By Gabriel Mills
Substitutes stole the show for Hull City in their 2-0 win against Millwall at The Den in the Championship – second-half goals from Mohamed Belloumi and Joe Gelhardt secured a place in the play-off final.
After a goalless draw at the MKM Stadium in the first leg on Friday night, 90 minutes at Wembley is all that separates Hull from a return to the Premier League after a nine-year absence.
Millwall could’ve taken the lead midway through the first half, a 10 minute spell of domination for the hosts did not result in the opener despite an effort from Thierno Ballo blocked off the line.
With wingbacks playing high and wide for the visitors, chances arrived from wide areas with Oli McBurnie’s header saved following a dangerous cross from Ryan Giles.
After the interval, first half substitute, Belloumi, found the back of the net in fantastic fashion – his curling effort from the corner of the box left Anthony Patterson helpless in the Millwall goal.
Joe Gelhardt was on for barely a minute before scoring the second from a Hull breakaway to seal a win for Sergej Jakirovic’s side.
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‘A dream come true’
The Hull City boss was full of praise for his side’s “fantastic” performance, not just in this match but throughout the season.
“It was very difficult (and) demanding because we knew today that they were going to start strong but we responded very well and we go to Wembley,” he said.
From a fierce battle to stay in the division last season, it is a remarkable turnaround and one that has been completely unexpected for many.
“I am very proud of this group of players because they achieved something that was, at the beginning of the season, just (a) dream,” Jakirovic added.
“Following the impact from players off the bench, the importance of a strong squad became very apparent – “every player is very important… togetherness is very high.
“This is a great award for them [the players] to go to Wembley, I have never been to Wembley so this is a dream come true”.
‘We didn’t do enough’ admits Millwall boss
The hosts managed just three attempts on target in the match, with the visitors running away with the game in the second half.
“We didn’t really create anywhere near enough in the game,” Millwall boss Alex Neil said, who also outlined the importance of the breakthrough.
“The first goal was always going to decide it… the first [Hull City] goal is a decisive goal.”
After spending the final few months of the season battling for an automatic promotion spot, Millwall met a cruel ending to what has been a brilliant season.
“All the lads are absolutely devastated, it feels as if we’ve underwhelmed and I naturally feel as if I’ve let people down,” Neil continued.
Another promotion for McBurnie?
After his promotion to the Premier League with Sheffield United in 2022/23, Scotsman Oli McBurnie scored in three of the final five league games of the season, including a crucial double on the final day.
Despite starting, the striker ensured the impact of the substitutions was not down to luck.
“The gaffer obviously knew what he was doing, saving them for later and they’ve both come on and scored,” McBurnie said.
Last season it was survival that was secured on the final day, this time around it was a play-off place which shows an impressive turnaround for the Tigers.
“(It is) typical of our season, no one really fancied us last year, no one fancied us going into this tie – we’ve proved everyone wrong,” the Scot added.
Hull will face either Middlesbrough or Southampton at Wembley Stadium on May 23 for a place in the Premier League next season.
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Geoffrey H. Latayan