Hull City and Middlesbrough will meet in the Championship play-off final at Wembley on Saturday at 15:30 BST, with promotion to the Premier League on the line in the 40-year history of the play-offs. For Hull, it is a chance to finish a season that has swung from danger to possibility and then back again before ending with one last shot at the top flight.
It was not long ago that Hull were fighting to stay in the division at all. They survived relegation to League One on goal difference last May, then appointed Sergej Jakirovic as their new boss. They were later hit with a three-window transfer embargo, reduced to two after a successful appeal, and still spent the vast majority of the Championship season in the top six. By the end of March they were in automatic promotion contention, but a six-game stretch in April left them seventh going into the final day.
Hull’s response was to beat Norwich City at home, while Middlesbrough drew at Wrexham, and that combination lifted Jakirovic’s side back into the play-off places. From there they produced the result that carried them to Wembley, beating third-placed Millwall 2-0 in Monday’s semi-final. Millwall had finished three places and 10 points above Hull, which underlined how far the Tigers had to climb just to reach the final.
The final now offers Hull a chance to complete a remarkable turnaround and chase a third win in their third Championship play-off final. Jakirovic has not hidden the strain of the run-in or the confusion that has hung over the competition this week. “We can say everything is unfair in this last two weeks. You don't know what's going on,” he said. “We are collateral damage because we are waiting on [an] opponent and you don't know what's going on, what's happening.”
That frustration has grown because the final has been overshadowed by a disciplinary case involving Southampton, who were not in the showpiece after losing to Middlesbrough in the semi-finals. Southampton were expelled from the Championship play-offs for spying on opponents, after an independent commission ruled that boss Tonda Eckert had specifically authorised the observations. Southampton appealed and lost. The punishment was handed down on Tuesday, leaving the build-up to Wembley dominated by the aftermath of a case that has already altered the mood around the match.
For Hull, the timing could hardly be more awkward, or more important. They go into Saturday’s £200m game knowing the reward for victory is immediate promotion, and knowing they have already travelled a long way from the last May escape that kept them in the Championship. Jakirovic’s side have outlasted setbacks, sanctions and a late-season wobble to get this far. One more result would finish the job.
