Mohamed Belloumi celebrates after scoring the opener against Millwall (Photograph: Adam Davy/PA).
Millwall’s Championship playoff curse struck again, marking the third time the club has stumbled at the semi-final stage after coming within touching distance of a Premier League return. Following defeats in 1994 and 2002, this loss stings especially hard given that Alex Neil’s side finished ten points above Hull and only missed out on automatic promotion on the final day. But on a night when Millwall were heavy favorites to reach Wembley, it was substitute Mohamed Belloumi who stole the spotlight for Sergej Jakirovic’s Hull, curling in a stunning opener before fellow replacement Joe Gelhardt added a second to seal the deal.
The only small consolation for Millwall supporters is the prospect of renewing acquaintances with rivals West Ham, whom they last faced in 2012. Hull, relegated from the Premier League in 2017, become the first sixth-placed team to reach the playoff final since Frank Lampard’s Derby County in 2019. It’s a remarkable achievement for a side that avoided relegation only on goal difference last season. Hull captain Lewie Coyle believes his team can go all the way. “Incredible,” he said. “It’s something we all believed we could do when we finalized that playoff spot on the last day in such dramatic fashion. We said: ‘Why shouldn’t it be us?’”
Neil has considerable playoff pedigree, having led Norwich to the Premier League in 2015 and revived Sunderland in 2022 to return to the Championship. However, despite Millwall’s supporters generating a hostile atmosphere, his players failed to rise to the occasion and had no grounds for complaint in the end. “We rolled the dice by bringing on an extra striker, conceded a goal straight away and then we were chasing our tails,” Neil admitted. “It’s a tough one because we feel like we’ve let people down.”
Mohamed Belloumi finding the net with a curling effort (Photograph: Ben Peters/Focus Images Ltd/Shutterstock).
The major talking point from the first leg was Ryan Leonard’s disallowed goal, which Neil believed should have stood, while police had to separate fans from both sides after the final whistle. Many of the Hull supporters who braved the trip to southeast London were handed free T-shirts by the club’s Turkish chairman, Acun Ilicali, as a token of appreciation. Every single one stayed long after the final whistle to revel in the victory, with some taunting Millwall fans by chanting: “No one hates you, no one cares.”
Jakirovic, who took over last summer and defied expectations to guide Hull to a top-six finish by beating Norwich on the final day, surprised everyone by switching to a back five and unsettling Millwall’s rhythm. Charlie Hughes forced Anthony Patterson into the first save of the evening as the visitors—who have now won on their past three visits here—made the brighter start. Millwall’s only real chances came when Thierno Ballo’s header was hacked off the line by Kyle Joseph, and Ivor Pandur saved a fierce drive from Femi Azeez. Hull weathered the storm and looked dangerous on the counter. John Egan headed narrowly wide from a free-kick before Oli McBurnie