Derby County: Why Wembley 1994 still defines Leicester for me | OneFootball

One match at Wembley in 1994 fixed Leicester in my mind forever, a day of belief turned to heartbreak that still lingers.

Derby led through Tommy Johnson in the First Division play-off final. After a heavy challenge on keeper Martin Taylor, referee Roger Milford let play run and Steve Walsh levelled. John Harkes later rounded the keeper but missed, and near the end Walsh made it 2-1.

Another flashpoint stung. Gary Coatsworth, already booked, committed another foul that on most days brings a second yellow, nothing arrived. The whistle went and everything fell away.

It capped a wild season, Lionel Pickering backing Arthur Cox then Roy McFarland as Derby thrilled and leaked in equal measure. I had wanted the Premier League so badly.

I was 15, which is why it hit so hard. I cried down Wembley Way, Harriett silent, my dad Roger urging us on, my mum Kelly later in tears in a Garfunkel's as a song about smiling through heartbreak played. In Trafalgar Square I kept crying, wondering how football could hurt so much.

Years later Leicester entered administration, cleared their debt with no points deduction because the rules had not changed, then under Thai ownership won the Premier League, the FA Cup and played in Europe. When Derby went into administration the penalties landed, points lost, relegation and a long struggle.

Since then the clubs have barely met, no league game since 2014 and one FA Cup tie in 2017. It is not a rivalry, it is that day, the moment I learnt what Derby meant to me, and it has never left.

Source: BBC UK