They’ve only gone and done it – the Tigers have been promoted
Hull City have won the play-off final
Pinch yourselves, drink it in, Hull City are back in the Premier League.
No, don’t scratch your eyes, this isn’t a dream, it really did happen. Sergej Jakirovic has led City back to English football’s top flight after a memorable play-off final win over Middlesbrough on a blisteringly hot afternoon at Wembley Stadium.
There were tears, and that’s just in the press box, as the emotion took hold and almost disbelief at what had been achieved started to take hold and become reality.
Twelve months on from a final day scramble on the South Coast at Fratton Park to stave off relegation to League One, the Tigers, led by hometown skipper Lewie Coyle, can start planning trips to the Emirates, Old Trafford, the Etihad, Anfield and dare I even say it, the City Ground.
We’d had a Dean Windass Wembley winner, Mo Diame’s super striker, and now it was Oli McBurnie and his team-mates who have joined the likes of Nick Barmby, Ian Ashbee, Michael Turner, Curtis Davies, Michael Dawson, David Meyler and many more.
Jarred Gillett’s full-time whistle under the arch was greeted with a huge outpouring of joy from the east end of the stadium, just as it was in 2008 and 2016, when the club celebrated glory under the arch. It’s an incredible achievement to cap what’s been an almost unbelievable couple of weeks in the Championship.
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Just three weeks ago, City went into the final day of the regular season outside of the top six, but after a memorable win over Norwich City, followed by a terrific play-off success against Millwall, the Tigers earned their rightful place in the final, and delivered on the big stage.
In the Royal Box, owner Acun Ilicali leapt for joy, surrounded by his four daughters, while heroes of City’s previous conquests swept away tears of joy, seeing their club do it again, and evoking those glorious memories of a memorable past in front of 30,000-plus delighted Yorkshiremen and women.
For Jakirovic, City’s charismatic Croatian manager, written off by so many at the start of a season where the club were backed for relegation, it will be his greatest moment. Already a folk hero amongst supporters in the East Riding, the former Dinamo Zagreb boss will now forever be remembered as the man who delivered Premier League football once again, and will be held in the same esteem as Phil Brown and Steve Bruce before him.
Planning for the top flight can now begin, but not before East Yorkshire can celebrate the heroes of 2026 when they return home for a parade of champions on Monday, and then a trip to Las Vegas courtesy of the owner awaits.
They dared to dream, and now they get to live it again. Up the Premier League Tigers.
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