Hull and Millwall draw tense first leg to leave playoff semi-final in the balance

"At half-time in two-legged ties like these, it is perhaps common to take stock and assess who is better placed to get the job done and reach the final. The smart answer here would be Millwall, given they head back south level at 0-0 in the tie and they have the chance to get the job done in front of their own fans. But Hull, who have silenced their critics after making the Championship's top six while under a transfer embargo, have won at Millwall once this season already."

"There is a fair argument we didn't see the best from either side in this first leg, with the tension palpable all evening as both sides perhaps knew one mistake could be fatal. It will be decided at The Den. The opening 45 minutes of this year's playoffs were unsurprisingly, given what was at stake, incredibly edgy."

"It would have been one of the great playoff goals. It had also suggested there would be chances aplenty but the contest quickly settled into a rhythm and, in truth, something of a stalemate. With neither side wanting to open up too much so early into a two-legged tie, there was a feeling of both teams holding the other at arm's length and perhaps saving their best moments for later in the contest."

"The better moments in attack were just marginally Hull's, though. They were definitely the stronger of the two teams in the first half in terms of creating moments that threatened to be dangerous, particularly on the counter"

The 40th edition of the EFL playoffs delivered tense evenings as Hull and Millwall kept their Premier League dreams alive after a gripping first leg in East Yorkshire. At half-time in the two-legged tie, Millwall held a 0-0 advantage and could finish the job at home, but Hull had already won at Millwall earlier in the season. The match featured palpable caution, with both sides avoiding mistakes that could prove fatal. An early chance came when Mohamed Belloumi made a magnificent run and clipped the outside of Anthony Patterson’s post. After that, the contest settled into a stalemate rhythm, with Hull creating slightly more dangerous attacking moments, especially on the counter.

Read at www.theguardian.com