Hull City goalkeeper Ivor Pandur plans to box clever on first football visit to Wembley in Championship play-off final
ON Ivor Pandur’s only previous visit to Wembley, he was there to witness the noble art of boxing.
This time around, the Hull City goalkeeper will hopefully be taking part in the biggest one-off game in domestic football on Saturday. Against Middlesbrough and not Southampton in the second-tier play-off final.
Last season, the Croatian international and his Tigers team-mates were on the ropes, but didn't throw in the towel. It ended in them securing their Championship status on the final day of 2024-25 at Portsmouth.
This weekend, Hull find themselves one knock-out blow away from landing a crack at Premier League football.
Some below-the-belt behaviour from scheduled opponents Southampton means that Boro will now be City’s opponents and not Saints following some dramatic events on Wednesday evening.
The south coast club were thrown out for spying on Boro ahead of the first leg of their semi-final tie.
The club have also received a four-point deduction in the Championship in 2026-27 season in a sensational development.
For Hull – an innocent party in all of this – the focus is now on Wembley on Saturday and all-Yorkshire tie and not one against Saints.
Southampton had admitted to "multiple breaches of EFL regulations related to the unauthorised filming of other clubs' training", the EFL said.
The final will remain on Saturday at Wembley with the kick-off time to be confirmed.
Southampton have confirmed that they will appeal against the independent commission's decision.
Boro reported to the EFL that a member of Southampton staff had spied on a training session on May 7, in breach of league rules, with the EFL charging them the following day ahead of the first leg of their play-off semi-final on Teesside.
On his previous experience of Wembley, Pandur said: "I was watching (Antony) Joshua against (Daniel) Dubois in a boxing match.
"It's a dream to play there and it's becoming a reality (hopefully). It just lacks one final thing and I believe it will happen."
Desperately hoping to step out on the hallowed turf, he continued: "Even my family and my friends keep asking me questions.
"So we cannot really control the other things if they (Southampton) did this or that. It's not really where our focus is.
"We just need to focus on the plan to win the game.
"They (fans) just want it to be set in stone that it's played on that date (Saturday), at that time, against their opponent. I get it.
"Especially the first few days after they played each other (Southampton v Boro), It's like everything was in the air and you don't know what's going to happen.”
Speaking on Wednesday afternoon ahead of any potential verdict, Tigers winger Liam Millar continued: "I don't think anything out of your control in life is worth stressing over, in my opinion.
"I feel like there's no reason for us to stress about what's going to happen that we cannot control. All we can do is mentally prepare for that game on Saturday.
"If something was to change, then of course we have to adapt and be able to deal with whatever has to change."
Wembley is a place for heroes and on that count, Hull can consider themselves blessed in the play-off stakes there – step forward Dean Windass (2008) and Mo Diame eight years later as those bedecked in amber and black celebrated on each occasion, against Bristol City and Sheffield Wednesday respectively.
Given two well-matched looking sides, not too many would be surprised if penalties were required to separate them – and Pandur has been doing his homework on that front.
The 26-year-old's record in the regular season was encouraging enough. Beaten three times, he also boxed clever to save two spot-kicks, denying both Sheffield United's Harrison Burrows and Wrexham's Kieffer Moore.
On the game potentially being decided by a nerve-shredding shoot-out, he said: "It gives you a chance to be a hero and that's what I want to be and I believe I can be.
"So if it comes down to that, I'll make sure I prepare myself in the best possible way and then some things will be in the (other) guys' hands as well.
"It's a big game. It's high stakes.
"But it's a game of football at the end of the day. We showed throughout the whole season that we can play against anybody and win against anybody.
"We have that belief going into this game that at the end we are going to be successful. We have more than enough quality.
"Courage and belief, whatever it takes. I think we are all ready for this moment. We just want to enjoy it."