19 May 2023 , 10:11
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Sheffield Wednesday’s stunning comeback against Peterborough in the League One semi-final second leg was aided by “Fergie time”, according to Jamie Carragher.
Wednesday made history by overturning a four-goal first-leg deficit at Hillsborough on Thursday night, winning 5-4 on penalties after the tie finished 5-5 on aggregate after extra-time. Peterborough led 4-0 from the first leg, but were taken into extra-time by Liam Palmer’s 98th-minute goal.
Peterborough edged ahead through Lee Gregory’s own goal before Callum Paterson equalised to make it 5-1 on the night and send the game to penalties. Posh defender Dan Butler was the only player to miss as Jack Hunt found the top corner to send Wednesday through to face Barnsley or Bolton in the play-off final at Wembley.
It was the greatest play-off comeback in the history of the Football League and had viewers gripped. One of them was former Liverpool defender Carragher, who was quick to add a familiar label to Palmer’s crucial injury-time goal.
“OMG!!!!!!!” he wrote on Twitter, before adding in a quote-tweet: “Fergie time!” Carragher was of course referring to ex-Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, whose side gained a reputation for scoring late goals in time added onto injury-time.
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Palmer’s goal was merely one of several jaw-dropping moments at Hillsborough. Owls captain Barry Bannan tried to sum up the drama in his post-match interview with Sky Sports.
"Fergie time" has become part of the football lexicon (Gary M. Prior/Getty Images)"Everybody wrote us off. Everybody told us we couldn't do it but it's unbelievable,” he said. "We've watched comebacks all week. It was all about believing. When we have those fans behind us, anything is possible.
"It's the best game I've ever played in. I'm so happy because all these lads deserve it. I give everything for this club to get us promoted. Everybody wrote us off but we showed we're made of strong stuff. We're only halfway there.
"I’ve had loads of messages but I just stayed with positive people, stayed away from negativity and ignored those messages. Those who were booing us last week saying we're not fit to wear the shirt, have a look at this.”
Sheffield Wednesday won 5-4 on penalties after a 5-5 draw on aggregate (Matt McNulty/Getty Images)Posh manager Darren Ferguson – the son of Sir Alex – congratulated Wednesday, but was irritated at the crucial fourth goal, which came two minutes after the allotted injury-time was due to expire.
"To lose a game and a semi-final in the manner that we did is very rough. It's a cruel game at times," he told Sky Sports. "I have to congratulate Sheffield Wednesday, Darren [Moore] and his team. I wish them all the best in the final. No two games are the same, we knew this is a very rare place in League One in terms of the momentum that the place can give you.
"We made some wrong decisions, and then obviously in the last minute of the game – you don't want to be sounding bitter, because I don't – but there's six minutes [added on] and we play eight. It's not right, but congratulations to Sheffield Wednesday."