29 Years On - Remembering Our Play-Off Final Triumph Over Palace

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29 Years On - Remembering Our Play-Off Final Triumph Over Palace

On this day in 1996, City returned to the Premier League, winning promotion via a First Division Play-Off Final success over Crystal Palace at Wembley Stadium.

2025-05-27T09:00+01:00

by Sam Jones

Published

27 May, 2025

29 Years On - Remembering Our Play-Off Final Triumph Over Palace

On this day in 1996, City returned to the Premier League, winning promotion via a First Division Play-Off Final success over Crystal Palace at Wembley Stadium.

Sam Jones

2025-05-27T09:00+01:00

29 Years On - Remembering Our Play-Off Final Triumph Over Palace

On this day in 1996, City returned to the Premier League, winning promotion via a First Division Play-Off Final success over Crystal Palace at Wembley Stadium.

Sam Jones

2025-05-27T09:00+01:00

29 Years On - Remembering Our Play-Off Final Triumph Over Palace

On this day in 1996, City returned to the Premier League, winning promotion via a First Division Play-Off Final success over Crystal Palace at Wembley Stadium.

Sam Jones

2025-05-27T09:00+01:00

29 Years On - Remembering Our Play-Off Final Triumph Over Palace

On this day in 1996, City returned to the Premier League, winning promotion via a First Division Play-Off Final success over Crystal Palace at Wembley Stadium.

Sam Jones

2025-05-27T09:00+01:00

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 Leicester looking on course to make an immediate return to the Premier League.

We’d 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.

O'Neill quickly turned things around at Filbert Street.

Things really started to motor in April and the momentum built from a 1-0 away win at Charlton Athletic, where Steve 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 again supplied both goals in the 2-0 victory over Oldham Athletic and soon the winner against Huddersfield Town, too.

A theme was starting to emerge, and the forward remained the man for the big occasion, scoring 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.

Stoke's Ray Wallace challenges Emile Heskey during the Play-Off Semi-Final First Leg at Filbert Street, which ended goalless.

Facing relegation-threatened Watford at Vicarage Road knowing that we had to win and rely on other results to sneak into the top six ahead of Ipswich Town, Stoke City or Charlton, Muzzy Izzet scored the only goal of the game.

That sent the Hornets down to the third tier, while, crucially, Ipswich could only draw at home to Millwall, sealing our spot in the play-offs.

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.

Celebrating City's equaliser.

Crystal Palace were the opponents for the 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, it looked destined for penalties, with O’Neill readying 6ft 7ins tall goalkeeper Zeljko Kalac to come on and replace Kevin Poole for the spot-kicks. But with just seconds to go in extra-time, one last chance would fall Leicester’s way.

The two goalscorers toast success under the famous twin towers.

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.

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

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