Millwall 0-2 Hull City [0-2 AGG]: Tigers confirm date with destiny at Wembley thanks to super subs | OneFootball

Hull City stepped into the Lions’ Den this evening and picked up a 2-0 win to secure their spot in the Sky Bet Championship Play-off Final.

It was a story of super subsitutions for The Tigers, with Mohamed Belloumi opening the scoring after being introduced from the bench, when he shifted inside from a wide area before picking out the far corner. Joe Gelhardt also came off the bench and made an immediate impact by netting the second, when his shot squeezed through Anthony Patterson’s gloves, securing Hull’s spot at Wembley next weekend.

Hull City will now take on either Southampton or Middlesbrough in the final.

As It Happened

Sergej Jakirovic changed his side’s system ahead of this second leg, following a 0-0 draw at the MKM this past Friday night. Semi Ajayi and Kyle Joseph were introduced from the start, with Joe Gelhardt and Belloumi dropping to the bench. Meanwhile, Millwall named an unchanged starting side from the first leg.

The game started with somewhat of a collector’s item when Liam Millar gave away a foul throw, a rare sight in the modern game. Millwall’s Anthony Patterson was the first keeper called into action, comfortably catching Charlie Hughes’ header. John Egan was then shown the first yellow card of the day, for a foul on Femi Azeez in the middle of the park.

Millwall came closest to an opener in the 17th minute, when a goalmouth scramble saw Azeez’s shot cleared off the line by Egan. Azeez called Ivor Pandur into action just minutes later, with the Hull keeper beating away his strike.

The Lions continued to apply pressure on the Hull goal with a string of corners, but they were unable to make the most of their set-piece opportunities. The Tigers started to regain their confidence towards the end of the half, most notably when Oli McBurnie’s header was tipped over by Patterson. At the other end of the pitch, Millwall saw penalty claims waved away just moments later.

Joseph was withdrawn shortly before half-time, following a heavy but fair challenge from Thierno Ballo; the 24-year-old was replaced by Belloumi. Neither side could fashion another chance before the interval, meaning they headed in goalless at the break.

The visitors flew out of the traps in the second half, but McBurnie’s shot was blocked in close quarters. Hughes received the second booking of the night shortly after, when he fouled Josh Coburn. Millwall’s first change of the night came when Ballo was replaced by Mihailo Ivanovic for the remainder of the game. Two further substitutions followed for the hosts, with Barry Bannan and Alfie Doughty replacing Zak Sturge and Casper De Norre.

The deadlock was finally broken in the 63rd minute, when Belloumi netted a brilliant individual goal, isolating Doughty in a wide area of the penalty box before curling the ball into the far top corner to give his side a crucial lead. The Algerian was booked shortly after for delaying the restart of play.

Hull nearly doubled their lead through Regan Slater, but the midfielder’s shot was deflected over the crossbar. Millwall began to throw various household items at the Hull defence, but not the kitchen sink just yet. Ivanovic’s header flew well over the bar.

Jakirovic turned to his bench once again with less than 15 minutes of regular time remaining, replacing Millar with Gelhardt. The change instantly paid off when Gelhardt’s strike squeezed through Patterson’s gloves and into the bottom corner to double Hull’s lead and send the travelling fans wild.

A triple change followed for Hull, with McBurnie, Slater and Giles making way for Lewis Koumas, Paddy McNair and Jon Lundstram as they looked to see out the remainder of the match. Matt Crooks looked to add a third for Hull, but his measly shot was easily saved by Patterson.

As the clock began to wind down and hope dwindled for Millwall, Azeez was shown a yellow card for a foul on Hughes.

The final play of the game saw Gelhardt shown a yellow card after he fouled Millwall’s Ryan Leonard. I doubt he’ll care too much, though, having secured his side’s spot in next week’s final.