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Bobby Zamora scored in the last minute to send ten-man Queens Park Rangers to the Premier League as Derby agonisingly missed out.
Zamora came on as a substitute just before the hour mark but scored perhaps the most important goal of his career.
On the biggest day in the football league calender and on the most expensive game in the footballing world, could anyone match the goal scoring hero in the ratings?
QPR made it extremely difficult for themselves after Gary O'Neil was shown a red card with a third of the game remaining.
But, they defended well enough to hold their opponents at bay and produced their snatch and grab winner with the game all but over.
Chris Martin and Simon Dawkins came close for the Rams but Rob Green saved well from both.
Championship play-off final: Derby 0 QPR 1- player ratingsShow all 25 1 /25Championship play-off final: Derby 0 QPR 1- player ratings Championship play-off final: Derby 0 QPR 1- player ratings Lee Grant 6 Not tested all game and then given no chance by Zamora’s precise finish late on
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Championship play-off final: Derby 0 QPR 1- player ratings Andre Wisdom 6 The Liverpool loanee produced a solid display as he roamed forward as much as possible – has all the tools to succeed in the Premier League
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Championship play-off final: Derby 0 QPR 1- player ratings Jake Buxton 6 Not forced to work much as his side dominated for the most part – unfortunate to be on the losing side
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Championship play-off final: Derby 0 QPR 1- player ratings Craig Forsyth 7 Not necessarily the most gifted individual in Derby’s young and talented squad, but showed he has the temperament to perform on the big stage with a very solid performance
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Championship play-off final: Derby 0 QPR 1- player ratings Richard Keogh 4 Looked a little cumbersome as Austin went past him with ease early on but from then appeared comfortable, until the last minute when his horrific slip allowed Zamora to win it for QPR
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Championship play-off final: Derby 0 QPR 1- player ratings Jeff Hendrick 6 The least eye-catching of Derby’s young midfield trio on the day, but didn’t let anybody down with a solid performance
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Championship play-off final: Derby 0 QPR 1- player ratings Will Hughes 7 Stands out thanks to both his hair and ability. Perhaps needs to work on his fitness as his manager didn’t trust him to go beyond the 67th minute
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Championship play-off final: Derby 0 QPR 1- player ratings George Thorne 8 Used his long legs to poach the ball from the opposition midfielders regularly – also impressive going the other way as he surged forward – one of his side’s most impressive performers
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Championship play-off final: Derby 0 QPR 1- player ratings Johnny Russell 7 Having huffed and puffed without making much impact for the first hour, it was Russell’s moment of magic as he bamboozled Dunne which gave Derby the advantage – taken off soon after but served his purpose
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Championship play-off final: Derby 0 QPR 1- player ratings Chris Martin 6 Did his best to feed off of limited service – perhaps didn’t do enough given his side’s dominance late on
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Championship play-off final: Derby 0 QPR 1- player ratings Jamie Ward 6 Determined performance from the diminutive Northern Irishman – his work rate couldn’t be questioned but too often failed to produce the killer pass when he found himself in promising situations
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Championship play-off final: Derby 0 QPR 1- player ratings Simon Dawkins 7 (Substitute) Looked most likely to win it for the Rams after his second half introduction – troubled the QPR defence and forced a top save from Green
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Championship play-off final: Derby 0 QPR 1- player ratings Robert Green 7 After a quiet first half the former England number one kept his side in the game as Derby dominated after QPR were reduced to ten men – a fine display
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Championship play-off final: Derby 0 QPR 1- player ratings Danny Simpson 6 Didn’t make any glaring errors and showed good energy but will be slightly disappointed at how often Derby found space down his flank
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Championship play-off final: Derby 0 QPR 1- player ratings Nedum Onuoha 6 His pace enabled him to recover quickly on the rare occasions that he was caught out of position – played a key part in keeping Derby out as the Londoners struggled with ten men
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Championship play-off final: Derby 0 QPR 1- player ratings Richard Dunne 5 His lack of agility was exposed first by Hughes in the first half when he very nearly gave away a penalty and then after the break when he was made to look rather sheepish by Jamie Ward’s nutmeg – if he had done his job O’Neil wouldn’t have been sent off
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Championship play-off final: Derby 0 QPR 1- player ratings Clint Hill 6 The captain led by example as he gave nothing away from left-back with a typically resolute display before he was substituted as a result of O’Neil’s sending off
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Championship play-off final: Derby 0 QPR 1- player ratings Gary O'Neil 5 Produced a solid display for an hour before his cynical lunge on Jamie Ward saw him sent off – he made a poor decision in the heat of the moment
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Championship play-off final: Derby 0 QPR 1- player ratings Joey Barton 6 Given his experience and pedigree, Barton didn’t dominate the midfield in the way his manager might have hoped and was outshone by the majority of his teammates
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Championship play-off final: Derby 0 QPR 1- player ratings Junior Hoilett 6 On the peripheries of the game for the most part but his pace and direct running was clearly one of QPR’s biggest threats to the Derby defence
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Championship play-off final: Derby 0 QPR 1- player ratings Niko Kranjcar 6 Showed glimpses of class before having his day cut short by injury after 33 minutes
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Championship play-off final: Derby 0 QPR 1- player ratings Kevin Doyle 5 Uninspiring showing from the Irishman before he was unsurprisingly withdrawn just before the hour mark
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Championship play-off final: Derby 0 QPR 1- player ratings Charlie Austin 6 Having waited almost an hour for a chance, two came along at once for Austin – tried hard but it turned out be Zamora’s day
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Championship play-off final: Derby 0 QPR 1- player ratings Armand Traore 6 (Substitute) Offered a different threat down the QPR left when he replaced the injured Kranjcar after half an hour – although he sometimes struggled to produce a quality final ball his pace enabled him to find space in behind the Derby defence
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Championship play-off final: Derby 0 QPR 1- player ratings Bobby Zamora 8 (Substitute) Hardly touched the ball after coming on after 57 minutes... but then popped up with perhaps the biggest goal of his career as he expertly pounced upon Blahs mistake
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Harry Redknapp's men held on to gain promotion to the Premier League and earn an estimated £80m, leaving Derby to reflect on what could have been.
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