Claridge’s 1996 Play-Off Triumph Memories

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Claridge’s 1996 Play-Off Triumph Memories

Exactly 25 years to the day, Steve Claridge recounts Leicester City’s First Division Play-Off Final success over Crystal Palace at Wembley Stadium on 27 May, 1996.

2021-05-27T07:55:00.000Z

by Sam Jones

Published

27 May, 2021

Claridge’s 1996 Play-Off Triumph Memories

Exactly 25 years to the day, Steve Claridge recounts Leicester City’s First Division Play-Off Final success over Crystal Palace at Wembley Stadium on 27 May, 1996.

Sam Jones

2021-05-27T07:55:00.000Z

Claridge’s 1996 Play-Off Triumph Memories

Exactly 25 years to the day, Steve Claridge recounts Leicester City’s First Division Play-Off Final success over Crystal Palace at Wembley Stadium on 27 May, 1996.

Sam Jones

2021-05-27T07:55:00.000Z

Claridge’s 1996 Play-Off Triumph Memories

Exactly 25 years to the day, Steve Claridge recounts Leicester City’s First Division Play-Off Final success over Crystal Palace at Wembley Stadium on 27 May, 1996.

Sam Jones

2021-05-27T07:55:00.000Z

Claridge’s 1996 Play-Off Triumph Memories

Exactly 25 years to the day, Steve Claridge recounts Leicester City’s First Division Play-Off Final success over Crystal Palace at Wembley Stadium on 27 May, 1996.

Sam Jones

2021-05-27T07:55:00.000Z

The 1995/96 season had, in many ways, been a turbulent one for the Foxes. Manager Mark McGhee left the Club in acrimonious circumstances in December, taking over at Wolverhampton Wanderers, despite City looking on course to make an immediate return to the Premier League.

Leicester made an impressive start under McGhee, initially losing just twice in the opening 13 games of the campaign, winning seven times to sit atop of the second-tier table.

However, without a win in seven games under new manager Martin O’Neill, fan unrest was starting to brew, before a 3-2 win over McGhee’s Wolves side sparked the revival which would move City into play-off contention.

Things really started to motor in April and the momentum built from a 1-0 away win at Charlton Athletic, where Claridge grabbed the only goal - and his first of the league campaign.

From that moment on, Leicester would lose just once, picking up 19 points from the final eight games of the season.

After backing up the Charlton result with another 1-0 away win at Crystal Palace four days later, it was Claridge who supplied both goals in the 2-0 victory over Oldham Athletic and soon the winner against Huddersfield Town, too.

The forward then scored for the third successive game by finding the net in a 3-0 success at home to Birmingham City, which took the play-off race down to the final day of the season.

The Foxes faced relegation-threatened Watford at Vicarage Road knowing that they had to win and rely on other results to sneak into the top six ahead of Ipswich Town, Stoke City or Charlton Athletic.

Muzzy Izzet scored the only goal of the game to send the Hornets down to the third tier, while, crucially, Ipswich could only draw at home to Millwall, sealing City’s spot in the play-offs.

“Things just suddenly started to click, and we got on a little bit of a run and we nicked a play-off spot right at the end,” Claridge recalled. “We beat Watford to get into the play-offs. We thought we could win it because we were on such a roll.

“We had such a good side. We knew we could win it. There was no arrogance, there was no over-confidence. There was just a realisation that we were the best team going into that.

“We'd won seven out of nine I think, we were on a really good run and I don't think there was anybody that we feared.

“I think we knew we were the best side and it was up to us to perform at the level that we knew we could and that we'd been doing previously.”

Facing Stoke in the semi-final, the first leg proved to be a cagey affair, played in front of just over 20,000 at Filbert Street. The scores were still level going into the second meeting, though Claridge had goalkeeper Kevin Poole to thank after his back pass allowed Simon Sturridge a clean shot on goal.

At the other end, meanwhile, City’s No.9 was denied by Mark Prudhoe, keeping the tie goalless and on a knife edge. One goal would settle it and what a finish it was from Garry Parker, who smashed in a half-volley to send the Foxes to Wembley.

“I've lost at that stage of a play-off and I've won at that stage,” the forward continued. “There are huge ramifications, both from a personal perspective and a broader perspective for any club.

“You have to win the play-offs, that is it. That's the bottom line.

“There was no over-confidence. We were just in a position where we knew if we kept doing what we were doing, we would win. That was a simple fact. The game against Palace, it was the most important game I played. There's no doubt about that.

“People can say we went on and we won the cup a couple of times afterwards, but that didn't, for me, have the importance of being promoted to the Premier League. That just changes the whole perspective. That changed the landscape.

“Certainly, it changes things financially, but people know who you are, and ultimately, you're going into the Premier League knowing that you're good enough to stay in it.

“Undoubtedly, for a player's career, there is no bigger game than that.”

Crystal Palace were the opponents for the 1996 final under the famous twin towers. Some 73,573 were in attendance at the old Wembley and despite a bright start, the Eagles snatched an early lead courtesy of Andrew Roberts’ low finish on 14 minutes.

Things were not going to plan for O’Neill’s side and it looked like it would not be their day when chances fell their way and were not taken, including from Claridge, who failed to hit the target in the second half.

A lifeline came with a quarter of an hour remaining. Marc Edworthy brought down Izzet in the penalty box and Parker, reliable as ever, was able to send the resulting spot-kick past Nigel Martyn.

An energy-sapping tie had gone to extra-time and looked destined for penalties with just seconds to go – but one last chance would fall Leicester’s way. A foul on Emile Heskey in the middle allowed Parker to launch a free-kick forward, which Julian Watts headed across towards the edge of the box.

Claridge was there to meet it and swing a leg at the ball, which cannoned off the striker’s shin, sailing up into the corner of the net.

After a brief period where time seemed to just stop still, pandemonium ensued in the Leicester half of the stadium. Promotion had been achieved on the biggest stage and in the most dramatic of circumstances.

“Just talking about it makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end,” Claridge smiled. “That flush goes through your body. It's just incredible.

“I mean to score a goal at that stage, if you look at the goal and if you look into the crowd, the crowd don't react instantly. Most times, crowds react before something happens. This time, I don't think anyone could believe it.

“Maybe they couldn't believe it because it's me hitting a shot outside the area, that's probably what it was! But there was a delay in the crowd's reaction. It's amazing.

“I'm actually wheeling away before anybody reacts in the crowd. It's just a culmination of a long, hard season and to win it like that and being lucky enough to score the goal that does that, I'm just very, very lucky and very, very honoured.

“I maybe should have done it earlier (reached the Premier League), but you need that bit of luck, you need that break. It was just fantastic to finally achieve that.”

Undoubtedly one of the most iconic goals of his career and in the Club’s history, it’s one that will never be forgotten.

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