Hull back in Premier League after McBurnie's last-gasp playoff winner
LONDON, May 23 : Hull City fought their way back to the Premier League with a 1-0 win over Middlesbrough in the Championship playoff final thanks to Oli McBurnie's stoppage-time goal at Wembley on Saturday.
The match - dubbed the richest in world soccer - was a dull affair played in searing heat and seemed to be drifting towards extra time when McBurnie pounced in the 95th minute to stab home a loose ball after a fumble by Boro keeper Sol Brynn.
It was McBurnie's 18th league goal of the season and by far the most important with Hull now to reap the massive financial benefits that come with being part of the Premier League.
"That game summed us up, we knew we weren't going to have all the ball," McBurnie said. "But we felt we'd have one chance and I felt like it was written for me to get it, I didn't think it would be so late on, but what a feeling."
Even a single season in England's top tier, followed by immediate relegation, is estimated to be worth around 200 million pounds ($268.10 million) over three seasons through broadcast revenue, sponsorship and parachute payments.
The build-up to the final was overshadowed all week by the 'Spygate' saga, which saw Southampton kicked out for spying on a Middlesbrough training session.
Southampton had beaten Boro 2-1 on aggregate but the English Football League removed them from the final and replaced them with Middlesbrough after a hearing on Tuesday.
Had they lost on Saturday, Hull City's Turkish owner Acun Ilicali had threatened to take legal action over the way a scandal that rocked English football was handled by the EFL.
The fact that Hull prevailed, after beating Millwall in the semi-finals, will put that controversy to bed.
Few would have given Hull any chance of promotion at the start of the campaign. They almost dropped into the third tier last term, surviving on goal difference, and were hit with a transfer embargo for this season.
WORKED WONDERS
But Croatian manager Sergej Jakirovic worked wonders on a shoestring budget and Hull scrambled into the playoffs after finishing sixth in the regular season - ironically thanks to Middlesbrough's draw with Wrexham on the final day.
They were the underdogs heading into the playoffs but have now made it three out of three promotions via that route.
Soaring temperatures at Wembley affected the final, with chances for both sides few and far between.
Middlesbrough dominated possession but did little with it and it was McBurnie who came closest to breaking the deadlock with a header against the crossbar just before halftime.
Kim Hellberg's Boro, who were in the automatic promotion spots for much of the season before falling away, failed to have a shot on target. Sontje Hansen's effort, which forced a great save from Hull's Ivor Pandur, would have been ruled offside.
Hull were more clinical, as they have been all season. With players going down with cramp, Yu Hirakawa burst down the left and his cross was pushed out by Brynn to McBurnie who slotted home to send the joyous Tigers fans into raptures.
"It is an amazing feeling, I can't believe it. We did it because we suffered a lot," Jakirovic said.
