Background This was Huddersfield Town's sixth appearance in a play-off final. Their most recent previous appearance was in the
2017 EFL Championship play-off final where they drew 0–0 with
Reading before going on to win 4–3 in the resulting penalty shoot-out to secure promotion to the Premier League. That match was also Huddersfield's most recent appearance at
Wembley Stadium. They were relegated two seasons later and had played in the second tier of English football since the 2019–20 season. It was Nottingham Forest's first play-off final, having been knocked out in the semi-finals three times in the 2000s. They had played in the Championship for fourteen consecutive seasons after securing promotion from League One in the 2007–08 season. Nottingham Forest made their most recent appearance at the national stadium when they lost 1–0 to
Manchester United in the
1992 Football League Cup Final at the
original Wembley. They had last played at the top tier of English football in the
1998–99 season. The final was Nottingham Forest's first appearance at the new Wembley since the stadium was re-opened in 2007. In March 2022, the teams played each other in the fifth round of the
2021–22 FA Cup, with Nottingham Forest coming from behind to win 2–1. Going into the final, Johnson was top scorer for Nottingham Forest with 18 goals and 10 assists in 48 appearances, while
Danny Ward was leading marksman for Huddersfield, having scored 14 times and making 3 assists in 42 games. In May 2022, the EFL announced that for the first time, the
video assistant referee (VAR) system would be used at all play-off finals. The
referee for the final was
Jon Moss, who was officiating his final match before retirement, and was
assisted by Marc Perry and Tim Wood.
Craig Pawson was the
fourth official while
Paul Tierney acted as the VAR.
Summary (pictured in 2019) scored the only goal of the game, into his own net off his knee. Nottingham Forest
kicked off the match at around 4.30p.m. on 29 May 2022 in front of 80,019 supporters at Wembley Stadium, London. Two early fouls from
Joe Worrall both resulted in free kicks for Huddersfield, neither of which threatened the Nottingham Forest goal. In the 12th minute, Zinckernagel was brought down by
Naby Sarr but
Ryan Yates headed
James Garner's free kick wide of the Huddersfield Town goal. Nottingham Forest increased the pressure and Sarr had to clear the ball to prevent
Keinan Davis from shooting. In the 23rd minute, Yates struck the ball from the edge of the Huddersfield Town penalty area but it went high over the crossbar. Seven minutes later,
Scott McKenna's shot was cleared by Huddersfield Town. Zinckernagel's curving strike was then blocked before Thomas's
dribble ended with a poor delivery; the former footballer
Matthew Glennon suggested that he thought Thomas had "got caught between shooting and crossing." The deadlock was broken in the 43rd minute with Nottingham Forest taking the lead. Davis passed the ball to Garner who crossed it into the Huddersfield Town penalty area from the left towards Yates but it ricocheted off
Levi Colwill's knee and went high into the left corner of the net for an
own goal. After one minute of stoppage time, the first half came to an end with the score 1–0 to Nottingham Forest. Neither side made any changes to their playing personnel during the interval and Huddersfield Town kicked the second half off. Three minutes in, Yates struck the ball from around but it was saved by
Lee Nicholls in the Huddersfield goal. which the referee judged to be a dive. The decision was reviewed by VAR, which did not find a "clear and obvious error", and Toffolo was booked for a dive, and no penalty was awarded. With fifteen minutes remaining, Zinckernagel was substituted and replaced by
Max Lowe for Nottingham Forest. In the 84th minute, Huddersfield Town's O'Brien was brought down by Lowe and despite claims for a penalty, the referee declined to award it. Three minutes later,
Pipa's strike went high over the Nottingham Forest goal before Samba was forced off the pitch with an injury to be replaced by
Ethan Horvath. Six minutes of stoppage time were indicated by the fourth official, and with one minute remaining, O'Brien's shot from the edge of the Nottingham Forest penalty area flew wide. The referee blew the final whistle and Nottingham Forest won the match 1–0, to gain promotion to the Premier League.
Details ==Post-match==