Swansea City became the first Welsh side to make the promised land of the Premier League with a thrilling 4-2 win over Reading.
Swansea took a 3-0 lead into halftime at Wembley thanks to a double by Sinclair in the space of two minutes and fellow winger Stephen Dobbie’s fine first-time finish.
Noel Hunt and Matthew Mills reduced Reading’s deficit with goals in the opening 12 minutes of the second half to set up a dramatic finale, but Sinclair’s third goal—his second penalty of the match—clinched victory in front of more than 85,000 fans.
Promotion is an amazing achievement for Swansea considering that only eight years ago they were only a point away from being relegated out of England’s four-tier Football League. Now they will playing the likes of Manchester United and Liverpool.
By earning promotion to the Premier League, Swansea are expected to earn around 90 million pounds from commercial and broadcast revenue, as well as other income.
Swansea are a footballing side, and their style will serve them well in the EPL. But style does not win your points in the Premier League as Blackpool found out this season. In order to survive, Swansea will need to dip in to their newly found fortune and bring real quality to South Wales.
photo credit: joncandy