Oli McBurnie scores for Hull against Middlesbrough in the Championship play-off finalRex Features

Oli McBurnie (second left) pounced after an error by keeper Sol Brynn

Ian Woodcock
BBC Sport England at Wembley Stadium

Oli McBurnie's stoppage-time goal gave Hull City a dramatic victory in the Championship play-off final over reinstated Middlesbrough and took the Tigers back to the Premier League.

Boro were given a place in the final after Southampton, who beat them over two legs in the semi-final, were expelled on Tuesday for the Spygate scandal.

In sweltering conditions at Wembley, the game looked destined for extra time before goalkeeper Sol Brynn spilt Yu Hirakawa's cross and McBurnie buried the loose ball from six yards out.

It ended Hull's nine-year wait for top-flight football - a year after they avoided relegation to League One on goal difference.

Former Bosnia international Sergej Jakirović, who took over as head coach last summer, has taken the East Yorkshire side up in his first season in English football despite having to operate under a transfer embargo, which was imposed last year as a sanction for making late payments to other clubs.

McBurnie, meanwhile, was this week left out of Scotland's World Cup squad despite scoring 18 goals this season before his Wembley winner. He will spend the summer at home - but as a Premier League player.

Hull's triumph also continued their perfect record in Championship play-off finals, each with a 1-0 scoreline.

Spygate scandal set up play-off final like no other

The build-up to the game was totally dominated by the fallout from Saints being kicked out of the competition.

English Football League chairman Rick Parry admitted in his notes in the match programme that the game had been "overshadowed", while Tigers boss Jakirovic said pre-game that his side had been the "collateral damage" from the affair.

The Spygate story was initially reported two days before Boro's first leg against the Saints after a junior member of manager Tonda Eckert's staff was spotted secretly watching Middlesbrough at their training ground.

Oli McBurnie scores for Hull against Middlesbrough in the Championship play-off finalRex Features

The all-important goal came in the fifth minute of stoppage time

Eckert's side beat the Teessiders 2-1 on aggregate, but an investigation into the spying was immediately launched and, four days before the final, Southampton were removed from the play-offs and Boro reinstated after it emerged the south-coast club had also spied on two other teams.

Since then, the Saints have appealed unsuccessfully against the punishment, which also included a four-point deduction for next season, with an independent commission ruling Eckert had "specifically authorised the observations".

There was more drama pre-match when Hull chairman Acun Ilicali said his club would take legal action if they lost to Boro, calling the decision to put them in the final "unbelievable".

Tigers take their chance to go from sideshow to main event

Hull, who claimed the final play-off place on the final day of the regular season, in part thanks to Middlesbrough drawing with Wrexham, built their success on massively outperforming the metrics on both their expected goals for and against.

Jakirovic's side have not sought to dominate matches but have excelled in taking their chances when they come - and they did so in difficult conditions at the national stadium.

Boro had almost two-thirds of the possession but did not force keeper Ivor Pandur into a single save.

It was Hull who came closest to breaking the deadlock before half-time when McBurnie's header deflected on to the crossbar.

Middlesbrough continued to have more of the ball after the break, but Dael Fry's header over from Matt Targett's back-post corner was about as close as they came.

Hull had the first shot on target just after the hour mark, when Mo Belloumi cut in off the right and hit a shot that deflected harmlessly into Brynn's arms.

There seemed little chance of late drama when eight minutes of stoppage time were signalled with both teams clearly drained by the heat.

However, McBurnie held the ball up for his side just over halfway and then got into the box - and when Brynn fumbled Hirakawa's cross the striker was in the right place to convert.

There was still time for Boro to try and find an equaliser, but they almost conceded again when Matt Crooks had a shot blocked in the final seconds.

Wembley hoodoo continues for beaten Boro

Middlesbrough's search for a first-ever win at Wembley goes on after their rollercoaster season ended on a low.

They started the campaign in great form under new boss Rob Edwards, having parted company with Michael Carrick earlier in the summer, but Edwards left in November to take over at top-flight strugglers Wolves.

Swede Kim Hellberg took over in his place and had them in contention for automatic promotion, only for a complete loss of form from mid-March to consign them to the play-offs.

That largely coincided with the loss of influential midfielder Hayden Hackney, who was sidelined for 10 weeks before coming on as a second-half substitute at Wembley.

The local lad was roared on to the pitch by the Boro fans, who sold out their end despite the short notice, but he could not galvanise his side.

They will now spend a 10th season in the second tier and their games against both Southampton and Wolves are bound to have an extra edge.

Player of the match

O. McBurnie
8.12
9 O. McBurnie
8.12
37 P. McNair
7.60
5 J. Lundstram
7.37
21 J. Gelhardt
7.35
10 M. Belloumi
7.32
3 R. Giles
7.31
2 L. Coyle
7.31
25 M. Crooks
7.28
13 Y. Hirakawa
7.27
27 R. Slater
7.27
7 L. Millar
7.25
6 S. Ajayi
7.25
1 I. Pandur
7.22
15 J. Egan
7.22
4 C. Hughes
7.17
18 C. Drameh
7.12
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