GOLDEN shot, golden Eagles: seldom has Wembley witnessed a better finish to an indifferent game of football than the inspired goal from David Hopkin, which, yesterday, restored Crystal Palace to the Premier League after an absence of two seasons.

The Scottish midfielder struck in the 90th minute to deny Sheffield United the option of extra-time and guarantee Palace a windfall of anything up to £8 million when they return to the top division they last saw in 1995.

From a Crystal Palace point of view there was a certain amount of justice both in the result and the way it came about. In the First Division play-off final a year earlier, a mishit shot by Steve Claridge in the last minute of extra-time had taken Leicester City up and left Palace to brood on the fine line between success and failure.

At least Hopkin spared Sheffield United another half-hour of frustration, not to mention exhaustion. Sunny May days make Wembley a marvellous setting but yesterday's match, with all the accompanying tension, was an unremitting slog for the players. For the most part it was also hard work for the 64,000-odd spectators, because too few players were prepared to compose themselves before making a pass or attempting a shot.

In Hopkin and Andy Roberts Crystal Palace possessed two of those who did not allow the importance of the occasion to overcome their normal, decent footballing habits. Roberts ran the midfield until the second half, when Sheffield United made a point of cutting off his passing options and narrowing his avenues of approach.

For a time Nigel Spackman's experience promised to bring United the advantages won earlier by Roberts, but Howard Kendall's team never really employed their full-backs as consistently well in attack as Palace, for whom Kevin Muscat and Dean Gordon provided frequent width and penetration.

Sheffield United's best period came in the 20 minutes after half-time, when Jan Fjortoft, with better service, was able to hold the ball up and bring other people into play. But United's problem all along lay in their reluctance to get enough men forward to put serious pressure on Andy Linighan and the other Palace defenders.

Kendall tried a change of tactics midway through the first half when he replaced his Belarus striker, Peter Katchouro, with the more direct Gareth Taylor. But losing Don Hutchison on the stroke of half-time with a dislocated shoulder, the result of failing heavily in a challenge with Linighan, did not enhance United's ability to break Palace down.

Steve Coppell, now in his second spell as Crystal Palace manager, will be taking up a team shrewdly coached and organised by Ray Lewington with youth, pace and thoughtful passing patterns. If Palace can hold on to Hopkin, due to be capped by Scotland against Malta this weekend, the better will be their chances of survival. Hopkin will shortly be discussing a new contract with the club.

Having survived an early fright, when Carlo Nash's anticipation in coming off his goal-line denied Katchouro the fruits of Fjortoft's quick through pass, Palace dominated large areas of the game until half-time. Neil Shipperley should have put them ahead after 24 minutes when, having timed his run and leap well in meeting Roberts's corner, he headed over the bar.

Bruce Dyer's speed always worried Sheffield United, and eight minutes into the second half he ought to have given Palace the lead. From Hopkin's pass Muscat produced a cross which cleared the last United defender. Dyer chested the ball down effortlessly but then mishit his shot straight at Simon Tracey.

Later Dyer sent an ambitious overhead shot into the side netting. Moments like these usually portend extra-time but Hopkin was to prove otherwise.

With less than a minute remaining a shot from Gordon was deflected for a corner on the right. Simon Rodger took it short, Roberts slipped the ball back to him, and Carl Tiler headed out the ensuing centre.

The ball fell to Hopkin, lurking to the left of the penalty arc, and with his right foot the Scot produced a shot that curled round David Holdsworth before swinging into the top far corner of the net with Tracey looking as if he had expected the ball to go wide. Given the quality of the earlier finishing it was a fair, if fateful, assumption.