That’s about it for today’s liveblog. Congratulations to Millwall, who have closed the book on last year’s agony. Thanks for your company, night!
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Steve Morison is being interviewed
Morison: “It’s brilliant. This is annoying me, I can’t focus. They’ve ruined it for me right now, absolutely ruined it [I assume he means the fans on the pitch rather than the tannoy telling them to get off]. We played poor but we’ll celebrate tonight. The Championship is where we wanna be, and we’ll have a good crack.”
Now there’s a mass pitch invasion. Neil Harris asks them to get off the pitch, but there’s no chance of that. He’s really angry.
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Steve Morison, the oldest man on the pitch, has put Millwall back in the Championship with a terrific late finish. It’s a wonderful moment for Millwall and their manager Neil Harris, especially after defeat in last year’s final. Bradford played some high-class football but tired as the match progressed. Harris said he wanted “a Millwall performance”. He got that in the last half an hour. It was a triumph of the human spirit from a team who somehow, after 60-odd games this season, found something extra in their legs.
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Full time: Bradford 0-1 Millwall
MILLWALL ARE BACK IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP!
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90+5 min What a chance for McMahon! A loose ball broke to him just outside the six-yard box, at a very tight angle, but instead of drilling it across goal he smashed it wildly into the side netting.
90+3 min Bradford look shot. Cullen needlessly fouls Onyedinma, which will allow Millwall to waste more time.
90+2 min Millwall repel a series of balls into the box, with Hutchinson to the fore. Great defending.
90+1 min There will be five minutes of added agony for both sets of supporters. The ecstasy comes after.
90 min Another Millwall change: Gregory off, Calum Butcher on.
89 min Fred Onyedinma replaces Jed Wallace for Millwall, who are so close to the Championship.
88 min Cullen plays a good ball to Jones, who wins a corner off Williams.
I think Morison was fractionally offside, but the flag didn’t go up. A cross from the left by the tireless Williams - who started the move by intercepting Marshall’s pass in his own half - was acrobatically headed across goal by the diving Gregory, and Morison got on the wrong side to Dieng to ping a volley high into the net from six yards. It was a brilliant finish on the stretch.
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GOAL! Bradford 0-1 Millwall (Morison 85)
The big man has done it for Millwall!
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83 min Wallace wins Millwall’s umpteenth corner of the match. Ferguson stands it up under the crossbar and the referee gives a foul against the keeper Doyle.
82 min That’s better from Bradford, a lovely passing move involving Dieng, Cullen and Marshall. Eventually McMahon crossed to his fellow full-back Meredith, who headed wide of the far post from 15 yards. It was a quarter-chance.
79 min The under-pressure Vincelot gives the ball away in a dangerous area to Wallace, who guides it into Morison. He gets it out of his feet, 15 yards from goal, and sweeps a shot that is crucially blocked by McArdle. The ball runs loose and McArdle scrambles it behind for a corner.
79 min “I am trying,” says Kevin Ryan, “to imagine a feminist book club’s bowling night blessed with the presence of the likes of Walter Sobchak, Jesus Quintana and of the course The Dude. The mind boggles!”
78 min Millwall look like the team with more left in their legs. Bradford have struggled even to let the ball do the work in the last 10 minutes.
76 min Wallace bounces to the ground off Meredith, who is booked. I’m not sure Meredith could have done much to get out of the way.
74 min A double change for Bradford: Alex Jones and Timothee Dieng replace Billy Clarke and Nicky Law.
72 min This is Millwall’s best spell of the match, in terms of sustained possession. Bradford haven’t seen much of the ball in the last five or ten minutes.
71 min “As a Derby fan with post-2013 stress disorder,” chirps David Hopkins, “I can confirm that a team dominating without having scored should definitely be the more nervous.”
70 min The first substitution is made by Millwall: Shane Ferguson replaces Aiden O’Brien.
68 min “The more this goes on, the more the cold stash of Sapporo reduces,” says John Ashburne. “If it goes to penalties I’ve just about enough time to rush out and get my own personal, lonely half-crate. And offer up a prayer to the handily placed shrine.”
You’ll have time before extra-time, should it go that far. They take an age to restart.
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67 min Ten months’ work comes down to the next 25 minutes (plus extra time and penalties if necessary).
65 min McMahon curls another free-kick from the right onto the head of McArdle, who again heads over from six yards. He was in less space but was able to get over the ball, and as such might feel he should have scored.
64 min Bradford haven’t dominated the second half as they did the first, though they are still having more possession. It’s so hard to call.
61 min Wallace misses an excellent chance for Millwall! Gregory beat a couple of players just past the halfway line and angled an excellent through pass to Wallace. He had to take the shot first time on the run and sidefooted tamely wide from the edge of the box. That was Millwall’s best chance by a long way.
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60 min Millwall haven’t had a shot on target yet. In a weird way, I’d be more worried about that stat if I was supporting Bradford.
59 min McMahon’s free-kick is headed over from six yards by the unmarked McArdle! He just couldn’t get over the top of the ball to steer it towards goal, and in that sense it was a harder chance than it looked.
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58 min Another penetrative run infield from Marshall is ended by a foul from O’Brien, who is booked.
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55 min “I am said Bradford-supporting friend who missed a football match for a bowling night,” says Jim Bach. “I should point out that it wasn’t just a bowling night, it was a fundraiser for women’s health options and I had pledged to participate.”
The moral of this story? Good causes > banter.
54 min A corner to Millwall, who have started this half with plenty of attacking purpose. Williams swings it in from the right and it’s headed clear.
52 min A long ball is headed down by Gregory to Morison, who drags his first-time shot wide from 25 yards.
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51 min At the other end, McArdle makes a vital tackle on Gregory, who would otherwise have been clear on goal after running onto a good pass from Wallace.
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50 min Cullen’s cross hits Webster and rebounds to Meredith, who lashes a low shot that is kicked away by one of a posse of Millwall defenders on the six-yard line.
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47 min Marshall makes ground down the right and wins an early corner for Bradford. It’s overhit.
46 min Peep peep! Bradford begin the second half, kicking from right to left as I look on my television screen.
“Sorry, I couldn’t let this [aggression] stand,” says Daniel Barnett. “’Shabbos’ refers to the Sabbath day. ‘Shomer Shabbos’ refers to an individual who ‘keeps’ the Sabbath, and so wouldn’t bowl or get into fights with German nihilists on Shabbos, from sundown on Friday to after nightfall on Saturday. So what you really wanted to say was, ‘Not on Shabbos, I hope.’”
This is the single greatest witch-hunt of an MBMer in Guardian history!
“Hi Rob,” says Graham Randall. “I have just taken great delight in pointing out to my Bradford-supporting friend that they are the purist and hipster choice. This is the same friend who missed a Columbus game to go to his feminist book club’s bowling night.”
Not on Shommer Shabbos, I hope.
Half time: Bradford 0-0 Millwall
There haven’t been many chances but that was a fascinating half, with multiple momentum shifts and a nice contrast between Bradford’s passing and Millwall’s power. See you in 10 minutes for the second half.
45+1 min Morison has started to impose himself again in the last few minutes, bullying defenders in his inimitable style. He must be a nightmare to play against.
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44 min “John writing from Japan,” says John Ashburne. “In 2013 I flew over from Kyoto to witness the nil-five defeat to Swansea. Just in case I cursed them, I decided to stay at home in my wood and paper Zen house this time, and save myself a good penny or two. I have a stash of cold Sapporo, and am completely on my own - missus, mates, my dear brother Steve even - have no interest in the Mighty Bantams. I’m excited and bricking it at the same time.”
42 min The ever dangerous Marshall is fouled on the right wing by Hutchinson. McMahon clips it towards the near post, where Wyke’s header spins well wide of the far post.
39 min McMahon fouls O’Brien, 35 yards from goal. That gives Millwall both a breather and a set-piece in a decent area. It’s angled towards Morison, who wins the header and knocks it back across goal. Hutchinson waits for it to bounce and smashes a shot that is crucially blocked by McArdle. For all Bradford’s dominance, Millwall are really dangerous in the final third.
37 min Bloody hell it’s Matt Tempest! “Your old Guardian Unlimited colleague here. As Bantams fan watching this in Brussels - well, watching your min-by-min, as the local bar has the Grand Prix on, and Radio 5 Live is geo-blocked - I’m the worst person to judge this, but are Bradford the neutral’s choice on this clash?”
I suspect so, given the general perception of Millwall FC, though there’s a lot to like about them under Neil Harris. Bradford would certainly be the purist and hipster choice.
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36 min Some respite for Millwall. Abdou plays a crisp pass into the area for Morison, who fresh-airs his attempted shot.
35 min Bradford have so much class and they are completely dominant at the moment. Millwall need half-time.
33 min A clever corner routine from Bradford. Clarke passes it low and hard towards the D, where McMahon arrives late to rattle a left-footed shot towards goal. He doesn’t quite get hold of it and the ball deflects back for a second try, which he drags wide on the run.
32 min “As a West Ham fan, I’m obviously rooting for Bradford, not least because two of our youngsters (Reece Burke last year, and Josh Cullen this) have had very successful loans there,” says Daniel Barnett. “I was wondering how young Cullen looks today?”
He hasn’t been a huge influence so far but you can see how comfortable he is in possession. That said, it’s hard to assess a player when you do an MBM as you spend half your time typing, or looking at a screen, or thinking back to what happened a few seconds earlier.
31 min Romeo shepherds the ball behind, not realising it had taken a nick off one of his teammates. McMahon’s deep, booming corner is met beyond the far post by the stretching McArdle, but his header is comfortably held by Archer.
30 min A rare Millwall attack brings another corner. Williams’ outswinger is cleared and Bradford break menacingly again until Marshall overhits his cross. Bradford are geared for the counter-attack every time Millwall get a corner.
28 min Bradford have been extremely dominant in the last ten minutes or so, with Morison and Gregory, so dangerously early on, unable to get in the game. I suspect it’ll be a match of many mini-moodswings like that.
26 min “Your point about the contrast in attacking styles is a good one,” says Phil Withall, lovingly caressing my bald pate. “There seems to be a casual simplicity about Bradford’s approach, playing to the situation. Millwall seem to be playing toward an expectation. I feel it may not go well for them.”
24 min McMahon thumps a free-kick towards the far corner that is headed away fearlessly by Hutchinson a few yards from his own goal. Archer may have had it covered anyway but Hutchinson didn’t take any chances.
23 min Marshall’s shot deflects towards Clarke, who is taken down by Abdou just outside the area. Abdou might have got some of the ball, and it’ll certainly be an issue if Bradford score. The free-kick is in a great position.
23 min Bradford are really dominating possession now, though Millwall are not a team against who it would be wise to have any sense of security. The front two of Morison and Gregory are such a threat.
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21 min The Bradford right-back McMahon tries an acrobatic volley from 25 yards. Throw-in to Millwall.
20 min The increasingly influential Clarke picks up a loose ball and charges straight to the edge of the area, where Williams makes an important tackle.
18 min The clash of attacking styles is fascinating. Bradford are patient and neat; Millwall are chaotic and in-your-face. Both have had plenty of joy already.
17 min Millwall win another corner on the right. This has been a brilliant start to the game. The corner is half cleared to O’Brien, whose shot is blocked on the edge of the box.
15 min Clarke tees up the marauding left-back Meredith, whose stinging shot from a tight angle is beaten away by Archer. It was a comfortable enough save.
14 min “Hi Rob,” says Shaun Wilkinson. “As a Scunthorpe fan living in Cologne, I am keeping up with this play-off final as well as the Bundesliga today. It looks as if Hamburg are going into the relegation play-off AGAIN. I know some people don’t like the English play-off system, but it is certainly better than having the third-bottom team from the Bundesliga play the third-placed team from Bundesliga 2, as happens here. It seems that the Bundesliga team (usually Hamburg these days) is given an ‘extra life’ that they don’t deserve. What are your thoughts?”
Yes I agree. I like the idea of a battle between divisions but I assume the top-division team would win too often to make it worthwhile or fair.
13 min What a save by Archer! Bradford broke devastatingly from the corner, with Marshall angling a wonderful through pass to Clarke. He took his time and tried to lift the ball over Archer, who had gone down but strained every sinew of his left arm to fingertip it past the post. Brilliant save.
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12 min Millwall are causing a lot of problems for Bradford. Morison’s left-wing cross deflects dangerously across the area and is run behind nervously for a corner by Clarke. Williams’ inswinger is punched clear by Clarke.
12 min We’ve seen replays of the McArdle tackle on Gregory, and it seems he didn’t get the ball. The strange thing is, Gregory didn’t appeal at all for a penalty. Had he done so, he might have got one.
11 min Another corner to Millwall, this time on the left. It’s curled out to Morison, who gets above McArdle but mistimes his header well wide of the far post. That was a chance.
10 min The corner is swung in towards Hutchinson, whose flicked header deflects off McArdle and over the bar. That might have been going in. Millwall look such a threat from set pieces.
9 min McArdle makes an excellent challenge on Gregory, who had deftly pulled down a long pass over the top. Morrison is then crowded out, with Knight-Percival conceding a corner. Millwall are causing plenty of chaos in the final third.
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6 min Marshall’s cross is half-cleared to McMahon, who tries to swoosh the bouncing ball into the far corner from 20 yards. He doesn’t cut across it sufficiently, however, and it drifts a few yards wide.
5 min Marshall miscontrols the ball, allowing Abdou to slide in and challenge. As he does so Marshall plants his studs into the side of Abdou’s leg. That looked very painful. I don’t think it was deliberate - it looked almost absent-minded - but he should have at least been penalised.
4 min Bradford enjoy their first familiar spell of possession, moving the ball around confidently before Clarke overhits a ball forward.
2 min Vincelot is penalised for climbing over the back of Gregory, which gives Millwall a free-kick 30 yards from goal on the right. Williams’ inswinger is headed away by Meredith.
1 min Peep peep! Millwall kick off from right to left. One of these teams will be playing Championship football next season.
Both teams are wearing their home strip: Bradford are in claret and amber, Millwall in blue and white.
My timeline has turned into something resembling a Hello magazine wedding shoot. Bradford v Millwall can't come soon enough.
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) May 20, 2017
The teams emerge from the tunnel. The Bradford manager Stuart McCall looks eerily relaxed, Millwall’s Neil Harris less so. In a game of this importance, I’m not sure which is preferable.
Any predictions? This is really tough to call but I think Bradford might sneak it 2-1.
Pre-match reading
Team news
Both teams are unchanged, and here they are.
Bradford (4-4-1-1) Doyle; McMahon, McArdle, Knight-Percival, Meredith; Marshall, Vincelot, Cullen; Law; Clarke; Wyke.
Substitutes: Sattelmaier, Darby, Dieng, Hiwula, Gilliead, Jones, Kilgallon.
Millwall (4-4-2) Archer; Romeo, Webster, Hutchinson, Craig; Wallace, ABdou, Williams, O’Brien; Gregory, Morison.
Substitutes: King, Cooper, Thompson, Butcher, Ferguson, Worrall, Onyedinma.
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Preamble
Hello. The play-offs are an exquisitely cruel creation. Even in a sport that routinely deals in extremes, the play-offs sit alongside the penalty shoot-out and something I’ve no doubt forgotten as the most emotionally hazardous experiences in football. The Agony & The Ecstasy is the name of Richard Foster’s excellent history of the play-offs and that phrase sums up the thrilling, terrifying jeopardy of a play-off final at Wembley.
The first of this year’s finals is in League One, where Bradford City will play Millwall. One team will swig the happiest drinks of their lives at around 6pm tonight, whether it’s a tooth-tinglingly cold can of Stella or an Elderflower Tonic Water Infused With a Soupcon of Lemon. The other will drown the deepest, sourest sorrows, knowing that 49 games – 49 games! – of mostly excellent work has been for nothing.
If Millwall lose the pain will be even greater, because they lost in the final last year against Barnsley. They beat Bradford in the semi-finals, but this season there has been little between the sides: two 1-1 draws in the league, and only six points between Bradford in fifth and Millwall in sixth. They are have benefited considerably from the impetus, purpose and pride you get when a legendary ex-player (Stuart McCall at Bradford, Neil Harris at Millwall) is the manager of the club.
McCall has got Bradford playing some lovely stuff. Millwall are a little more flexible in their style, and the power and personality of the silver-haired Welshman Steve Morison was integral to their semi-final win over Scunthorpe. Both are very impressive teams.
The winners will complete an exciting Championship line-up next season. There are some huge names and some cracking away trips: Leeds, Sunderland, Derby, Middlesbrough, Forest, QPR, Aston Villa, Wolves, Birmingham, Sheffield United, Sheffield Wednesday, Fulham.
There is also a lot of money for the victors, but this game is not about that; not for the players, not for the fans. It’s about something far more important: the unique ecstacy of winning the play-offs.
Kick off: 3pm.
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