Ten years ago, the very existence of Crystal Palace Football Club was in the balance.
The Eagles were in administration and facing an uncertain future, with Palace battling on and off the pitch going into a final day clash with Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough.
Palace went into the game against the Owls two points ahead of their opponents and needing to avoid defeat to survive in the Championship, with Sheffield Wednesday having to win the game to stay up and relegate Palace, who had been deducted ten points after going into administration in January.
That had plunged Palace from the edge of the play-offs into a relegation battle, with the Eagles selling Victor Moses to Wigan Athletic, while manager Neil Warnock left to join Queens Park Rangers in March.
His replacement was Paul Hart, who came in on a short-term contract until the end of the season to try and keep the Eagles in the Championship.
And he succeeded, with Palace securing the point they needed in the crunch clash with Sheffield Wednesday on this day in 2010, sparking wild scenes among supporters as the Eagles celebrated overcoming adversity to stay in the second tier.
Derry was the captain of the side, and he summed up his feelings in an emotional interview on the pitch after the game, stating: “This is from the bottom of my heart, the best moment in my career by a million miles.”
The Palace players from that day have been hailed as heroes by fans ever since, with supporters greeting some of the squad with loud cheers at a service station on their way back from the game.
It was a pivotal moment in the club's history, with Palace then being taken over by the CPFC 2010 consortium one month later.
Since then, Palace have gone from strength to strength, winning promotion to the Premier League in 2013, becoming an established top flight club in recent seasons.
And speaking to Palace TV last year, Derry summed up what that day at Hillsborough in 2010 meant for the Eagles as a club in hindsight.
“I think everybody looking back on 2010 probably collectively understands that it was the rebirth of this football club," he said.
Derry is now back at the club working as professional development coach within the club's academy, having returned to Palace in September 2019 after spells in management with Notts County and Cambridge United, and as a coach at Oxford United.
