The pitch floods with celebrating Hull fans. A few orange smoke bombs go off. Hey, no pyro, no party. The Hull players scamper down the tunnel, more in relief than joy. They weren’t very good tonight. Derby by contrast were relentless in attack. But the hosts dug in during the second half when they had to, and of course they were the better team in the first leg. Deserved winners, then, of a semi-final which had a very similar rhythm and narrative to the Sheffield Wednesday-Brighton affair. Commiserations to Derby County, who like Brighton last night failed to complete a comeback but nevertheless did themselves proud. They too would have been a mighty fine addition to the Premier League. But it’s not to be. Meanwhile congratulations to Hull City, who are one day of Wembley wonder away from a place in next season’s Premier League. The final should be a blast! Hull or Wednesday? It’s too tough to call!
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FULL TIME: Hull City 0-2 Derby County (agg 3-2)
And that’s that! Now it’s the turn of the Hull supporters to sing the “Sheffield Wednesday we’re coming for you” song! They’ve made the play-off final on Saturday week after a very nervous performance. But the tie was won in the first leg. Derby were magnificent tonight. But not quite magnificent enough.
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90 min +5: Snodgrass is replaced by Maguire, clock management at its finest.
90 min +4: Carson is nearly caught upfield as Hughes can’t get his shot away on the edge of the box. Clucas breaks up the right, but loses control with the goal unguarded.
90 min +3: A simple ball looped down the middle into the Hull box. Dawson, in a panic, heads backwards and out of play for a corner. That was unnecessary. Carson comes up for the set piece.
90 min +2: Diame is replaced by Clucas.
90 min +1: Martin loops in a cross from the left, but there are no blue shirts in the box. Quite understandably, Martin wants to know where the hell everyone is at this late stage.
90 min: Derby move into the Hull half, but can’t get anything going in the final third. Hull holding their shape. The last throw of the dice for Derby, as Olsson is replaced by Camara. There will be four added minutes.
88 min: Hendrick rather clumsily bowls Meyler to the floor as the Hull man chases down the right. A free kick. The ball lands at the feet of Snodrass, who bowls down the inside-right channel and goes over in the environs of Hughes. A claim for a penalty, which the referee isn’t interested in. A clear dive.
87 min: Ince curls one in from the right. It’s not a million miles away from Bent, but the ball sails through to Jakupovic.
86 min: Bryson rolls a ball down the middle and nearly gets on the end of Martin’s return flick, but Dawson reads the danger, intercepts and clears.
85 min: Meyler tries to release Odubajo into space down the right, but the ball drifts out of play. Derby need the ball, and quick, but Hull are refusing to gift them anything here.
84 min: Hull play Derby at their own midfield possession game. The clock ticks on. Time is not Derby’s pal.
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82 min: Derby haven’t seen much of the ball in the last five minutes, so a period of possession in the middle of the park gives them a much-needed foothold back in the game. They also replace a knackered looking Russell with Darren Bent.
80 min: “Come on City! Come on City!” Another corner for the hosts down the right. Snodgrass takes. Davies bends down but flicks his header high over the bar from 12 yards. It’s been a decent spell for Hull, who despite it all are ten minutes (plus stoppages) away from Wembley.
79 min: Derby are beginning to look tired, having put in so much effort. Shackell takes down a long ball, and has a simple clearance to make, but fresh-airs the kick and lets the ball run out of play for a corner. Thankfully, from the big defender’s perspective, the set piece comes to nothing.
77 min: This is a bit better from the home team. Snodgrass skitters down the left, reaches the byline, and sees his low cross whistle back past his lugs by Shackell. A throw deep in Derby territory the only reward, and it leads to nothing. But they’re still leading this semi-final on aggregate, and time’s running out for Derby County.
76 min: Elmohamady chases down the right, with Derby looking light at the back, but overruns the ball. No space. Goal kick. Hull are doing nothing in attack.
74 min: Ince has a blast from 25 yards. The ball sails on a reckless arc over the left-hand corner flag. The home crowd enjoyed that, a release from the tension.
73 min: Martin, on the edge of the D, takes a pass from Ince, out on the left. Ince cuts inside and picks up a flicked return, and is about to shoot when Davies clatters him in the legal style. What a challenge! Hull looked to have been opened up there.
71 min: Keogh strides forward and plays a fine ball down the inside-left channel for Ince, who would have got a shot away had he made for the box in a straight line. But he chooses to cut inside, and has to make do with a corner instead. No matter, because it very nearly leads to a goal, Martin picking up the ball with his back to goal on the left-hand corner of the box, turning and curling one towards the top right. It’s heading in, brilliantly, but it’s met by a strong fist from Jakupovic. Marvellous save!
69 min: Derby knock it around the middle of the park awhile. Eventually Hughes takes up possession, drops a shoulder, and has a look from 25 yards. It’s high and wide. But Derby are pressing, and pressing hard. They don’t appear to be in the mood to spend the summer wondering.
67 min: Martin strokes a ball down the inside-left channel. Ince takes it down, and looks to make good towards the box. He’s crowded out by Dawson. He should have laid the ball off to his right, where Russell was in space. Hull don’t look comfortable at all. The KC is bubbling and boiling with nervous tension. This is superlative entertainment. It could go either way. You can’t take your eye off it for a second. And other clichés.
66 min: Derby are doing their best to stretch Hull this way and that. Christie bombs down the right and crosses deep. So deep that Olsson has to stretch to keep it in on the left. Olsson then curls high to the far post. Jakupovic rises to claim.
64 min: Derby are on the front foot again. Hughes probes with baroque intent down the right. He can’t quite prise Hull open. Then Ince has a crack from 25 yards. It’s straight at Odubajo.
63 min: Hull are going direct. Now Diame takes the ball down and powers with extreme prejudice down the middle. He shoots from long range, the ball bobbling harmlessly wide right of Carson’s goal.
61 min: A long hoof down the middle of the park by Hull. Hernandez dummies and very nearly releases Snodgrass on goal. It would have been that simple. But Shackell extends a leg and pokes the ball back to the keeper, just when Snodgrass’s eyes were widening.
60 min: Weimann has jarred his knee. A shame, because he’s played very well tonight. He’s replaced by Tom Ince who, having been dropped, has spent most of the evening sitting on the bench with a face on. Now’s his chance to walk it like he’s sulked it.
59 min: Hughes and Hendrick combine well down the right. Some intricate dribbling. Hull afraid to put the foot in. Hendrick then loops towards the far post for Martin, but there’s a little too much juice on the cross. Derby are desperate for the equalising goal in this tie, but they’re not playing desperate football. They’ve been very easy on the eye tonight.
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57 min: Hernandez, on the left-hand corner of the Derby box, chests down a long throw, turns, and lashes a fine dipping effort towards the top right. Not quite, but full marks for ambition.
56 min: Shackell is booked for a cynical trip on Odubajo as the Hull man considers breaking into some space in the midfield. He can have no complaints.
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55 min: Another lull in proceedings, which once again should do Hull a favour. Derby still look the sharper side. “I’ll see your Hull city centre in 1969 and raise you Bury town centre in 1965,” writes Phil Thorp. “A far better production if I may be so bold. Oh, and if you’re looking for a link, Hull knocked the mighty Shakers out of the FA Cup this season and we beat Derby County 6-0 in the highest scoring FA Cup final in 1903.”
53 min: Hernandez tries a snapshot from 20 yards. It smacks Keogh in the face. Odubajo picks up the rebound, and takes the opportunity to go over a leg hung out by Hughes. Street smart, and a free kick in a dangerous position. Snodgrass makes a play straight out of Martin’s big book, smashing the set piece straight into the wall. What a waste.
51 min: Martin blooters the free kick straight at the wall. Hull, let off the hook, clear. Steve Bruce has seen enough. He replaces Huddlestone with David Meyler.
50 min: Hughes comes straight at Hull down the centre, yet again. Odubajo has no option but to tug him back, on the edge of the D. He’s booked, and it’s a free kick in a very, very dangerous position.
48 min: Derby should be level! Martin dribbles down the left, then slides Weimann further along the flank. Weimann enters the box and centres low and hard towards Bryson, six yards out. Bryson must score! But he can’t get his legs working properly, allowing the ball to smack him in the troosers. Weimann tries to recycle the rebound, shooting form a tight angle. But it’s wide, and he’s offside. What a chance for Bryson!
47 min: Elmohamady powers down the right, the most direct Hull dribble of the evening so far. He ends up crossing deep towards Diame, but Keogh heads clear without fuss. Then Odubajo has a go from the same flank, but Carson snaffles that one. Much better from the Tigers already.
And we're off again!
Two down, then, just the one to go. Can Derby really pull this off? Remember: no team has ever come back from three goals down in a two-legged play-off rubber. If they keep playing like they did in the first half, anything’s possible. Especially if Hull don’t raise their own game. The home side will have received some beneficial advice from Steve Bruce during the break, I’ll be bound, and in the trenchant style to boot. So they should come out with renewed purpose. Derby get the ball rolling again.
Half-time entertainment: A drive around Hull in 1969. Well, why not? Peckinpah on at the cinema, Littlewoods and Ratners still open for business.
HALF TIME: Hull City 0-2 Derby County (agg 3-2)
A free kick for Hull out on the right. Snodgrass sends it straight through the Derby box. And that’s that for the first half. Well, well, well. “Sheffield Wednesday, we’re coming for you,” sing the away support. Derby still need one more goal to level things up, of course. Probably worth mentioning now that away goals matter not in this tournament. For some reason it didn’t seem that important earlier. It certainly does now! It’s going to be some second half. No flipping!
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45 min: Space for Christie down the right. He’s got men in the middle, but opts to float his cross into the area, allowing Jakupovic to gently pluck the ball from the sky.
43 min: A break in play with Olsson down, the Derby left back having taken a knee in the back from Elmohamady. Entirely accidental. It looks as if he’ll be OK; there are smiles. Hull happy to see the clock tick round towards the 45-minute mark.
41 min: Hughes embarks on another trademark dribble, this time down the left. He eventually runs out of space, and it’s a goal kick, but once again Hull were in a defensive panic. This is a collective breakdown. They need to find their equilibrium. Half time can’t come soon enough.
39 min: Odubajo is on a one-man mission to raise his team’s spirits. He powers in from the right and lashes a rising shot towards the top left. Shackell, not entirely in control, but deserving of some luck this time after his own goal on Saturday, helps it over the bar. The resulting corner comes to nothing. The Derby fans are bouncing around like billy-o, the spirit of Tigger in travelling football-fan form.
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38 min: Hull, shellshocked Hull, try to pick themselves up. Odubajo burns down the right and enters the box alongside Olsson. He goes down under a shoulder charge, far too easily, and though the entire KC screams penalty, the referee isn’t having a bar of it. They’re rattled.
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GOAL! Hull City 0-2 Derby County (Robertson og 36; agg 3-2)
Eh, scrub that! Martin picks up the ball in the middle of the Hull half, and spreads a pass wide left for Olsson. He fires low into the six-yard box. The ball clanks off a spreadeagled Davies, and is then lashed into his own net from a couple of yards by a confused and highly anxious Robertson! The play-off comeback of all play-off comebacks is on!
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35 min: Diame goes on a power skitter down the inside-right channel, but drags a 20-yarder wide right of the target. This is a little better from Hull now, who are slowly working their way back into this game.
32 min: But for all Derby’s excellence, one mistake is all it would take to burst their bubble. They suddenly get in a collective funk as Snodgrass lashes a low ball into their box from the left wing. Hernandez, on the penalty spot, looks like having a clear shot for a second, but can’t sort his feet out. The ball breaks back to Livermore, who belts low, hard and just left of the post. The resulting corner - the result of a deflection - comes to nothing. Sudden bedlam, and the Hull fans find their voice again!
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30 min: Hendrick tries to pitching-wedge a chip over the wall and into the top right. Nope! It rebounds to Bryson, who whistles a shot inches wide of the left-hand post from 25 yards. So close to the second!
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29 min: A common-or-garden long ball down the middle, and Hull are once again in a panic. Martin takes the ball down with his chest, runs towards the box, and is brought down by Livermore, to the right of the D. Livermore is booked, and this is a free kick in a very dangerous position.
27 min: They’re still snoozing. Derby go straight up the other end and once again look dangerous, Weimann releasing Russell down the left. The resulting cross flies out of play to the right of the goal, though had it been even half-decent, Martin was lurking in the area with a view to causing all sorts of trouble. Smelling salts for Hull!
26 min: Another rare Hull sortie. Livermore strides in from the right, and converts for three rugby points. That rising shot, from 25 yards, was never going in. But Hull have been so poor they need something, anything, to wake themselves up.
25 min: Now it’s Hendrick’s turn to go dancing down the middle of the park. Hull are collectively frightened to make a tackle. He slips the ball to the left and very nearly releases Hughes into the area, but the pass has a little too much weight on it. Hughes is forced towards the corner, where he eventually loses control. But once again, Hull’s back line threatened to open up there. This is a very impressive performance by Derby so far. But then they were the better team in the opening exchanges last Saturday, too, and look how that ended.
23 min: A long ball hoicked down the Derby left. Odubajo should clear with ease, but he faffs around. So ponderous. And he very nearly allows Weimann to tear past him, making off towards the box. But the full back wakes from his slumber just in time, and gently nudges Weimann out of the road before shepherding the ball out.
21 min: Weimann, who hasn’t stopped running, earns a corner down the left. Russell’s corner finds the head of Keogh, eight yards out. Fortunately for Derby, the Derby captain doesn’t connect properly with his header. Hull clear. In the midfield, Bryson picks up possession and is immediately cleaned out by Snodgrass. An awful slide tackle, nowhere near the ball. A booking, all day long, and a sign of Hull’s mounting concern and frustration. Easy to forget that they’re still two goals clear in this semi-final.
19 min: Hull are struggling to get out of their final third. A lame Snodgrass clearance - with the outside of his left boot! - falls to Hendrick, 25 yards out. Hendrick tries to dispatch it back into the net, but his screeching, dipping, first-time blast is without accuracy. The home support, though, are extremely nervous right now. Plenty of air sucked in as that one left Hendrick’s boot.
17 min: Hughes, showcasing delightful close control, slaloms down the middle through an orange thicket. He nears the box, then lays off to Russell, who is immediately upended by Livermore. A free kick, which Russell takes himself. He gets the ball up and over the wall, towards the top right. It whistles inches wide. Jakupovic almost certainly had that covered had it been on target, but he’d have been forced to palm it round. Derby are giving Hull serious pause for thought here.
15 min: A lull, which does Derby no favours and allows Hull to take a breather. They’ve looked nervous since the get-go. The bulk of the KC has responded in kind. The away fans are making the bulk of the noise.
13 min: Once the second throw is taken, Odubajo whips a delightful mid-height cross through the Derby box. Diame is inches away from stooping to nut home from six yards, but the pace of the cross beats him. Much better from the hosts.
12 min: Hull finally launch a sortie into Derby territory. A couple of throws from the right by Odubajo. The Hull man takes an age over the second, and is bollocked for timewasting by referee Michael Oliver.
10 min: Hull were kind of asking for that. They’ve been ludicrously passive so far. And they’re still sitting back, allowing Derby the run of the place. Olsson romps into space down the left, and fires a brilliant low ball through the six-yard box. Fortunately for the snoozing home side, there’s nobody in blue taking a chance in the centre. Hull need to wake up, and quickly!
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GOAL! Hull City 0-1 Derby County (Russell 7; agg 3-1)
Is this on? It’s on! And it’s so simple! Christie bombs along the right wing. He eats up most of the pitch, then crosses deep. Martin rises high at the far post and heads down for Russell, whose initial header from six yards is blocked by Davies. But the ball falls back to his feet, and he tucks away the rebound from a couple of yards!
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6 min: Hull are more than happy to sit back and let Derby faff around in the midfield. It’s totally understandable, though they’ll not want to allow the Rams to work their way into a passing groove. Russell finds a little pocket of space, 30 yards out down the inside-left channel. He looks for the top right, but though he connects well, it’s belted miles over the bar.
4 min: All a bit scrappy during the early exchanges. Derby are seeing more of the ball, though nothing comes of their possession, other than a speculative Hughes shot that is currently bobbing up and down the Humber.
2 min: Derby knock it about the back awhile. Eventually Shackell launches it long, down the right. Snodgrass shepherds the ball out of play, though Christie, pressing hard, at least keeps him honest.
And we're off!
The home side get the ball rolling, and immediately dispatch it into the stand down the right. The only way is up.
The teams are out! Hull are in their trademark tiger orange-and-black kit, while Derby have opted to wear their third-choice blue. There’s a fine atmosphere at the KC Stadium, tiger flags a-fluttering. Plenty of expectancy among the home support, though to be fair to the away section, there’s a lot of noise over there too, despite the terrible hole their team has fallen into. We’ll be off in a minute! “If you were going to flutter a tenner on the footy tonight, which do reckon is more likely: Derby turning this round or Man Utd getting the 19 goals they’re looking for?” asks Robin Hazlehurst. “I don’t suppose either is very likely, but I’ve heard tell you could have got long odds on Leicester winning the title a while back, so you never know.” Claudio and his lads have indeed proved that anything is possible. Mind you, the record score in the top division is 12-0, last achieved in 1909 when Nottingham Forest beat Leicester (they’re up and down all right). So if Louis van Gaal’s side win by a 19-goal margin tonight, expect a controversy so big it’d make Totonero - which saw Milan and Lazio relegated, and Paolo Rossi banned for two years - look like being overcharged a couple of pence for a tin of soup at Sainsbury’s. So lump on Derby! Though remember investments made at your local turf accountant can go down as well as up.
Darren Wassall speaks! “I hope Weimann and Hendrick score some goals! We needed to freshen it up after Saturday, we’ve got to do something. We need the rub of the green, a little bit of luck. We also need to show passion, drive, desire, enthusiasm and determination, which we had done, in abundance, up until last Saturday. That wasn’t the Derby County I’ve sent out for three months. We’ve had some brilliant displays and scored some great goals. We’ve got to show the nation that we’re better than we were.”
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Steve Bruce speaks! “We’ve given ourselves an outstanding chance, of course. But this is a game of football. There was nothing in it for 25 minutes at Derby, and one goal changed it all of a sudden. We’ve got to guard against complacency. We can’t take anything for granted. We’ll take the same approach as we did on Saturday. They’re a big club with a huge support and good players. We can fear a backlash, and we’ve got to be ready for it.”
Unsurprising Stat dept. No team in the entire history of the Football League play-offs, stretching back to 1987, has taken a three-goal lead into the second leg of a semi-final tie and failed to reach the final. Great news for Hull. Derby have it all to do. They’ll need to channel the spirit of early April if they’re to cause a huge upset tonight: that’s when they went on a four-match winning run, scoring four against Hull and Bolton, and three at Bristol City.
If It Ain’t Broke dept. Hull City name the same XI who started, and collectively played all but seven minutes of, the first leg in Derby.
County meanwhile make a couple of changes. Andreas Weimann returns after being left out altogether at the weekend, while Jeff Hendrick steps up from the bench. Dropping to the dugout: Tom Ince and Bradley Johnson.
The teams
Hull City: Jakupovic, Odubajo, Dawson, Davies, Robertson, Elmohamady, Huddlestone, Livermore, Snodgrass, Diame, Hernandez.
Subs: Bruce, Meyler, Clucas, Maguire, Maloney, Akpom, Kuciak.
Derby County: Carson, Christie, Keogh, Shackell, Olsson, Bryson, Hendrick, Hughes, Weimann, Martin, Russell.
Subs: Grant, Buxton, Bent, Johnson, Butterfield, Camara, Ince.
Referee: Michael Oliver.
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Good evening
Who wants to live in a world without hope and dreams? Nobody, that’s who! But there are limits, and even the most upbeat Derby County fan will admit that, on the balance of probability, this Championship play-off semi-final tie is almost certainly already over.
Hull won the first leg 3-0 at Pride Park on Saturday. It was a slightly strange thrashing. By the end, Steve Bruce’s tidy side had certainly deserved their victory, though no story is ever quite that simple. Derby had been the better team in the opening exchanges, before Abel Hernández capitalised on a mistake to score from long range, Jason Shackell became the unfortunate victim of an absurd deflected own goal, and Andy Robertson finished off a late counter-attack as Derby scrambled impotently to get back into the tie.
“To lose 3-0 in the first leg is certainly your worst nightmare,” admitted Derby boss Darren Wassall. “We can throw the towel in, which is not what we’re going to do. We can’t end the season on a performance like that.” Indeed. So expect the Rams to come at their Humberside hosts tonight. An early goal, and you never know, hope can be fulfilled, dreams can come true. (They did beat Hull 4-0 at home only last month, and won here 2-0 in November. And they could do worse than try to replicate Brighton’s first-half performance against Sheffield Wednesday last night which, while ultimately futile, on another night would have seen them harvest three or four goals.)
An early Hull goal, however, and the Tigers will be on their way to Wembley, while the Rams will be left to contemplate their second late-season implosion in a row. It wasn’t a good 12 months or so for Steve McClaren’s reputation, was it? Anyway, we digress. It’s on!
Kick off: 7.45pm BST.
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