City are back in the big time, and they’ve done it in the best way possible
Oli McBurnie and the Hull City players celebrate at Wembley(Image: Harvey Murphy/News Images/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Hull City’s remarkable season had the end it deserved on Saturday, when the club written off by almost everybody outside of East Yorkshire claimed promotion to the Premier League, in the most magical way possible.
Oli McBurnie delivered the fatal blow to Middlesbrough in the 95th minute at Wembley, to seal a 1-0 win and catapult the Tigers into the Premier League just a year after surviving relegation to League One.
Sergej Jakirovic and his band of heroes can now look forward to Premier League football at the MKM Stadium, and all the accolades that are coming their way over the next few weeks.
Here, City reporter Barry Cooper reflects on some of the key moments that went the Tigers’ way…
The skipper knew
Lewie Coyle’s got a decent record at winning the toss this season, and perhaps the biggest success was reserved for the biggest of occasions.
Having won the toss at Wembley, Coyle spun Middlesbrough around and forced them to attack the east end of the stadium in the first half and wear them down.
In the second half, Sol Brynn and the Boro defence wilted, and when it mattered, the heat had an impact because the Teesside outfit backed off. Callum Brittain couldn’t stop the freshness of Yu Hirakawa, and in came the cross that Brynn fumbled into the path of McBurnie to turn home.
There may be those armchair critics who question why City didn’t attack their legions of supporters in the second half, but there was a well-planned method, which showed planning and calmness of thinking.
The big change
Few would have missed Mo Belloumi’s disappointment when the time came to bring him off, and there would surely have been a raised eyebrow or two inside Wembley.
Belloumi hovered around the halfway line waiting for his number to be put up on Michael Salisbury’s board, threw his arms in the air and kicked a water bottle.
It wasn’t the best show of emotion, some would say petulent, and although understandable given he’d not impacted a game of that magnitude how he would have liked, you have to trust the manager, and the manager knew that in that heat, his changes would have an impact.
Moving Joe Gelhardt to the right and putting on Hirakawa stretched a tiring Boro, who have a history of falling away in games, and it proved decisive because it won the game.
Managerial masterstroke
Since trudging off the MKM Stadium pitch four-nil down to Boro on December 5, the Tigers have played more than two-and-a-half games against Kim Hellberg’s men, and haven’t conceded a goal.
They didn’t concede in the second half of that pre-Christmas bout, and then went to the Riverside Stadium three weeks later and won by a goal to nil.
At Wembley, for all Boro’s possession, and at times, the ease with which they played through the middle of the park, they never laid a glove on Ivor Pandur’s goal.
That’s as much credit to the way City defended as anything else, especially the back three of the irrepressible John Egan, Semi Ajayi and Charlie Hughes, as the lack of cutting edge from the Reds.
It just goes to show what a good manager Jakirovic is, and well he’s supported by his coaching staff. They took their medicine on that night, and have learned from it. You can ask for nothing more.
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Big game players
We’ve talked about it all season, about City’s group of leaders, the characters. More than 2,000 games of Championship experience, games played at international level and the like.
In those moments, that level of knowledge and know-how is vital. When you looked down the teamsheet at Wembley, City’s starting XI and crucially, the bench, had more than Boro.
On an occasion such as that, on a pitch like Wembley, which is energy-sapping at the very least and in stifling conditions, the bench was always going to play a massive influence, and so it proved.
At times in recent years, City’s transfer business has been sketchy, but the work they’ve done, largely since January 2025, has helped them get to the Premier League.
Locked out
City’s defence has been much-maligned all season, and at times, with good reason. It was a real problem for them in the regular season, but when it mattered, Jakirovic’s men delivered.
Three clean sheets across all three play-off games, and in truth, rarely did they ever look like conceding in the two games against Millwall, and then the final.
Arguably, the disallowed goal late on in the first leg of the semi-final at the MKM Stadium was the biggest moment of peril, and how crucial Gavin Ward’s decision looks now.
Keeping it calm
On Friday night, a gaggle of East Yorkshire media were on Wembley Way broadcasting live on the eve of City’s big day, when Jakirovic was spotted with analyst Anđelo Roguljić. He had spotted our group, hid behind a tree before taking a video and then rushed over, making a joke about hiding behind Matt Crooks.
Always willing to share a joke, the gaffer’s relaxed, jovial demeanour has been a shining light this season. Even in the dark moments, when his side has found the going tough, he’s been level. He’s been calm.
Amid all the fuss around the game, none of which City could worry about or have any control over, his no-nonsense approach and steely determination to focus on the job at hand were absolutely crucial.
And now, they’re off to the Premier League, via Las Vegas, and a tour of Hull city centre on Monday.
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