Nottingham Forest celebration compositeGoal/Getty

Nottingham Forest beat Huddersfield to end 23-year Premier League exile in dramatic Championship play-off final

Nottingham Forest have ended a two-decade exile from the top-flight of English football after defeating Huddersfield Town in a dramatic Championship play-off final at Wembley to book their place in next season's Premier League.

Steve Cooper's side overcame Carlos Corberan's Terriers to bring the curtain down on a 23-year absence in front of a raucous crowd in north London, with Huddersfield defender and Chelsea loanee Levi Colwill's own goal the decider.

Yet Forest rode their luck to reach the finish line, after Huddersfield saw two penalty shouts in the second half turned down while goalkeeper Brice Samba was forced off through injury late on.

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Watch: Forest celebrate Premier League promotion

Forest ride fortune to fairytale finale

Having taken just one point from their first seven fixtures under Chris Hughton, the idea of promotion back to the Premier League - having been absent since the turn of the millennium - must have seemed fanciful to Forest fans.

Under Cooper, they have sealed a remarkable turnaround, losing as many games in their remaining 39 matches as they did under his predecessor to seal an impressive fourth-place finish.

That revival has now come full circle on the biggest stage of all - and means Forest, once regular contenders at the summit of the English game and two-times champions of Europe, will return to the top table.

Terriers suffer tough weekend in the capital

Mere hours after the rugby league club they share the John Smith's Stadium with were pipped for silverware across town at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, it was Corberan's side who came up agonisingly short in the end.

Colwill's finish to turn Manchester United loanee James Garner's cross into his own net proved to be the decisive blow on the scoresheet, but the Terriers will have every reason to feel frustrated after a couple of huge calls went against them.

Harry Toffolo saw a penalty appeal waved off by VAR after a near-foul by Jack Colback, while Max Lowe was fortunate to go unpunished for a clumsy challenge on Lewis O'Brien.

All this came before Samba's late injury - and delay in getting off the field - which further stymied their attempts to find a late equaliser.

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