Hull promoted to Premier League after stoppage-time winner against Middlesborough

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Hull emerged from the chaos of the Championship play-offs to beat Middlesbrough 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.

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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.

After a week of drama off the field, during half of which Hull did not know who they would be facing, a football match finally broke out, but the opening stages were nothing like as enthralling.

Boro dominated but without forcing Ivor Pandur into a single save, with David Strelec heading their best chance over.

Hull, content to sit in and counter, went close when a header from captain Lewie Coyle had to be helped over the top by Sol Brynn.

The Boro keeper also came out smartly to clear the danger when Liam Millar raced through, before Mohamed Belloumi curled narrowly wide from 20 yards.

Then, on the stroke of half-time, Millar’s cross found McBurnie whose header deflected off the shoulder of defender Adilson Malanda and hit the Boro crossbar.

Middesbrough were back on the attack straight after the break and Morgan Whittaker’s shot was deflected wide before Matt Targett’s corner was headed narrowly over by Dael Fry.

Hull threatened when another Coyle cross found Matt Crooks, but the midfielder’s weak header drifted wide.

With 20 minutes to go Boro boss Kim Hellberg introduced Hayden Hackney, the supposed target of the costly amateur sleuthing with Southampton trying to find out whether the key midfielder was fit.

But it was a Hull substitute who played a major role in the winner, five minutes into stoppage time.

Yu Hirakawa jinked his way down the left wing and drilled in a dangerous low cross.

Brynn dived forward to get a hand to the ball but it fell to the feet of McBurnie, who scrambled it home to fire Hull back to the promised land.