Former MK Dons star Callum Brittain plays as Middlesbrough beaten in Championship play-off final

Former MK Dons star Callum Brittain played the full match as Middlesbrough were beaten by Hull City in the Championship play-off final.

Brittain played as Boro suffered defeat at Wembley Stadium in the second tier play-off final, with Oli McBurnie’s goal in the 95th minute winning the match for the Tigers.

The result means Hull will be in the Premier League next season for the first time since the 2016/17 season while Middlesbrough, whose last appearance in the top flight was also in 2016/17, will face another campaign in the Championship next time around.

Middlesbrough’s presence in the play-off final had been determined by the highly eventful week leading up to the final with the “Spygate” scandal. The North Eastern club had lost over two legs to Southampton in the semis, but after an investigation, Southampton were expelled from the play-offs, with the club also having an appeal against their expulsion rejected.

The Saints were expelled after it was found a member of the club’s staff had spied on Middlesbrough’s training ahead of the first leg, with the Saints also admitting to spying on two other opponents in the regular Championship season.

At a super hot Wembley, the tie had looked set to go to extra-time with the game still at 0-0 after 94 minutes and the two teams had a combined one shot on target. But in the 5th minute of second half stoppage time, Middlesbrough keeper Sol Brynn spilled Yu Hirakawa’s cross and McBurnie was able to strike.

The result sees Hull win a Championship play-off final for the third time in 18 years, all of which they’ve won 1-0, while Middlesbrough remain without a win on their trips to both the old and new Wembley.

Brittain had joined Middlesbrough in 2025 from Blackburn Rovers, having spent 3 years with the side from Ewood Park. The now 28-year-old right wing-back made 45 appearances in all competitions in his first season with Middlesbrough, contributing 7 assists in all competitions.

After joining the Dons at academy level, Bedford-born Brittain made his first team debut for MK Dons in 2017, breaking through as a first-team regular in the 2017/18 season.

In all, Brittain made over 120 appearances in all competitions for MK Dons, scoring 5 times, before leaving to join Barnsley in 2020, and subsequently Blackburn in 2022.