Nottingham Forest 3-4 Blackpool (agg 4-6)
Ian Holloway will take Blackpool to Wembley after their demolition of Nottingham Forest
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Tuesday, 11, May 2010 09:43
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DJ Campbell scored a second-half hat-trick as Blackpool blew away Nottingham Forest at the City Ground to secure a place in the Championship play-off final at Wembley.
After losing 2-1 in the first-leg of the semi-final at Kenilworth Road, Forest made the perfect start when Robert Earnshaw brought the aggregate scores level with his early goal.
Blackpool looked composed though and Campbell put Blackpool back into the lead early in the second-half.
Earnshaw pulled the scores level almost immediately with his close range strike, but Stephen Dobbie's deflected effort and two goals in two minutes from Campbell sealed a thrilling victory for Blackpool.
Dele Adebola grabbed a late conciliation for Forest but it was too late to inspire a comeback as Ian Holloway's side secured their place in the play-off final where they will face either Leicester or Cardiff for the chance to play Premier League football next season.
Forest started brightly and brought the aggregate score level inside the first ten minutes when Alex Baptiste failed to clear Radoslav Majewski's through ball, allowing Earnshaw to turn inside the box and guide a shot into the bottom corner.
Blackpool looked nervous after conceding the early goal but began to find their feet and Charlie Adam forced a finger-tip save from Lee Camp with a swerving shot from 25-yards.
Earnshaw looked to have scored a second after the break but a late flag from the linesman ruled the goal out for offside.
Blackpool were the more composed in possession though and regained the lead on aggregate thanks to Campbell who raced onto David Vaughan's through ball and dinked a cool finish past Camp who had raced off his line in an attempt to close off the angle.
Forest responded well and pulled the scores level again with half an hour of normal time remaining thanks to some poor defending from Blackpool which allowed Earnshaw to lash the ball into the roof of the net from six yards out.
The advantage continued to swing from one side to another though and the visitors took the lead again when Vaughan laid the ball off for Dobbie - just on as a substitute - whose shot went in via a deflection off Kelvin Wilson.
Gilks made two fine saves soon after to keep Blackpool in the lead, denying Blackstock and Earnshaw in quick succession.
And the goalkeeper's intervention proved vital as Campbell took advantage of a defensive meltdown in the Forest back line to score twice in quick succession and complete his hat-trick.
With the aggregate score standing at 6-3 Billy Davies' side looked shell-shocked in the final minutes with Blackpool finishing the game comfortably with a play-off final at Wembley to look forward too.