Hull City and Millwall finished level in the Championship playoff semi-final first leg on Sunday after 95 minutes of frustration, a 0-0 draw that leaves the tie to be decided in south London on Monday night.
The game produced 21 shots, one save of note and one disallowed goal, but little else to separate two teams that looked more cautious than ruthless when the stakes were highest. Millwall now get the chance to settle it at home, with a place at Wembley on the line in the second leg.
Alex Neil did not hide his view after the final whistle. “I thought we were the better side,” he said, before adding, “I thought it was really, really soft.” His complaint was the sharpest expression of how close the first leg felt, and how little either side managed to turn into a decisive opening.
The shape of the tie is not what the regular season suggested. Hull had already beaten Millwall away from home once this season, and the two league meetings between them produced eight goals, a far livelier picture than the first playoff encounter. This was the 40th edition of the Championship playoff semi-final first leg, but it never caught fire the way their earlier games did.
That matters because the return match will not be about momentum so much as nerve. The first leg left everything level, and the winner in south London will move on to Wembley. For Hull, there is also the broader backdrop of a team that reached the top six while under a transfer embargo, a route that made its place in the playoffs notable before a ball was kicked.
So the night ended with Millwall holding the advantage of home field and Hull left to wonder whether their away win earlier in the season will matter again. After a game that delivered more stoppage time than clear chances, the second leg is set up as a straight test of who can finally make something count.
