Crystal Palace – West Ham United

It's a London thing as West Ham United and Crystal Palace battle for the biggest prize in English football - a place in the cash-rich Premiership. Join us from 15.00 BST

Here's the teams: Crystal Palace: Vaesen, Butterfield, Popovic, Leigertwood, Granville, Routledge, Riihilahti, Derry, Hughes, Shipperley, Johnson. Subs: Freedman, Berthelin, Powell, Black, Watson.

West Ham: Bywater, Repka, Dailly, Melville, Mullins, Harewood, Carrick, Lomas, Etherington, Zamora, Connolly. Subs: Srnicek, Brevett, Deane, Reo-Coker, Hutchison.

Graham Poll will be manning the whistle and notebook.

Julian Gray will be a big loss to Palace. West Ham have most of their big guns.

West Ham get the game underway. Lomas charges in for a loose ball. Melville is calm at the back. Head tennis enuses.

Shipperley penalised for a push. West Ham free-kick to be hit long. Or so it seemed as Mullins opts for a short pass.

Harewood chases a knockdown but can't get there. Etherington muscled out by Butterfield.

Keeper Vaesen comes out to claim under pressure from Zamora.

Long ball from Palace - they're yet to settle on the ball.

Andy Johnson down the wing finds space to get in a cross. Melville did well as a group of Palace players were queuing up.

Butterfield slams a shot wide from a squared freekcik

West Ham pressing and Lomas wins a corner for the Hammers

Carrick and Etherington try to work it but the move breaks down

Wayne Routledge tears down wing, but loses control

Routledge again down the right wing, fires in a great ball, but some good defending lets the Hammers off the hook

The pace is frantic

Tony Popovic concedes a corner

Carrick whips the ball in, Zamora loks dangerous, but he can't get a clear shiot away and the ball is cleared

Freekick to West Ham, the ball is worked to Harewood but Vaesen claims

Lomas fells Hughes and there is a freekick in a dangerous area

Butterfield floats in a clever freekcik and the ball is out for a corner

There is a half chance for Granville at the back post but he can't stretch to the ball

Zamora flies through the middle and is one-on-one with the keeper who spreads himself and makes the save

The chance was created by Carrick who threaded a wonderful defence splitting ball

Andrew Johnson turns and fires a shot on goal - great chance!

Dailly with a saving tackle! Palace in the swing now!

Dailly again with some solid defending saves a corner

Bywater scuffs a clearance and he looks nervous

Marlon Harewood races clear after dropping shouler - that elivates the pressure on the backline

Zamora wins a corner for the Hammers

Etherington takes and Dailly connects with a sweet header, but it flies just wide

West Ham playing keep-ball,

West Ham win a corner

Carrick takes it short and Etherington fires over the bar

Routledge on the ball, looking dangerous running at the Hammers defenders

Derry fires in a decent ball, but it is hacked away

Repka clears the ball on the line after a Hughes shot

Matthew Etherington works it down the right and lifts in a cross, but it lands on the roof of the net

Shipperly has been working very hard for the team but not getting much of a chance to shine - good grafting but for little reward

Mullins on the ball, spreading the play

Bywater again with another poor clearance

Routledge and Butterfield link up well down byt the corner flag as Palace press again

Yellow card for Repka

Aki Riihilahti and Harewood combine well

Etherington gets round the back of buttefield and gets a teasing ball intot he box, but Zamora is nowhere and the chance goes begging

Halftime!

Phew!! That was as frantic a match as I can remember. Off to soak my fingers ready for the next 45. Keep it hear!

Back undeway!!

Etherington felled by Hughes, tasty challenge!

Carrick fires in a deep ball looking for Harewood, but its too deep

Hughe, Granville and Derry work a neat little triangle down the left, but the final ball goes out of play - bright start from Palace

Connolly tries his luck from range - but the effort goes wide of the mark

Corner ball for West Ham

Shocking ball in from Etherington, but an even worse clearance by Butterfield - lucky nobody was on hand to capitalise!

Theses two teams certainly have the athleticism to compete in the Premiership, the pace of the game has been frenetic - but they need goals, much like this game

Corner for Palace as Johnson and Mullins carve an opening

Shipperly has a shot, but it is way off target - in fairness it was only a half chance

Mullins with a very poor ball, gloriously overhit!

Freekick for Pardew's men in a dangerous area outside the penalty box

Carrick fires in the ball to the back post, but where it would have been great to see Harewood leaping there was nobody

Lomas with a wonderful strike, it takes an equally good save to force a corner

Palace survive, somehow! Pinball-tastic in the six yarder after Zamora got a glancing head on the ball

Solid defending by Mullins

Shipperly bags the opener for Palace!

Danny Granville ran across the box and fired in a week shot which Bywater could only parry into the path of the former Barnsley striker who couldn't miss!

West Ham have the ball in the back of the Palace net, but Connolly's long range effort is ruled out for offside

What a game this is!

Amazing! Zamora lifts the ball into the Palace goal, but the linesman flags again! That is bad luck gone mad

The linesman is getting pelted with missles from the crowd - not pleasant, but equally not surprising, his decisions have won him no friends in West Ham colours!

Etherington, who is having a good game, steals the ball of Shipperly's foot preventing the striker from trying a shot

Subs coming on for West Ham: Harweood and Zamora are off and in their place Brian Deane and Nigel Reo-Coker

A change for Palace as well: Butterfield bows out and in his place Darren Powell

Connolly holds the ball up, deep in enemy territory and looks for support - the result is a freekick

Deadballs are Carrick's domain and he knock the ball in, but no-one connects

Lomas is furious after being taken out by Derry - freekick and a card for Derry

Shaun Derry deserved a booking for the tackle, and arguably for his hideous haircut

Neil Shipperley is struggling with cramp, he is getting some treatment off the pitch

Carrick with a great half-volley on target, but the keeper is equal to it

West Ham make another change, Connolly goes off and on comes Don Hutchison

Shipperly goes to ground under a heavy tackle

Carrick picks up the ball and works it forward - he is a class act and I'm afraid that unless they go up today someone will be in for his signature

Etherington lashes a shot from a narrow angle high, wide and handsome

Hughes with a clumsy tackle on Etherington - another player with a bright future, at least on the strength of his showing today

Palace soak up another Hammers foray and break forward

Bywater does well, coming off his line to claim a danerous cross

Just over ten minutes to go, Palace closing in on a £30million payday

Palace looking very organised, dealing with hoofed balls towards Deane, three centre halfs ensuring there are no knock downs

72,523 people at the Millennium stadium - more than the FA Cup final last week - one for the stat fans there

Penalty claim for the Hammers is waved away by Ref Graham Poll

Carrick was felled on the very edge of the box - close, close, close call

Time running out for West Ham

Etherington speeds down the wing and fires in a deep cross but off his line comes Nico Vaesen

Corner for the Hammers

Etherington blots his copy book by lashing in a poor corner

Bywater charges to the centre circle to thwart a nascent attack

Dailly is forced to knock the ball into the stands as Palace go for the knockout punch

Reo-Coker is furious - the linesman gets an earful after a corner is not given!

Palace apply more pressure - decent effort goes over

Four minutes of added time - agony for the fans, and my fingers!

Deane flashes a shot into the box and it ricochets into Lomas' path and bounces of him and out for a goalkick, so close...

Hughes wins a corner for Palace

Mass brawl!!

Etherington gets a card as does Routledge. Nice brawl though, handbags and ten paces!!

Time running out and West Ham hoist the ball upfront

Fulltime! Palace are up! Dowie has done it!

Dowie has transformed Palace in the short time he has been there, a remarkable turn around. It has been a great contest, plenty of ebb and flow and worthy winners at the end of it.

For Palace, it's celebration time and trips to Anfield and Old Trafford next season. For West Ham more trips to Burnley, Stoke and Reading and a depressing trip back to East London.