Millwall’s Championship playoff curse continues as Mohamed Belloumi’s stunning goal and Joe Gelhardt’s late strike sent Hull City into the final. It is now three times Millwall have come within touching distance of the Premier League only to fall at the semi-final stage, following defeats in 1994 and 2002.
This defeat will be especially hard to take given that Alex Neil’s side finished 10 points clear of Hull in the regular season, missing out on automatic promotion on the final day. But on a night when Millwall were heavy favourites to reach Wembley, Belloumi stole the show for Sergej Jakirovic’s side with a spectacular opening goal before Gelhardt sealed the victory.
The only silver lining for Millwall’s supporters is the prospect of renewing acquaintances with rivals West Ham, whom they last played in 2012. Hull, relegated from the Premier League in 2017, become the first team to finish sixth and reach the playoff final since Frank Lampard’s Derby in 2019. It is a remarkable achievement for a side that avoided relegation last season only on goal difference.
Hull captain Lewie Coyle expressed belief in the team’s ability to go all the way. “Incredible,” he said. “It’s something we all believed we could do when we secured that playoff spot on the last day in such dramatic fashion. We said: ‘Why shouldn’t it be us?’”
Neil has pedigree in the playoffs, having led Norwich to the Premier League in 2015 and kickstarting Sunderland’s revival in 2022. But while Millwall’s supporters created an intimidating atmosphere, his players failed to rise to the occasion. “We rolled the dice by bringing on an extra striker, conceded a goal straight away and then we were chasing our tails,” admitted Neil. “It’s a tough one because we feel like we’ve let people down.”
The first leg’s talking point was Ryan Leonard’s disallowed goal, which Neil felt should have stood. Police separated fans after the full-time whistle. Hull supporters who made the trip were given free T-shirts by the club’s Turkish chair, Acun Ilicali, as a token of appreciation. They stayed long after the final whistle, taunting Millwall fans with chants of “No one hates you, no one cares.”
Jakirovic, who took over last summer and defied odds to lead Hull to a top-six finish, surprised by switching to a back five, disrupting Millwall’s rhythm. Charlie Hughes forced Anthony Patterson into an early save as Hull made the better start. Millwall’s only real chances saw Thierno Ballo’s header cleared off the line by Kyle Joseph and Ivor Pandur saving a drive from Femi Azeez.
Hull continued to threaten. John Egan headed wide from a free-kick, and Oli McBurnie forced a smart save from Patterson after a fizzing Ryan Giles cross. Joseph limped off with an ankle injury, booed by Millwall fans as he was helped off.
Hull were quick out of the blocks in the second half, with Regan Slater setting up McBurnie, but Tristan Crama cleared off the line. Millwall struggled to create chances, prompting Neil to gamble by bringing on Mihailo Ivanovic and switching to 4-4-2, followed by Alfie Doughty and Barry Bannon.
That proved the turning point. Belloumi, Joseph’s replacement, broke the deadlock with a spectacular curling strike from the edge of the area after Doughty failed to engage him, the ball going in off the far post. Bannon almost gifted a second to Slater with a loose pass before Ivanovic headed over. Gelhardt then met Belloumi’s cross with virtually his first touch, the ball trickling over the line to seal Millwall’s fate.
