Hull City Mission Complete: Jakirovic’s Side Reach Championship Play-offsnewsline24

Hull City secured a Championship play-off place with a 2-1 comeback win over Norwich City, completing what Sergej Jakirovic called “mission complete” on the final day. The result confirmed sixth place and set up a two-legged semi-final against Millwall for a Wembley Stadium spot.

The Tigers had to recover from falling behind at MKM Stadium, with Olie McBurnie scoring twice to turn the match. Norwich’s early goal briefly left Hull outside the top six, but other results and McBurnie’s brace combined to push Jakirovic’s side into the final play-off position.

Jakirovic underlined how tense the afternoon felt as league positions shifted during the first half. Hull dropped to eighth after around 10 to 15 minutes, which increased pressure on players and staff. The head coach praised the squad’s response, highlighting the mentality shown under that stress.

He told BBC Radio Humberside: “It’s a great feeling, especially after 90 or 96 minutes. We saw Wrexham didn’t beat Middlesbrough and it was enough to win 2-1. It is emotional for us because we have achieved something our chairman has dreamt about. For the lads as well, I’m very proud of them because they have shown a great mentality. It was not easy to play this game as we needed a win and for example, after 10 or 15 minutes we were eighth in the table. But OK, this is football, everything is possible and we gave everything to win this game. Mission complete!”

Hull City also marked qualification on social media, sharing a message of belief with supporters and focusing attention on the upcoming ties with Millwall. The club urged fans to embrace the moment as attention now moves from league tension to play-off pressure.

Hull’s late surge into the top six came at Wrexham’s expense. Wrexham drew 2-2 with Middlesbrough at the Racecourse Ground, a result that left Phil Parkinson’s team just short. A win would have lifted Wrexham above Hull on goal difference into the play-offs.

The outcome was painful for Wrexham but still carried a sense of progress for the club. “I am completely gutted by today’s result but incredibly proud of our season, Wrexham co-owner Ryan Reynolds wrote on X. We’ve come a long way in five years and this was the best result in our 150+ year history. More to do. But for now, we have so much to be proud of, Reds.”

Hull City now prepare for the Championship play-offs with confidence after handling final-day pressure, while Wrexham reflect on missing out despite a strong campaign. The contrasting emotions underline how narrow the margins were in the race for that final play-off position.