SO, for the only time this season, the play-offs produced the right result with the highest team in the division getting promoted.
The fact that it was Town was, of course, fantastic but, in my opinion, to settle a whole season on penalties is pathetic.
The play-offs are wrong, producing money maybe, but totally unfair and I just had a feeling that the game would go to penalties to render the whole thing a farce.
Enough of my whinge, the team worked magnificently with some superb defending, although it was a very nervous affair for both sided with many individual errors.
I personally would have played Rob Edwards from the start and certainly didn't agree that Tony Carss was man of the match (as the sponsors said).
Efe Sodje and Danny Schofield led that one for me.
The final ball was very often poor and we gave away possession far too easily.
The crowd seemed subdued for long periods as the tension of the occasion got to them.
Nearly to extra time and the disallowed goal at the last gasp had a few hearts in mouths.
It was a close call apparently, as I heard (Mansfield manager) Keith Curle moaning on the radio about it.
He must have forgotten a similar disallowed one in the recent match at the McAlpine (which Mansfield won 3-1) that would have put us two up against them and surely would have given us the extra point we needed for automatic promotion.
What goes round comes round!
The penalties themselves – superbly struck by all four Town players – were magnificent.
A great save by Paul Rachubka, to put with his great one during normal play, set us on our way.
But it was only when Liam Lawrence missed (and oh, how the Town fans loved that particularq player's poor effort) did I for the first time believe we would win.
I did fancy that Mansfield wouldn't score all five again and really wanted them to miss after Curle's arrogant comment in the programme that they didn't need to practice penalties because they were all so confident .
So I say rejoice. Look forward to trips to Hull, Wednesday, Barnsley, Bradford (if they survive) and bask in the glory of an immediate bounce back and a triple whammy of a season (Town promoted and Bradford and Leeds relegated).
It doesn't get much better for a Terrier!
