Tim Robinson was the referee for the match, which was played in front of 72,492 spectators. After a goalless first half, the second half began with Barnsley being denied a penalty after what they thought was a foul on Liam Kitching, followed by the sending off of Adam Phillips due to a sliding challenge on Sheffield Wednesday's Lee Gregory. The game remained 0–0 after 90 minutes and went into extra time. The deciding goal came in the third minute of stoppage time, with Sheffield Wednesday's Josh Windassheading the ball past Harry Isted, the Barnsley goalkeeper, to give the team a 1–0 win and a position in the Championship for the first time since 2021.
Sheffield Wednesday were drawn against Peterborough for their semi-final. In the first leg at Peterborough's London Road Stadium, the home team were dominant despite an early chance from Sheffield Wednesday striker Michael Smith. Peterborough won the game 4–0 with goals from Jack Taylor, Joe Ward, Kwame Poku and Jonson Clarke-Harris.[4] In a match dubbed by the club and local media as the "miracle of Hillsborough",[5][6] Sheffield Wednesday recovered in the second leg. First-half goals from Smith and Lee Gregory, followed by strikes from Reece James and Liam Palmer after half-time, established a 4–0 lead at the end of 90 minutes and with the tie level on aggregate, it went to extra time. Despite conceding an own goal in the first half of extra time, when a free kick was diverted off Gregory's head into the net, Sheffield Wednesday equalised the tie once more with a goal from striker Callum Patterson. The tie thus finished 5–5 on aggregate and Sheffield Wednesday were victorious in the penalty shootout by a score of 5–3.[7]
Barnsley's play-off semi final was against Bolton, with the first leg at the University of Bolton Stadium. After a goalless first half, Barnsley took the lead due to a goal from Nicky Cadden, but the hosts equalised four minutes later through a goal by Dion Charles.[8] The game finished 1–1 and the two sides went into the second leg at Oakwell on level terms. The second leg was decided by a 24th-minute goal by Liam Kitching,[9] Barnsley going through to the final with a 2–1 aggregate win.[10]
The match kicked off at 3p.m. in front of a crowd 72,492, of whom around 44,000 were Sheffield Wednesday fans and approximately 23,000 were Barnsley supporters.[23][24][25] Sheffield Wednesday had the better of the opening 15 minutes, with several chances to score, while Barnsley's best opportunity was a shot from Adam Phillips which went over the crossbar.[26] The game then settled down, however, as Barnsley were able to contain the Sheffield Wednesday attacks and there were few serious chances for the remainder of the half.[27][28]
The second half began with two controversial decisions which shaped the remainder of the game. The first was a challenge by Gregory on Kitching in the penalty area, was not given as a foul or a penalty by the referee, a decision confirmed by the VAR. Former Barnsley goalkeeper David Preece commented on BBC Sport at the time that he was surprised by this decision because he had "seen in the Premier League penalties given for much lesser reasons than that".[28] The second incident was the referee's decision to send off Phillips due to a sliding challenge on Gregory, again confirmed by VAR.[28] Despite Sheffield Wednesday's numerical advantage due to this decision, the two sides were still level by the end of normal time, although Barnsley had come close to a goal after Nicky Cadden's volley deflected off of the head of Kitching, hitting the crossbar.[28]
In extra time, Sheffield Wednesday were close to taking the lead after a close-range shot from Wednesday striker Smith was saved by Harry Isted, the Barnsley goalkeeper. Barnsley themselves came close to taking the lead a few minutes later, with Luca Connell six yards from the net but was ultimately unable to convert.[28] Sheffield Wednesday believed they had taken the lead a few minutes later following a strike from Will Vaulks into the back of the net, but this was ruled offside by the assistant referee.[29] The deciding goal came in the third minute of stoppage time, with Josh Windassheading the ball past Isted to secure Wednesday's position in the Championship for the first time since 2021.[28]
Sheffield Wednesday fans outside Sheffield Town Hall celebrating their promotion
Sheffield Wednesday manager Darren Moore described his side's win as "the stuff of dreams". Reflecting on the team's comeback from four goals down in the semi-final and the last-minute winner in the final, Moore commented that "you couldn't write it" and that "the impossible can be achieved".[31] Barnsley manager Michael Duff was proud of his players and described a sense of frustration, saying "it's a cruel game".[32] On the subject of the penalty decision and sending off early in the second half, he stated his belief that Gregory's challenge on Kitching should have been a penalty and that Phillips's challenge merited only a booking.[28] He did, however, compliment Sheffield Wednesday, saying that Moore had done a "brilliant job" and that they were "factually the third best team in the league".[32]
Josh Windass's father, Dean Windass, who had scored a goal under similar circumstances to his son's for Hull City against Bristol City in the 2008 Championship play-off final, emphasised how proud he was, stating "there's no words, there's no words. Wow. I knew he'd score, this morning when I woke up at 5.30 I was nervous and even with his head as well – I can't believe he's headed it."[28][33]
On 31 May, Sheffield Wednesday hosted a victory parade with an open-top bus to celebrate their promotion, which drove from Devonshire Green to Sheffield Town Hall.[34] Upon arriving at the town hall, the club's players and staff, as well as owner Deijphon Chansiri, thanked the fans for their support.[35]
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