Southampton fail to do a Leeds United as Martin’s pesky side finally get the job done

Southampton failed to copy Leeds United’s demolition job but were still far too good for West Brom as they advanced to the play-off final…

Of the two semi-finals of the championship semi-finals last Sunday, West Brom vs Southampton was little bit more entertaining than Norwich City vs Leeds United but there wasn’t much to it.

Leeds United ensured there was no dull second leg at Elland Road as they demolished Norwich City 4-0 to progress to the final from a tie that cost then head coach David Wagner his job at Carrow Road after where he spent most of his time. The 2023/24 campaign on the board.

After missing out on automatic promotion at Ipswich Town, after putting in massive performances during the match, Leeds United’s top stars returned to form at an opportune time at Elland Road as they made an almighty statement and they reaffirmed their status as favorites to win the championship game. offs.

A day after Norwich City were found out by far superior opposition, West Brom received the same treatment (albeit to a lesser extent) on Friday night at St Mary’s against Southampton.

The top four in the Championship have been in a league of their own this season, with no other promotion hopefuls able to come close to their brilliance. And that was further underlined by the fact that Norwich couldn’t live with Leeds United’s high-octane football on Thursday night.

While Leeds came out with purpose and showed no sign of feeling the effects of play-off nerves, the same cannot be said for Southampton against West Brom.

In the first half, Southampton dominated possession, as they often do, but their build-up play was heavy and lacked urgency as they failed to punish West Brom for being caught on the ball with alarming regularity.

West Brom’s game plan was quite evident from the start, with an over-reliance on causing Southampton problems through counter-attacks and set-pieces. But Carlos Corberan’s side (as Norwich were at Elland Road) were far out of pace and poor in possession as the pressure on their defense steadily increased.

If West Brom didn’t step up after the break, it was only a matter of time before they were punished for one of their mistakes in the game and Southampton made them pay for one of their many errors in the 49th minute.

It came as an attempted pass from Grady Diangana in midfield went straight to Saints star Will Smallbone, who advanced upfield for a quick break with loanee David Brooks.

After Brooks played the ball back to Smallbone, the centre-half did the rest, emphatically firing the ball into the roof of the net past helpless goalkeeper Alex Palmer.

The league was crying out for a goal to open it up and it’s a great shame this elusive opening didn’t come sooner. But the timing of Smallbone’s goal meant we were treated to at least a notable half out of a possible four as West Brom’s increased desperation saw the second end improve.

The Baggies puffed away, but Southampton always looked the more threatening side of the two. Unlucky not to be awarded a penalty, Championship goalscoring machine Adam Armstrong found the net with a typically clinical finish, slotting home his 22nd goal of the season to make it 2-0 ten minutes from time final.

Any hope of a late West Brom comeback ended minutes later when Southampton were awarded a late penalty for a foul on Ryan Manning and Armstrong smashed the ball home (now 23 goals for the season) to equalize in favor of his team to send. the hosts at Wembley.

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For West Brom (whose supporters were treated to a late consolation by Cedric Kipre in their eventual 3-1 aggregate defeat), promotion through the play-offs proved too significant a step at this point in their development.

While Norwich’s sacking of Wagner was widely accepted as a reasonable decision, the same could not be said for West Brom if they part ways with Corberan, who has arguably over-delivered this season amid a lack of investment which will only increase in the future. on Monday as ambitious American owner Shilen Patel moves to guide the Baggies back into the Premier League.

Next season will be just as difficult, with relegated Premier League sides dominating again, but West Brom have a good thing with Corberan and would be foolish to copy Birmingham City by sacking their manager in search of a short-term boost.

📣TO THE COMMENTS! Who will win the championship play-off final? Join the debate here

Southampton have been far from dazzling over both legs and Russell Martin’s sides continue to rage with his possession-based style, allowing his side to overwhelm teams when at their free-flowing best. But they are just as prone to flatter to deceive and it was largely the case of the latter over the two legs against West Brom.

With Leeds rediscovering their confidence just in time for the play-off final, Daniel Farke’s side will be better placed to punish Southampton after West Brom never looked like doing so in either game.

After the McKenna-ball robbed us of a final promotion decision between Leeds and Southampton at Elland Road, the third and fourth best teams in the Championship this season will battle it out for a return to the Premier League at Wembley.

Most Championship play-off finals in recent times have been damp squibs, but Leeds and Southampton provide goals when they meet, so the neutrals *should* be treated to a rare thriller in the supposed richest soccer game

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