hero with a second-half double to fire the Hammers into a Coca-Cola Championship clash with Derby or Preston at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium on May 30.

Twelve months ago, after sending Joe Royle’s Ipswich side packing at the semi-final stage, West Ham reserved arguably their worst display of the season for the final as they allowed Crystal Palace to take a coveted place in the Premiership.

He has a score to settle with the play-off system after being a three-time loser in them in recent seasons, twice with Reading in 2001 and 2003, and again a year ago with West Ham.

And Ipswich must loathe the play-offs, this was their fifth failure in nine years and sixth overall in seven attempts.

For an hour there was nothing to choose between the sides in a game which was unrelenting in pace, albeit matched by endeavour as there was precious little skill to savour such was the determination of both sides to clinch a place in the final.

Perhaps understandably, buoyed by a sell-out 30,000 crowd and after being greeted by a wall of noise as the two sides made their way onto the pitch, it was Ipswich who looked to build on their rousing finale at Upton Park on Saturday.

But West Ham had drawn the early sting from Ipswich, yet time and again they failed to take advantage of the extra man they often seemed to possess on the counter.

It took a mistake from Walker to rouse Town in the closing stages of the half, with the goalkeeper deceived by the swerve on a 30-yard Currie strike, but fortunate his left hand deflected it over the bar.

After Davis was almost knocked out on the stroke of half time, taking a ferocious, acutely-angled drive from Tomas Repka full in the face, the Town keeper showed he had fully recovered after the restart.

Twice inside the opening 10 minutes of the second half the goalkeeper was smartly down to his left to make clutch saves from captain Nigel Reo-Coker and Zamora.

Then came the breakthrough on the hour as West Ham opened up Ipswich with the kind of incisiveness that resulted in their two-goal lead on Saturday, and with Zamora again on the end of the move after scoring at the weekend.

Carl Fletcher was the instigator, playing a ball into Harewood’s path who turned onto the pass from Richards before splitting the six-yard box with a delivery to the far post where Zamora was able to sidefoot home for his 11th of the season.

In the 72nd minute came a goal of exquisite quality, all from a cleared Ipswich free-kick which culminated in Harewood flighting in a deep ball from the right wing that split defenders Wilnis and captain Jim Magilton - and Zamora to sidefooted a left-foot volley from 15 yards past a stranded Davis.

IPSWICH: Davis, Wilnis, De Vos, Naylor, Richards, Currie, Magilton (Bowditch 75), Miller, Westlake, Bent, Kuqi.

WEST HAM: Walker, Repka (Dailly 76), Ferdinand, Ward, Powell, Mullins, Fletcher, Reo-Coker, Etherington (Noble 89), Harewood, Zamora (Newton 79).

Referee: S Dunn.