Millwall’s Championship playoff curse continues. It is now three times they have come within touching distance of reaching the promised land of the Premier League only to fall at the semi-final stage.
After defeats in 1994 and 2002, this one will be especially hard to take given that Alex Neil’s side finished 10 points clear of Hull as they just missed out on automatic promotion on the final day. But on a night when Millwall were heavy favourites to make it to Wembley, it was Mohamed Belloumi who stole the show for Sergej Jakirovic’s side with a stunning opening goal before fellow substitute Joe Gelhardt rubbed their noses in it.
The only silver lining for Millwall’s supporters is that it looks like they will get the chance to renew acquaintances with rivals West Ham, whom they last played in 2012. Hull, who were 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 some achievement for a team that only avoided relegation last season on goal difference and their captain, Lewie Coyle, believes they can now go all the way.
“Incredible,” he said. “It’s something we all believed we could do when we finalised that playoff spot on the last day in such dramatic fashion. We said: ‘Why shouldn’t it be us?’”
