Hull came from behind to beat Norwich 2-1 at home, securing a place in the Sky Bet Championship play-offs thanks to a brace from Oli McBurnie.
With Wrexham and Derby both struggling, the Tigers seized the chance to regain the top six finish they have occupied for most of the season with a come-from-behind victory at the MKM Stadium.
Norwich were the best team in last month’s Championship and unsurprisingly took the lead with Mo Toure’s goal, despite having nothing to play for other than personal pride and improved contract negotiations.
Mohamed Toure fires Norwich to put Hull ahead
Hull were awful until the 26th minute goal, but got back into the game two minutes later with McBurnie scoring the equalizer from the penalty spot.
And with good results elsewhere, Half fans were left dreaming of a possible return to the Premier League after McBurnie scored his 20th goal of the season after 67 minutes.
But, perhaps overwhelmed by pre-match anticipation, Hull never put the gloves on against Norwich in the early hours of a tense afternoon in East Yorkshire.
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Oli McBurnie scores from close range to put Hull City into the top six, but was it offside?
And their task might have been insurmountable had Ivar Pandur not smartly stopped Kellen Fisher’s long-range shot 15 minutes later.
That’s exactly how it felt when Toure scored a wonderful opening goal 11 minutes later.
Anis Ben Suliman was the chief orchestrator and his chipped passes through the heart of Hull’s defense beat the imposing rearguard.
Toure still faced a difficult task, but he never looked like he was going to miss, pivoting and firing a half-volley into the bottom right corner of the goal.
However, Hull reacted purposefully and equalized two minutes later after Joe Gerhardt clearly stumbled inside the penalty area.
McBurnie waited for Norwich goalkeeper Vladan Kovacevic to make a move before slotting the ball gently into the center of the goal.
However, the Canaries remained an attacking threat and it must have felt tough to match Hull at the interval.
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Minutes after Norwich’s Mohamed Toure’s superb opener, Oli McBurnie replaced Hull with an equalizer from the penalty spot.
However, the hosts looked even sharper after the break and desperately came close to scoring their second goal after 53 minutes.
McBurnie took a perfect free kick from Ryan Giles’ left and volleyed it with the outside of his right boot.
However, goalkeeper Kovacevic was well positioned and made an outstanding low save at the far post.
However, Kovacevic could do nothing about the winning goal.
Lewie Coyle’s free-kick from deep was found by Matt Crooks and instinctively headed towards an unmarked McBurnie on the edge of the six-yard box.
McBurney’s batting was unimpressive, but it had enough weight and precision to get him over the line.
Norwich were docile visitors after that, with little tendency to get back into the match apart from a few small half-chances and a possible stoppage-time penalty appeal.
This suits the hosts, with supporters looking forward to an interesting play-off showdown with Millwall.
Play-off semi-final first leg
Hull v Millwall – Friday 8th May, 8pm kick-off Middlesbrough v Southampton – Saturday 9th May, 12:30pm kick-off
Play-off semi-final second leg
Millwall v Hull – Monday 11th May, 8pm Southampton v Middlesbrough – Tuesday 12th May, 8pm
playoff final
Saturday 23rd May, Wembley Stadium
managers
Sergei Yakilovich of Hull:
To follow…
Philippe Clement of Norwich:
To follow…
