Article posted on 30 September 2013 at 6:16pm

European Champions!

A huge congratulations to Derby County who are this seasons' European cup winners after a close 2-1 victory over Futebol Clube de Penafiel in the final.

A fairly drab game, barring a cross-cum-shot which hit the Panafiel crossbar in the first half, between the 2 teams livened up towards the end as Derby took the lead with just over 20 minutes remaining through Adrian Carjan with a low drive into the corner.

Penafiel then started having plenty of the possession as Derby sat back, but they were struggling to create a clear chance until a mistake in the Derby defence gave the ball to Ally McCoist on the edge of the area. Marcin Gdowski was struggling to get there and ended up clipping his heels leaving the referee no option but to point to the penalty spot. Ally McCoist himself blasted the ball straight down the middle and into the next for the equaliser.

The final 10 minutes were actually the most exciting end to end action of the match despite the lack of clear attempts. The deadlock was broken in the 84th minute when Darren Huckerby got lucky in a goalmouth scramble and poked it past Arthur Medeleanu in the Panafiel net.

Panafiel almost took the game to extra time in the final minute of the game but unfortunately Ally McCoist hit his shot straight at the goalkeepr.

a big congratulations then go to Derby County of the English Premier League, the first English winners of the tournament since season 19. Commiserations go to Futebol Clube de Penafiel but they will get another chance next season as they have won the Portuguese league with a game to spare.

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