Hull City emerged from the chaos of the Championship play-offs to beat Middlesbrough 1-0 in the ‘Spygate’ final at Wembley and seal a return to the Premier League. Oli McBurnie struck in stoppage time to fire the Tigers back to the top-flight after nine years.
McBurnie’s goal meant heartbreak for Middlesbrough, the side who came in from the cold after Southampton were thrown out of the play-offs for spying on them.
It also avoided the threat of more litigation from Hull, whose owner Acun Ilicali vowed to take legal action if his side were not promoted. His contention was that Hull should have gone up automatically when Saints were expelled, rather than face the team who had lost the semi-finals.
In the end if was McBurnie who settled the matter by scoring their third Championship play-off final winner, emulating the Dean Windass-inspired side of 2008 and Mohamed Diame’s class of 2016.
Here are The Yorkshire Post’s player ratings from Wembley Stadium.
9. Ryan Giles - 6
Showed his wand of a left foot at interludes. Went off with cramp. | John Walton/PA Wire
10. Mohamed Belloumi - 6
Came into the game a little after an exceedingly quiet start. Saw his curler fly wide in first period. | Julian Finney/Getty Images
11. Liam Millar - 6
See above. Arrived on the scene belatedly. A few flashes, that’s all. | Adam Davy/PA Wire
12. Oli McBurnie - 8
Went as close as anyone in the first half and displayed his talismanic qualities at the death. That’s what good strikers do. | Paul ELLIS / AFP via Getty Images