Paco Herrera: "Las Palmas could only go up the hard way"

After an intense 90 minutes of football, UD Las Palmas are now able to say they are in Liga BBVA. Paco Herrera’s side won the second leg against R.Zaragoza 2-0, turning round their 3-1 deficit from the first leg at La Romareda. The Island outfit did not give up and in the end they got their deserved reward.

At the final whistle, both the side and the fans jumped for joy as they emerged triumphant from the playoffs. The side spoke about their prize: "football has given us something that it took away from us last year", said Aythami Artiles, who set up his side’s second goal. "We knew that we deserved it, we played better than Zaragoza", said the visibly emotional defender.

Other players also showed their delight at earning the chance to play in Liga BBVA. Sergio Araujo, who scored the crucial goal that earned promotion was delighted after what he described as a "tough season. I’m very happy to score and get promotion. Las Palmas have been damned to suffer all these years, but eventually that finished". The home side’s coach, Paco Herrera, had it clear: "Las Palmas could only go up in this manner… suffering! Zaragoza, Valladolid and Girona also deserved it" said the coach, who was delighted with the game his side played.

Las Palmas’ president, Miguel Ángel Ramírez, who joined in with the celebrations on the pitch in order to hug his players thanked all the fans after a year fighting to go up: "the important thing was to put right what happened last year, and change it all to delight. This is a result for everyone who is with UD Las Palmas. I wish Zaragoza the best, they were a great rival".