Derby 3-3 Sheffield Wednesday: Rams survive and consign Owls to League One
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Manager Wayne Rooney celebrated on the pitch with his players after Derby's survival was confirmed
Martyn Waghorn was the hero as Derby County battled back to get the point they needed to stay in the Championship and consign Sheffield Wednesday to relegation to League One after a chaotic game at Pride Park.
For much of the afternoon it looked like both sides would be going down as Rotherham, who needed to win to stand any chance of survival, led at Cardiff through Lewis Wing's spectacular early goal.
When Marlon Pack netted an 88th minute-equaliser for Cardiff, it was Wednesday who were staying up as they led 3-2.
But almost immediately, Owls defender Chey Dunkley brought down sub Kamil Jozwiak in the box and Waghorn kept his composure to beat Keiren Westwood from the spot and ensure it was Wayne Rooney's Rams who would be staying up.
After a nervy first half, which was held up by Waghorn receiving lengthy treatment after colliding with a post, it was the Owls who took the lead just before the break when Sam Hutchinson blasted in a close-range rebound.
Rooney's Rams turned it around with a quickfire double after the interval through Waghorn's header and a wonderful effort from Patrick Roberts.
Wednesday responded when Callum Paterson swept home a loose ball from inside the area before Julian Borner put the Owls back in front from a corner.
But, no sooner had Rotherham let in the equaliser at Cardiff that consigned them to the drop, Waghorn thumped in his decisive penalty.
There was little to suggest the madness that was to unfold in the second half after an opening 45 minutes with scarcely any chances or quality.
Although the quality - Roberts' expert finish aside - hardly improved after the interval, the game totally changed as both teams took it in turns to concede soft goals.
Just when the Rams had turned it around with two goals in four minutes to lead, they dropped off completely and allowed Wednesday to go back in front and, briefly, climb out of the relegation zone.
With the Owls needing victory to stand any chance of staying up, they threw everything forward after Waghorn's leveller in search of a late winner but they could not find one last opportunity and return to League One after nine years in the Championship.
Three bosses but little hope - Wednesday down
Sheffield Wednesday will be playing in League One next season for the first time since 2012
It looked likely to be a tough ask for Wednesday to avoid relegation after they were forced to start the season with a 12-point deduction for breaching spending rules.
The penalty was reduced to six points after successfully appealing against the sanction and the Owls moved off the bottom of the table with a 0-0 draw with Millwall on 7 November.
However, boss Garry Monk was then sacked two days later and replaced by veteran Tony Pulis.
The Welshman's spell in charge was a disaster though and he won just one of his 10 matches before also being sacked on 28 December with the Owls in 23rd position, three points adrift of safety.
Their form initially picked up under caretaker Neil Thompson and they moved out of the relegation zone and to a season-high 20th place with a 1-0 home win over Derby on 1 January.
They moved out of the bottom three again with a 2-0 win over lowly Wycombe on 9 February but then lost the following four matches before Darren Moore was appointed their third manager of the season.
He lost his first three matches and then missed a couple of games after testing positive for Covid-19 before having to step away for an extended period after contracting pneumonia.
Moore returned to the dug-out for the game against the side he played for between 2006 and 2008 but he could not inspire his side to a win that would improbably have kept them in the division.
However, relegation on the final day of the campaign will be tough to swallow on a day when they led twice but just could not hold on.
Rooney's Rams survive by barest margin
Although Saturday's result proved to be enough, there remain a number of unanswered questions at Derby going into next season.
Firstly, who will own the club at the start of the 2021-22 season is yet to be decided.
Owner Mel Morris, who has put in around £200m since taking over in 2015, agreed a sale to No Limit Sports Limited, owned by Spanish businessman Erik Alonso, in April but it is yet to be formally completed.
Secondly, although the Rams managed to scrape over the line they failed to win any of their final seven games.
Rooney said straight after the match that his side will "get better" next campaign and on recent evidence they will certainly need to if they are to avoid another season of struggle.