ROUNDBALL DAILY

Nottingham Forest edges Sheffield United to advance to EFL Championship Playoff Final

alt= "Nottingham Forest players celebrate"

Nottingham Forest defeated Sheffield United on penalties (3-3 through two legs and extra time) to advance to Wembley Stadium and the EFL Championship Playoff Final on Tuesday.

Forest, which was barren and languishing at the bottom of the Championship when manager Steve Cooper took over in September, has completed a remarkable turnaround, and are now one win away from competing in the Premier League for the first time since 1999.

The Reds (their nickname should be the Trees— let’s be real) got there in large part thanks to goalkeeper Brice Samba, who made three unbelievable saves in the penalty shootout and denied a tremendous scoring chance for Sheffield United late in regular time.

Brennan Johnson has also been terrific for Forest, having scored in both legs of the semifinal, just like his father did in a playoff semifinal against Sheffield United back in 2002. The Blades ended up winning that one, though.

Johnson’s brilliance has him being eyed by the likes of Leeds and Tottenham, and if Forest don’t earn promotion, it’s possible the 20-year-old could end up in one of those shirts next season. He scored 16 goals and racked up 9 assists for Forest throughout the regular season.

Forest will now face Huddersfield Town, which ended Luton Town’s Cinderella run to the EFL playoffs after edging the Hatters 1-0 in the second leg in Huddersfield.

The Terriers were last in the Premier League in 2018.

The EFL Championship Playoff Final will be held Sunday, May 29 at Wembley Stadium. Kickoff is set for 11:30 a.m. ET in the United States.

The League One Final, which will pit Sunderland (of recent Netflix documentary fame) against Wycombe, will be held Saturday, May 21 at Wembley, with kickoff at 10 a.m. ET.

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