West Ham won the match 1–0 with the only goal of the game coming from Bobby Zamora in the second half, and were promoted back to the Premier League after an absence of two years.

Preston's next season saw them finish in fourth place in the Championship, and qualify for the play-offs, where they lost 3–1 on aggregate to Leeds United in the semi-final.

[1] West Ham United faced Ipswich Town in their play-off semi-final, with the first leg taking place at the Boleyn Ground in East London on 14 May 2005.

They doubled their lead six minutes later when, once again, Etherington crossed the ball and this time it was Bobby Zamora's strike which beat Kelvin Davis in the Ipswich goal.

Shefki Kuqi then equalised from close range following a defensive mix-up between Walker and Anton Ferdinand and match ended level on 2–2.

The home side were dominant in the first half and took the lead in the 38th minute when David Nugent beat Lee Camp in the Derby goal after picking up a flicked pass from Chris Sedgwick.

[8] During that match, Tomáš Řepka was sent off for headbutting Brian O'Neil in his right eye and a mass brawl ensued in the tunnel after the final whistle.

[9][10] Cresswell was the highest scorer for Preston throughout the season with 16 goals, while West Ham's top marksman was Teddy Sheringham who had 20 followed by Harewood with 17.

[14] Winning the play-off final was estimated in the media to be worth up to £35 million to the successful team;[15][16][17][18] CNN described the game as "the world's richest club match".

[13] The West Ham manager Alan Pardew opted for a 4–4–2 formation, with Shaun Newton replacing Carl Fletcher in right midfield.

[19] Billy Davies, the Preston manager named an unchanged side from that which secured the goalless draw in the play-off semi-final, despite Graham Alexander having recovered from injury.

With West Ham defending in numbers, Preston were forced to derive chances to score from set pieces, with Lucketti's header from Eddie Lewis' corner being saved by Walker.

Davis slipped, allowing Etherington to cross for Zamora to score from 6 yards (5.5 m), his fourth goal in three play-off games, and put West Ham 1–0 ahead.

[24] Preston's next season saw them finish in fourth place in the Championship,[25] and qualify for the play-offs, where they lost 3–1 on aggregate to Leeds United in the semi-final.