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Millwall v Hull: Championship playoff semi-final, second leg – live | Championship
Key events
66 min Here he is.
WHAT A GOAL! Millwall (0) 0-1 (1) Hull City (Belloumi 64)
Belloumi’s been the outlet and again, Hull find him. Doughty, just into the fray, isn’t close enough, so a dip outside opens the shooting lane inside, and he opens his body then teases a luscious curler into the far side-netting a third of the way up! His dad would be proud of that, and there’s little finer praise than that.
63 min Two more changes for Millwall, Doughty replacing Sturge at right-back and Bannan on for De Norre in midfield.
61 min Millar burrows forward asnd spreads to Coyle, who finds Belloumi, the outlet, but when Slater crosses, he picks out Crama. The headed clearance, though, finds Egan gambolling into it, and he chests down, then merrily wallops a shot high and wide. He fancies a goal tonight.
60 min The corner goes to the near post and someone puts the ball behind; the ref reckons a Hull player, awarding a goalkick.
59 min Hughes brings it out from the back and finds Belloumi who finds Coyle, but the cross is straight to Crama … who can’t sort out his feet, doing well to concede a corner … which comes to nowt. But Hull soon win another.
58 min Poor Kyle Joseph is back on the bench, with his foot in a boot. Let’s hope he recovers quickly.
56 min Belloumi moves forward down the right, cuts inside, crosses … way beyond the back post. There’s not been much quality on display tonight, another goalless draw looking likely.
57 min Millwall make their change, Ivanovic replacing Ballo and going up front to make a two; Neil wants to get this won.
55 min It was a nice thought while it lasted but, if they hold on, Spurs will be four points ahead of West Ham with two games to go; they’re nearly safe.
54 min There’s been a development at Tottenham…
53 min Coburn, who’s had a quiet night so far, gets away from Hughes, who schleps him down and is booked.
52 min Alex Neil looks ready to make a change, Ivanovic preparing himself.
50 min “135 minutes and more these teams have been at it now,” says Justin Kavanagh, “and neither seem likely to do a goal anytime soon. There, I’ve jinxed it for you now Daniel, so enjoy the two coming along shortly.”
I’m primed for a scruffy late winner, just when we’re readying ourselves for penalties.
49 min The resultant corner comes to nowt.
48 min Oh, but have a look! Slater wins the ball, spreads it right, and takes a return from Coyle, cutting back for McBurnie … whose shot is straight into Crama’s shins.
47 min Hull started the first half quickly but it’s Millwall, who enjoyed 65% possession, into stride first here.
46 min Off we go again. If we’re still level at full time, we’ll enjoy an extra half-hour, followed by penalties if necessary.
The Guardian has kicked off a new chapter in puzzles with the launch of its first daily football game, On the ball. It is now live in the app for both iOS and Android … so what are you waiting for?
Half-time entertainment:
HALF-TIME: Millwall 0-0 Hull City (0-0 agg)
Both sides are going after it, but so far, neither has had the quality to create much in the way of chances. It’s going to get seriously nervy when we resume after the break.
45+4 min And it’s McBurnie with it, his effort a poor one; with room to get the ball up and down, he swipes high, and that’ll be that for the half.
45+3 min Hull win a free-kick 23 yards from goal, left of centre, Belloumi and McBurnie behind it.
45+2 min Now Belloumi comes on and, more of a winger than Joseph, will offer a different threat.
45+1 min Azeez swings in a superb cross from the left and Ballo lunges as Pandur comes out, not quite connecting, and the keeper does well to get rid. Millwall need to get the ball out to their top scorer whenever they can, because he’s clearly their most dangerous player.
45 min Yup, poor Joseph is helped off and, with Belloumi not ready to replace him, Hull have 10 for a brief period; we’ll have four additional minutes.
43 min Oh dear. Joseph looks crook, his left angle caught underneath him in a fair slide tackle. I don’t think he’ll be able to continue; he’s got two weeks before the final, should Hull make it.
41 min Millwall knock it about with Joseph down following a challenge with Ballo. So McBurnie nauses the ref to stop the game, which he won’t, then Neghli sends a cross behind and the physio comes on.
40 min We cut to Phil Brown, on comms for someone or other. He’s wearing a leather jacket with a cravat, of course he is.
39 min “My school scarf was blue and black stripes, so I wore it to an Anglo-Italian cup match between Crystal Palace and Inter Milan,” returns Richards Hirst. “My school friends were Palace supporters so of course I had to support Inter.”
School scarf! Alright, Jennings!
37 min Millwall attack again, De Norre crossing into Hughes, who bares his chest and, though his arm takes some of the impact, it was by his side and from close by, so never a penalty. The corner comes to nowt, Pandur sends it long, and Sturge anticipates well, taking the ball from Millar.
36 min Then, from the corner, McBurnie thinks he’s been fouled, but the ref says not and Millwall clear.
36 min Coyle pings a crossfield pass to the wing-back on the other side, GIles controlling and whipping in a fine cross, McBurnie is up, he heads powerfully … and Patterson tips over the top.
35 min Mazou0-Sacko looks to pick a pass into the box but, when Hull close all the gaps, he opts to shoot, failing to catch properly an effort which trickles through to Pandur.
33 min The free-kick is an aimless one, lacking pace, and Azeez heads into touch then, when the ball comes back, Egan, 15 yards out, goes for goal with little chance of scoring, the effort flying over the top.
31 min Cooper catches Joseph with an outstretched arm, so Hull have a free-kick out on the right, 45 yards from goal.
31 min This time, Joseph floats his kick to the far post, where Pandur claims confidently.
30 min Millwall win a throw deep inside the Hull half and Sturge’s delivery is headed clear, but Hughes then misses his kick, forcing McBurnie to block a shot behind.
28 min Another decent shade of football blue. Funnily enough, my school uniform was this colour, ish, and they’ve since changed to a more Millwall hue. Makes you think.
26 min From the opposite side, Joseph tries an outswinger and, at the near post, Crama makes first contact, but the ball flies off his head, across the face, and away.
25 min Momentum in this game has switched, Millwall dominating midfield with Mazoou-Sacko to the fore and Neghli taking up good positions in the pocket. They win another corner…
23 min Joseph swings the corner in to the near post, so Pandur flies out to punch clear, picking out Neghli on the edge. He opts to shoot first time … but drags wide of the near post.
22 min Neghli runs at the heart of the Hull defence, rolling studs over the ball while on the move, before it makes its way over to Azeez, who leathers another shot … blocked behind for a corner.
20 min Millwall are into this now, knocking it about at the back and probing up front.
18 min First bit of serious Millwall pressure, a ball in from the right causing consternation as Neghli head back across, but it won’t quite drop for any of the various attackers on hand, the three defenders on the line eventually contriving to clear the immediate danger. But Millwall sustain the attack, Azeez cutting in off the right and, from a narrow angle, springing into a shot with Pandur tips away.
16 min The delivery from the corner is excellent, Hughes winning the flick-on and, at the back post, Crooks is there, looking to flick a shot from behind his standing leg, but he misses the ball completely. Had he connected, he’d almost definitely have scored.
15 min Hull get it wide and Coyle takes a touch to get the ball out of his feet, then swings over a terrific cross, Copper doing really well to thunk a header behind under pressure from Joseph.
15 min Like this, for example
13 min “As a Chelsea fan from South London,” says Julian Merz, “I’m not particularly fond of Millwall as you might imagine, but their kit is awesome, that perfect shade of blue. As for Hull? Meh. If you’re tigers, then wear the stripes with pride!”
I was contemplating the shade of blue myself. I like it as one one would feel comfortable wearing, but think I prefer brighter hues in my football kits.
Experts say the “modest reduction” is “not cause for complacency”, with calls to redouble efforts to slash deaths further.
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Two men, aged 58 and 26, and a 53-year-old woman were left with minor injuries, police say.
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Key events
Looks like lots of All Together Always flags have been distributed behind one of the goals tonight, so look out for an eye-catching display when the teams come out in about half an hour.
Roberto De Zerbi has a chat with Sky:
We played very well in Birmingham [beating Aston Villa 2-1], and I think the whole idea was to keep the same first XI. But I’m lucky also on the bench I have good players.
We have to forget the last two wins. We have to keep just the same spirit, the same style of play, because we need to play football if we want another win tonight. And to be positive, but we can’t forget what the situation was two weeks ago.
He’s asked if the fact Leeds are now safe might make his team’s job a little easier:
Nothing changes, especially in the Premier League. You see Burnley against Villa yesterday – all games are very tough. To win we have to play our best, to fight, to run, to work, but to play according to our qualities. For sure, the first 10 minutes we have to start strong to [keep] the fans with us. But we have to play 90 minutes and extra time, because we are not in a condition to think we can close the game inside 90 minutes.
The teams
No messing about, here are today’s teams:
Tottenham Hotspur: Kinsky, Porro, Danso, Van de Ven, Udogie, Joao Palhinha, Bentancur, Muani, Gallagher, Tel, Richarlison. Subs: Austin, Dragusin, Bissouma, Maddison, Gray, Bergvall, Spence, Sarr, Souza.
Leeds: Darlow, Justin, Rodon, Bijol, Struijk, Stach, Ampadu, Tanaka, James, Calvert-Lewin, Aaronson. Subs: Lucas Perri, Longstaff, Piroe, Nmecha, Bornauw, Byram, Gnonto, Chadwick, Lienou.
Referee: Jarred Gillett.
Hello world! Yesterday, as a result of Arsenal’s victory over West Ham, Leeds United secured another season of top-flight football. Their battle against relegation is over. And today, freed from the stress of uncertainty as well as the drive of desperation, they visit one of now just two clubs still vying to avoid the drop. Will they now relax, and if so will that enable them to find a new, higher plane on which to play, or just drain them of all motivation?
Spurs would pick option two, thankyouverymuch. After winning their last two league games, both away from home, they are one point above West Ham, with significantly better goal difference, and with one game (this one) in hand. That goal difference means that if they manage to win today, West Ham are likely to need victories in both of their remaining fixtures, and for Spurs to win neither of theirs while losing at least one, if the Hammers are to be reprieved. It really feels like tonight might be decisive. But if it isn’t, you may need to know the two teams’ fixtures after today:
Tottenham
19 May: Chelsea (a)
24 May: Everton (h)
West Ham
17 May: Newcastle (a)
24 May: Leeds (h)
Plus those of Leeds, because they’re actually playing tonight so it would be rude not to:
17 May: Brighton (h)
24 May: West Ham (a)
Pre-match reading
Here’s David Hytner on Antonin Kinsky, the goalkeeper whose attitude has helped Spurs in fight for Premier League survival:
When Antonin Kinsky had his Madrid episode, there was an assumption that he would not play again for Tottenham this season. And maybe not the next one, either. The 23-year-old goalkeeper would have to rebuild himself elsewhere, probably on loan. Perhaps, given the scale of the horror against Atlético in the Champions League last 16 first leg on 10 March – and there really is no need to rake over the details – a permanent transfer may have been an option.
Kinsky’s comeback has been extraordinary; an inspiration to everybody at the club. With the first-choice selection, Guglielmo Vicario, undergoing hernia surgery towards the end of March, Roberto De Zerbi has counted on the Czech in each of his four matches in charge. The manager has not been let down.
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