Background

This was Hull's second play-off final, having defeated Bristol City 1–0 in the 2008 final. They had also played at Wembley in the 2014 FA Cup Final where they lost 3–2 to Arsenal in extra time.^[7] Hull had been relegated from the Premier League in the 2014–15 season and were aiming to return to the top tier of English football at the first attempt.^[8] Sheffield Wednesday had experienced play-off final success at the Millennium Stadium when they defeated Hartlepool United to win the 2005 Football League One play-off final, but had not featured in any play-off finals for promotion to the top tier of English football.^[9] During the regular season, the clubs had drawn in both meetings, 1–1 at Hillsborough in October 2015 and 0–0 at the KCOM Stadium the following February.^[10] Forestieri was Sheffield Wednesday's top scorer with 15 league goals, while Hernández was joint second top scorer in the division with 21.^[11]

Hull City's starting eleven was unchanged from the second semi-final leg defeat to Derby County. Sheffield Wednesday manager Carlos Carvalhal made one change, bringing in Sam Hutchinson to replace Álex López in midfield.^[12] The final was refereed by Bobby Madley, with assistant referees Simon Bennett and Peter Kirkup, while Phil Gibbs acted as the fourth official.^[13] It was reported in the media and press that the game was worth between £110 million and £200 million over three years to the winners through sponsorship and television deals.^{[12][14][15][16]} Hull were considered favourites by bookmakers to win the match which was broadcast in the UK on Sky Sports 1.^[17][18]

Hull City were allocated 38,956 tickets for the final,^[19] but failed to sell them all due to supporter segregation and an ongoing boycott against the Allam family ownership from many fans.^[20] Sheffield Wednesday sold out their full allocation of 38,889 tickets.^[19]

First half

Hull kicked the match off at around 5 p.m. in sunny conditions in front of a crowd of 70,189. The first shot on goal came in the 4th minute from Hull's Tom Huddlestone whose strike was saved by the Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper Keiren Westwood. After an even ten minutes, Michael Dawson drew the first booking of the match. After a late challenge on Forestieri, the Wednesday striker took the free kick himself, Jakupović punched it over the bar, which the former Leicester City player Steve Claridge described as "awful, dreadful".^[21] Another free kick to Wednesday in the 15th minute was also punched clear. In the 29th minute, Westwood conceded a corner to Hull and from the set piece, Hernández's header was cleared off the line by Wednesday's Lee. A Forestieri shot two minutes later went wide before Hernández went through on goal, one-on-one with Westwood, who made an excellent save to deny the opening goal. Hull's challenge continued with a shot off target from Moses Odubajo in the 35th minute. With five minutes of the half remaining, Hull's Mohamed Diamé beat three defenders but his shot from seven yards ricocheted off the post.^[22] In the last moment of the half, Hull had two chances: Westwood saved a low Odubajo effort while Hernández's overhead kick which was blocked, and the half ended 0–0.^[23]

Second half

Neither team made any changes at half-time, and the second half was kicked off by Sheffield Wednesday. In the 51st minute, Forestieri was denied a shooting opportunity by Hull's Curtis Davies. A 54th minute close-range shot from Dawson was saved by Westwood.^[23] Four minutes later, Hull made a quick break only for Robertson to head the ball over the bar from an accurate Odubajo pass. Wednesday's Hutchinson then shot from distance but his strike also went over the bar. Forestieri's 62nd minute shot was deflected for a corner which was subsequently cleared by the Hull goalkeeper Jakupović. A minute later Sheffield Wednesday made the first substitution of the game with Jérémy Hélan coming on for Wallace. In the 72nd minute, the deadlock was broken – Hull's Diamé struck the ball from outside the Wednesday penalty area, past Westwood, to take a 1–0 lead. Claridge remarked that it was a "wonderful, brilliant, fantastic strike".^[24] Wednesday made their second substitution immediately afterwards, as Atdhe Nuhiu replaced Hutchinson. In the 79th minute, Odubajo shot wide, and with eight minutes of normal time remaining, Hull made their first substitution, bringing off the Scottish winger Robert Snodgrass and replacing him with the midfielder Sam Clucas. A minute later Hernández's shot was blocked by Glenn Loovens, conceding a corner, which Davies headed waywardly.^[24] A chance for Sheffield Wednesday was missed after Forestieri's pass failed to find a teammate, and Hull's striker Hernández was then replaced by the Irish midfielder David Meyler. A foul from Wednesday's defender Daniel Pudil was his last contribution to the match as he was substituted in the 87th minute for the Portuguese striker Lucas João. With a minute of regular time remaining, Hull made their final change with the goalscorer Diamé substituted for Harry Maguire. Four minutes of additional time were indicated by the fourth official, and despite a chance for João to equalise, the match ended 1–0, ensuring Hull's return to the Premier League.^[25]

Details

More information Hull City, 1–0 ...

Hull City	1–0	Sheffield Wednesday
Diamé 72'	Report

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Hull City

Sheffield Wednesday

GK 16 Eldin Jakupović RB 27 Ahmed Elmohamady CB 21 Michael Dawson (c)  10' CB 6 Curtis Davies LB 26 Andrew Robertson CM 14 Jake Livermore CM 8 Tom Huddlestone RW 2 Moses Odubajo AM 17 Mohamed Diamé  89' LW 10 Robert Snodgrass  82' CF 9 Abel Hernández  85' Substitutes: GK 30 Dušan Kuciak DF 4 Alex Bruce DF 12 Harry Maguire  89' MF 7 David Meyler  85' MF 11 Sam Clucas  82' MF 15 Shaun Maloney FW 19 Chuba Akpom Manager: Steve Bruce

GK 1 Keiren Westwood RB 32 Jack Hunt CB 15 Tom Lees CB 5 Glenn Loovens (c) LB 36 Daniel Pudil  86' DM 4 Sam Hutchinson  76' CM 20 Kieran Lee CM 41 Barry Bannan RW 33 Ross Wallace  63' LW 14 Gary Hooper CF 45 Fernando Forestieri Substitutes: GK 28 Joe Wildsmith DF 23 Vincent Sasso MF 7 Marco Matias MF 17 Jérémy Hélan  63' MF 21 Álex López FW 9 Atdhe Nuhiu  76' FW 18 Lucas João  86' Head Coach: Carlos Carvalhal

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