Hull City manager Steve Bruce was flushed with success after his side clinched promotion to the English Premier League while hiding in the loos.
Bruce’s team knew they would return to the English top flight after a three-year absence if they matched or bettered third-placed Watford’s result on Saturday.
They did just that – drawing 2-2 with champions Cardiff while Watford were losing 2-1 to Leeds – to secure a lucrative promotion worth an estimated STG120 million ($A183 million), but only after an astonishing finale containing agonising twists and turns for both clubs.
The Tigers recovered from Fraizer Campbell’s goal early in the second half to take the lead through Nick Proschwitz and Paul McShane.
But Proschwitz missed a late penalty and Cardiff then equalised with a spot-kick of their own in stoppage-time from Nicky Maynard.
With Watford’s match delayed by 15 minutes due to an injury to their goalkeeper, Bruce and his players had to endure a nerve-wracking wait while the Hornets tried to secure the win that would have taken them up at Hull’s expense.
Some found the pressure too much to take and retreated to the loos in the Hull dressing room rather than watch the finale on television.
Those who couldn’t watch were finally relieved when Ross McCormack scored Leeds’ winner in stoppage-time to confirm Hull’s first automatic promotion to the top flight.
“I’ve been in the game a long, long time and I don’t think I’ve ever seen or witnessed anything quite like that,” Bruce said.
“The 10, 12 minutes was just ridiculous and having to wait … We’ve seen people in tunnels, people walking in corridors, people hiding in toilets – it was just really incredible.”
While former Manchester United defender Bruce can look forward to facing his old club and the rest of the Premier League’s elite next season, Watford manager Gianfranco Zola has to lift his shattered team for the playoffs.
Watford will play Leicester in the semi-final first leg on Thursday and Zola might need to turn to rookie goalkeeper Jack Bonham despite a nightmare debut.
Zola lost first choice goalkeeper Manuel Almunia to injury in the pre-match warm-up and then had back-up Jonathan Bond taken off on a stretcher in the first half.
In the other playoff semi, Crystal Palace host bitter rivals Brighton in the first leg on Friday.
Palace booked their top-six place with a 3-2 win over Peterborough as late goals from Kevin Phillips and Australian Mile Jedinak relegated their opponents.
Wolves were also relegated, crashing into the third tier for the first time since 1989 after a 2-0 loss at Brighton.
