Hull 1-0 Middlesbrough

Wow! What a feeling. Too many emotions are circulating around my head, and it still does not feel real. We have been waiting years for this moment, and Acun has directed us to where we belong: the Premier League.

We were fighting for our lives last year, as we narrowly missed out on a trip to League One by goal difference. We brought in a new manager, who had never managed in the English Football League, and were shackled with a transfer embargo. All the football ‘experts’ tipped us to go down, and we were the real underdogs heading into the new season. However, 49 games later, we find ourselves back in the top flight after nine years of waiting. What a fantastic and magical turnaround our club has had this season. We’ve had some amazing away matches and vital home wins, but this victory at Wembley surpasses them all.

We headed down to London the day before as we were staying at a friend’s house (Toby Young, a QPR supporter, whose Substack you can find here) for the weekend, and we repaid them by getting them tickets to the play-off final. We soaked up the atmosphere and headed to Wembley a couple of hours early just to ensure we made it to the area, as there were a few disruptions on the train lines. A few stops later, the famous arc was in sight, and the heart rate was slowly creeping up. I had never been to Wembley before, and this was the biggest Hull match I have been to since supporting them when I was young. The area was taken over by Boro supporters, and we had to navigate ourselves past the ultra parade to get to the other side of the stadium, where our section was. For some reason, we decided to travel through enemy territory rather than walk up Wembley Way. Anyway, we got to our seats unscathed.

Sergej, somehow pulling off a suit in the blistering heat, named one change to the starting eleven he fielded against Millwall: Belloumi replaced the injured Kyle Joseph. That meant, in a 3-4-2-1 formation, we lined up as follows: Pandur in goal; Ajayi, Egan and Hughes as half-backs; Coyle and Giles as full-backs; Slater and Crooks as defensive midfielders; Belloumi and Millar as the attacking duo; with McBurnie leading the line. It was a pretty safe line-up and had all our strongest assets on the pitch. We still had some talent on the bench when we needed it.

From the off, Boro were the more confident and dominant side, both on the pitch and in the stands. We had to suffer the direct rays of the sun for the entire game, and our singing vocals were not on display. It was a shame because the build-up to the game was amazing, but once the sun hit us, the east side of the stadium was shunned. It also did not help with Boro’s quick attacking play, as they caused us a few issues early on. The best of their play came in the 19th minute. Some smart passing on the left edge of the box freed up Browne, whose cross was headed over the bar by Strelec. He would also go on to pull his shot wide in added time.

It became an even match after this, with us finding our feet and enjoying some time on the ball. We moved the ball forward nicely at times but struggled to pull anything amazing off. Belloumi had a free shot from outside the box, which sailed wide of the left-hand post. But our biggest chance came in the 45th minute. Millar did well to hold the ball on the left channel and passed it back to Giles, whose dangerous cross was tipped onto the bar by McBurnie’s threatening header. Many Hull fans thought it was heading in (pardon the pun). The whistle was blown, and I headed to get some water, where I would queue for 20 minutes and miss the first five minutes of the second half.

Continuing from the end of the first half, it was quite uneventful, but both sides became more dangerous in attack and increased the tempo. But there was little to get excited about and, as the seconds ticked away, many in the stadium feared the pain of extra time and potentially penalties. Sergej made a few changes, bringing on Gelhardt, Hirikawa and Drameh, who brought some more energy to the team. Boro also brought on their star player, Hayden Hackney, and it felt like both managers were throwing in the kitchen sink.

Alas, the longer the game dragged on, the more it benefited us. We are used to attritional and slow matches this season, but Boro were struggling and became fatigued. They were slow in transition, and there was less of an urge to move forward. We were able to capitalise on this and, from the 80th minute onwards, we dominated the game. Gelhardt had a crucial opportunity in the 82nd minute: Coyle’s long cross was destined to sail over the players and head out, but Gelhardt beat his man to the ball, turned and had a shot which flew past the post. Not to worry, though; we would eventually find the back of the net in the fifth minute of added time.

Boro were doing their best to stay in control of the game and hold out for the draw, but we finally broke through them and exposed the space they left from a lack of tracking back and energy. Gelhardt held the ball on the right channel and released it to Ajayi, who quickly passed it to Egan. He spotted McBurnie and his pass towards the left-hand side was met by Coyle, who drove down the wing. He put Hirikawa through on the left, and his fast-paced cross was spilled by their keeper, with McBurnie there to slot it into the back of the net. Cue pandemonium on the opposite side of the stadium. The roar of the Hull fans was deafening as we were minutes away from £200 million and, of course, the Premier League.

There was a delay due to the celebrations, and we had to suffer at least eight further minutes of tension and anticipation. The referee was letting the game go on for as long as possible, but he finally blew for full-time. The party could begin. The top was off, the flag was in the air, and my voice was lost in the atmosphere of the stadium. To witness something like this is special, and I will cherish it for the rest of my life. Yes, it was a dull game, but we executed the game plan well and it paid off in the end. And it felt like justice was served after the whole spygate saga (which I am not going to delve into) and the treatment we received.

Acun bought the club in 2022 with one very big dream: to get this club back to where we belong in one of the highest ranks of football. He urged us all to believe and be together as one big family. Well, Acun, you’ve certainly made that dream become a reality and have made Hull one of the proudest and happiest cities in the UK. We may not stand a chance in the Premier League, and we already have ‘experts’ predicting us to finish dead last. They said that last time, but look what happened.

We’re Premier League-bound, and I cannot wait to report on my beloved team from some of the best stadiums in the country.

See you next season. Stay safe. Up the fucking Tigers!