City slumped to a third defeat in their last four MKM Stadium league outings
Barry Cooper Hull City correspondent
14:32, 07 Mar 2026
Hull City’s Oliver McBurnie speaks to Referee David Webb (Image: Richard Sellers/PA Wire/PA Images)
Hull City fell to a hugely controversial 3-1 home defeat to play-off rivals Millwall, in a game that once again left the Tigers frustrated by the performance of the match officials, and in particular, David Webb.
A lively opening 20 minutes saw Kyle Joseph hit the bar, only for the visitors to score with their first attack after Jake Cooper slammed in from a poorly defended free-kick. Joseph then turned provider to feed Joe Gelhardt to power in the equaliser within four minutes. Joseph headed a perfectly good header, only for it to be bizarrely ruled out for an apparent foul on goalkeeper Anthony Patterson.
City were superb in the first half. It was arguably their best showing for some time, and they should have been in front, but were let down by a horror decision by the referee who also waved away penalty claims on Oli McBurnie.
A goalkeeping error from Ivor Pandur allowed substitute Millwall Mihailo Ivanovic to tap in from close range 20 minutes from time, before Josh Coburn slammed in after collecting a loose ball outside the box.
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Despite fears over the full-back position, Lewie Coyle was declared fit to start while fellow ankle problem sufferer, Amir Hadziahmetovic, was named on the bench, where there was a welcome return to the fold for Eliot Matazo, 375 days since damaging his anterior cruciate ligament at Cardiff City. There were four changes from Sergej Jakirovic, with Semi Ajayi back into the starting XI for the first time since the win at Millwall in December, while John Lundstram, Joseph and McBurnie returned to the starting line-up.
City started on the front foot on a difficult playing surface, and they fashioned the opening chance inside three minutes with Coyle’s cross finding the head of McBurnie inside the box but he got his angles wrong and headed wide.
The hosts continued to play some neat stuff and almost broke the deadlock after 12 minutes when patient play saw Lundstram run deep down the right before picking out a fine cross for Joseph to head against Anthony Patterson’s bar and away. No sooner had the bar blocked City at one end, it helped the visitors at the other. After giving away a soft free-kick, Millwall had a man over at the back post with Tristan Crama heading down to Cooper to slam in off the bar.
Just as they did on Tuesday night, City wobbled for a moment with Hughes recovering well, but they responded quickly to level it up when Joseph fed Gelhardt to steady himself before firing past Patterson. Two goals inside what had been a pulsating 20 minutes.
The Tigers were playing well, and had the ball in the net again on the half-hour when Lundstram’s shot looped up into the air, and Joseph headed in, but was adjudged to have blocked the goalkeeper. City were rightly furious because it was the very definition of soft.
Lundstram was cautioned moments later for a foul, with Jakirovic still raging with the decision to disallow what looked a perfectly good goal. Joseph was a constant menace, and his good play saw him shoot low at the goalkeeper. He then won a foul on the flank before the break, and from that, Slater’s cross was met by the head of Hughes who headed against the underside of the bar and down to relative safety.
Another well-worked move at the end of the half saw the excellent Joseph feed Millar, who played in Slater but his shot was tame and Patterson was equal to it. At the start of the second period., Alex Neil made a double change with Watson and Strurge replaced by Luke Cundle and Alfie Doughty. The latter was replaced by Mihailo Ivanovic, and shortly after that, he took advantage of an error by Pandur to tap in the second.
It had been all City, but once again, as has happened so often this season, an individual error cost them when it mattered, and it knocked the stuffing out of them.
Joseph’s fine afternoon was then ended with 20 minutes to go, and so, too, Lundstram, with the pair replaced by Lewis Koumas and Amir Hadziahmetovic.
The game was made safe 12 minutes from time when Ajayi’s sloppy cross-field pass found Josh Coburn and he ran on before firing past Pandur from the edge of the box.
Kieran Dowell was a late replacement for Millar, closely followed by Cathal McCarthy and Toby Collyer, but City were left to rue some abject refereeing decisions, a case of poor finishing and three major errors that gifted the visitors three cheap goals and three points they can count themselves hugely fortunate to get.
Attention now turns to Tuesday night’s trip to Wrexham, and after successive defeats, they could really do with a positive result in North Wales.
Hull City: Pandur, Coyle (c), Hughes, Ajayi, Drameh, Slater, Lundstram, Gelhardt, Joseph, McBurnie. Subs: Phillips, Amir, Matazo, Collyer, Dowell, Koumas, McCarthy, Egan, McNair.
Millwall: Patterson, McNamara, Sturge, Crama, Cooper, Mitchell, Neghli, Azeez, Langstaff, Coburn, Watson. Subs: Crocombe, Ballo, Ivanovic, Doughty, Bangura-Williams, Cundle, Smallbone, Mazou-Sacko, Bannan.
Referee: David Webb
Attendance: 21,504 (around 1,600 from Millwall)
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