Palace progress to play off final

Sunderland 2 Crystal Palace 1 (aggregate 4-4; Crystal Palace win 5-4 on penalties)

Crystal Palace midfielder Michael Hughes shattered Sunderland’s hopes of an immediate return to the Premiership in an epic play-off semi-final shoot-out.

Hughes fired the 14th spot-kick of an agonising decider past the unfortunate Mart Poom to send Iain Dowie’s 10 men to Cardiff on a night when the Black Cats had victory within their grasp only to let it slip away.

Sunderland were literally seconds away from the final deep into injury time when substitute Darren Powell headed home a Shaun Derry corner to take the tie into extra-time.

Palace’s chances had looked over after the 85th-minute dismissal of winger Julian Gray for a second bookable offence.

The home side had overturned the first leg deficit with goals from Kevin Kyle and Marcus Stewart and were incensed when referee David Pugh failed to penalise Neil Shipperley for a foul on Poom as Derry’s corner came over.

If Kyle’s 42nd-minute opener had come against the run of play, Stewart’s header in first half injury time appeared to knock the stuffing out of Dowie’s side and put the Wearsiders on the brink.

But Powell’s intervention ultimately meant that the tie went to penalties, and although Poom saved from Derry and Wayne Routledge when each could have won it, opposite number Nico Vaesen matched him with stops from Jason McAteer and Jeff Whitley to pave the way for Hughes.

The Wearsiders, who tasted the agony of a shoot-out defeat by Charlton in the First Division play-off final in 1998 after a 4-4 draw, were left to reflect on what might have been after a remarkable season following their debt-ridden descent from the top flight.

Palace, who only reached the play-offs because of West Ham striker Brian Deane’s last-minute equaliser against Wigan on the final day, arrived knowing that a draw would be enough to send them through but also confident that they could hurt Sunderland on the counter-attack.

They could have been out of sight within the opening six minutes as the home side stumbled through the early exchanges looking anything but potential Premiership material.

Had it not been for Poom, they would have been two goals behind on aggregate within three minutes of kick-off after the impressive Hughes cut a swathe through the red and white shirts and crossed for Gray at the far post.

The Estonian hurled himself at the midfielder’s feet as he made firm contact with the ball and got enough of his sizeable frame in the way to block.

But there was little he could do three minutes later when Aki Riihilahti rose unopposed to meet a Danny Granville cross and head towards goal, an upright coming to his rescue as the home fans breathed a huge sigh of relief.