Injured Socceroo’s EPL dream over after Boro loss
Ian Chadband and Anna Harrington |
Riley McGree’s Premier League dream is over and the Socceroos star will hope his World Cup hopes aren’t also dashed after limping off with a hamstring injury in Middlesbrough’s Championship play-off final defeat to Hull City at Wembley.
Middlesbrough’s two Socceroos, McGree and Sammy Silvera, were shattered after all the drama surrounding the Championship playoffs ended with a deflating, last-gasp 1-0 loss.
Key attacker McGree played for 76 minutes of Saturday’s final before coming off with a left hamstring issue – just three weeks out from Australia’s opening group stage match against Turkey.
Silvera watched on powerless from the bench as Middlesbrough controlled most of the possession but couldn’t find the cutting edge they needed in a game of fairly dismal quality on a sweltering London afternoon.
Boro had been given a second chance to go for glory after being reinstated into the final following the expulsion of Southampton, who had beaten them 2-1 on aggregate over two legs in the semi-final but were found guilty of spying on a Boro training session before the tie.
In the end, McGree was on the bench when Boro paid for having the lion’s share of the ball but looking clueless in front of goal as Hull’s hero Oli McBurnie scored in the 95th minute to deliver victory for the Tigers.
Socceroos coach Tony Popovic will hope McGree, who likely would have headed in to camp in Sarasota already if not for Boro’s late reprieve, has avoided serious injury.
McGree, who plays as an inverted winger in Popovic’s system, is one of Australia’s most creative and explosive attackers.
But the South Australian, 27, has frequently dealt with injury setbacks, including multiple at Boro this season, and a strain would at least put him in doubt for warm-up friendlies against Mexico on May 31 AEST and Switzerland on June 7 AEST.
Australia’s World Cup campaign kicks off against Turkey in Vancouver on June 14 AEST, before games against the United States (June 20 AEST) and Paraguay (June 26 AEST).
The celebrations are in full flow for Hull City, who are into the top-flight for the first time in nine years, joining automatically promoted champions Coventry and Ipswich in the EPL.
“We felt we’d have one chance and I felt like it was written for me to get it,” McBurnie told Sky Sports. “I didn’t think it would be so late on, but what a feeling!
“I couldn’t sleep last night, I was looking forward to this game so much, I am delighted.”
For Middlesbrough, it was the end of what coach Kim Hellberg called the “toughest two weeks I have had in terms of emotions”.
“Tough and draining, but it is not an excuse — we were ready to play the game, Hull scored the goal and we have to congratulate them.”
The match was once again hailed as the football world’s most lucrative one-off contest, because a windfall of at least $A380 million in future earnings was at stake for the winners.
Boro’s Wembley curse continued as they have now lost for the sixth time in as many appearances, leaving plenty of frustration for McGree, in particular, who’s had playoff heartbreak before with Boro, having lost out to Coventry in the semi-finals in 2023.
Hull’s Bosnian manager Sergej Jakirovic, whose side only sneaked into the play-offs in sixth place on the final last day of the regular season, said: “A lot of players were crying with happiness at the final whistle”.
“It’s incredible. An unbelievable journey — so many problems, so to achieve the Premier League is incredible.”
With agencies
AAP