The Tigers beat Norwich City 2-1 to leapfrog Wrexham
Sergej Jakirovic celebrates guiding Hull City into the Championship play-offs(Image: Greig Cowie/Shutterstock)
Hull City head coach Sergej Jakirovic hailed guiding the Tigers into the Championship as one of his best achievements, after the Tigers ended a dramatic final day in the play-offs.
Oli McBurnie’s brace gave City a memorable 2-1 home win over Norwich City, which proved to be enough to see them finish sixth, after Wrexham were held to a 2-2 draw by Middlesbrough at the Racecourse.
City started poorly and deservedly fell behind to a rejuvenated Canaries, when Mohamed Toure thumped in, but Jakirovic’s men responded instantly with Joe Gelhardt fouled inside the box, and McBurnie rolling in the penalty.
JOIN US ON FACEBOOK! Latest Hull City news and analysis on our Hull Live FB page
With results at Wrexham and Derby County going their way, McBurnie latched onto Matt Crooks’ knockdown to turn in what proved to be the winner and lift the roof off a sold-out MKM Stadium, and set up a semi-final with Millwall.
Against a backdrop of transfer restrictions, a devastating injury record this season and being written off by so many, Jakirovic admitted securing a top six finish in one of the world’s most competitive leagues was one of his greatest achievements.
“I’m great,” the head coach beamed in conversation with Hull Live. “I’m very great, I’m very proud of our players because they showed a great mentality.
“Even after the start of the game, in the first half, I can say we didn’t play anything, just kicking the balls around. That was not the plan.
“Then my first message at half-time was that we need to calm down, to play with the ball, to be happy, to believe in ourselves and our teammates, that we can create something because they are not robots, like I’m always saying.
“In the second half, I think we played better. When you score the second goal, and then you know that the other matches are good, so we don’t need a third one, it’s very important to defend.
“Norwich started to push there as well, but in the end, this is a big success for all of the club, all the people in the club, and to achieve this in my first season, it’s unbelievable for me.”
“It’s a very big achievement, especially in our situation all season. OK, I won the league with Zrinjski. I won with Dinamo the double title, and we went into the Champions League, but this is massive.
“This is a very, very big achievement, especially in these circumstances. It’s not easy at all. Maybe we missed some opportunities earlier to reach more points, but this football.
“This is the reason why football is so interesting, and now I can say, this feels sweet. At the end, it’s a happy ending.”
Here at Hull Live , we are dedicated to bringing you the best Hull City coverage and analysis. Make sure you don’t miss out on the latest City news by joining our free WhatsApp group.
You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here to subscribe. You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service. Click here to be sent all the day’s biggest stories.