Millwall’s Championship playoff curse continues. It is now three times they have come within touching distance of reaching the promised land of the Premier League only to fall at the semi-final stage.
After defeats in 1994 and 2002, this one will be especially hard to take given that Alex Neil’s side finished 10 points clear of Hull as they just missed out on automatic promotion on the final day. But on a night when Millwall were heavy favourites to make it to Wembley, it was Mohamed Belloumi who stole the show for Sergej Jakirovic’s side with a stunning opening goal before fellow substitute Joe Gelhardt rubbed their noses in it.
The only silver lining for Millwall’s supporters is that it looks like they will get the chance to renew acquaintances with rivals West Ham, whom they last played in 2012. Hull, who were relegated from the Premier League in 2017, become the first team to finish sixth and reach the playoff final since Frank Lampard’s Derby in 2019. It is some achievement for a team that only avoided relegation last season on goal difference and their captain, Lewie Coyle, believes they can now go all the way.
“Incredible,” he said. “It’s something we all believed we could do when we finalised that playoff spot on the last day in such dramatic fashion. We said: ‘Why shouldn’t it be us?’”
Neil has plenty of pedigree in the playoffs having led Norwich to the Premier League in 2015 before kickstarting Sunderland’s revival in 2022 when they returned to the Championship. But while Millwall’s supporters played their part in creating an intimidating atmosphere, his players failed to rise to the occasion and could have no complaints 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,” admitted Neil. “It’s a tough one because we feel like we’ve let people down.”
The big talking point from the first leg was Ryan Leonard’s disallowed goal that Neil felt should have stood, while fans from both sides had to be separated by police after the full-time whistle. Many of those Hull supporters who were brave enough to make the trip to southeast London were given free T-shirts by the club’s Turkish chair, Acun Ilicali, to show his appreciation for their efforts. Every single one stayed for some time after the final whistle to revel in their victory, with some taunting the Millwall fans by chanting: “No one hates you, no one cares”.
Jakirovic – who took over last summer and defied the odds to lead Hull to a top-six finish by beating Norwich on the final day – sprang a surprise by switching to a back five and threw Millwall off their stride. Charlie Hughes called Anthony Patterson into the first save of the evening as the visitors – who have now won on their past three visits here – made the much better start.
What turned out to be Millwall’s only real chances saw Thierno Ballo’s header hacked off the line by Kyle Joseph before Ivor Pandur saved a rasping drive from Femi Azeez. Hull rode the storm and continued to look threatening when they attacked. John Egan wasn’t far away with a header from a free-kick before Oli McBurnie forced Patterson into a smart save from a fizzing Ryan Giles cross. Joseph’s night then came to a premature end when he limped off with a nasty-looking ankle injury, although there was no pity from the Millwall fans who booed as he was helped off by the physio.
Once again Hull were quickest out of the blocks at the start of the second half when Regan Slater set up McBurnie but Tristan Crama was somehow able to clear his shot off the line. There was plenty of huff and puff from Millwall yet they continued to struggle to create any chances. Neil gambled by bringing on Mihailo Ivanovic and switching to 4-4-2, swiftly followed by experienced duo Alfie Doughty and Barry Bannon.
That proved to be the turning point as Joseph’s replacement, Belloumi, finally found the breakthrough with a spectacular strike. The Algerian had been a constant menace and a curling shot from the edge of the area, after Doughty failed to engage him, went in off the far post.
Bannon almost gifted a second to Slater with a loose pass before Ivanovic headed over at the other end. There was no way back when Gelhardt met Belloumi’s cross with virtually his first touch after coming on and the ball trickled agonisingly over the line to seal Millwall’s fate.
