EFL Championship Play-Off Semi-Final 2nd Leg - Southampton 3 West Brom 1

Flynn Celebrates not Winning Man of the Match Vote Again

Championship Play-off second leg and now, ladies and gentlemen, shit gets real. Up until this point there has always been another game to come no matter what but today, that’s just not the case. Lose to West Brom tonight at home and the season is in the bin and we are waiting for the fixtures to be released and we will be looking for the day where we need to put piss proof plastic covers on the seats of the new away section for when John Westwood and his Portsmouth cronies come to St Mary’s. Not having to have that lot darkening our door is of course a minor reason for wanting to beat West Brom today.

A win today and we are of course in the Championship play-off final at Wembley on Sunday week against Leeds United, who completed the task of getting to the final by absolutely demolishing a pathetic Norwich team last night. 4-0 was the final score and without any exaggeration at all, it could’ve been seven. Norwich didn’t turn up as a team and paid the price and were completely blown away Our former goalkeeper Angus Gunn, did not cover himself in glory, and he should’ve done better on at least three of the goals that went past him. He wasn’t helped by a truly pathetic display by those in front of him and it’s already been reported that manager David Wagner has been sacked, which he deserves. I’ll never forgive him for setting up with that back ten when we played them at Carrow Road.

Leeds are through to the final and they deserve it and any humility that their fans might have been infected with, as a result of them pissing away automatic promotion, has firmly been banished by their win against a terrible Norwich team. Win tonight and we join them.

Carlos Corboran has been making noises about tonight as if West Brom are going to come out and try and win the game with attacking football. Can’t see it myself but time will tell. Regardless of what West Brom do, we have to go out and grab this opportunity because after the draw in the away leg, we basically have a one-off game at home against a team we finished above, in order to get to Wembley and a potential return to the Premier League. It’s a favourable set of circumstances that we would undoubtedly have been accepted if we have been offered it at the start of the season.

The circumstances will be even more favourable if Che Adams is fit and all eyes will be on that at 7 pm when the team is announced. Another unknown is what formation Russell Martin will go with. We haven’t played a back three at home this season and if we go for that then there will be a hell of a lot of onus on the wingbacks to get forward and supply the ammunition for the strikers. Ross Stewart is another unknown. If Adams doesn’t make it, will Stewart’s fitness be trusted to start of the game or will he have to wait until the second half to make an appearance in place of Sekou Mara. Tonight should be one hell of an atmosphere regardless of what 11 we put out there and that can only do us good.

Patience will also be a factor today, especially if we don’t get the early goal that would make the task so much more simple. I really would like to avoid the scenario where the game is close and there are 10 minutes to go and Alex McCarthy is playing two-touch passes across the 6 yard box.

I strongly believe that if we turn up and play to our potential, we will win but we can beat ourselves if we demonstrate the Southampton way. That’s the Southampton way of shiting the bed whenever shit gets real We are the favourites tonight and we have to believe that and play in a manner that befits favourites.

So, 7pm and my word have we the fans turned up.  Thousands outside the ground to welcome the team coach and more red smoke canisters sold in Southampton than at any point in history.  Team news and Che hasn’t made it and there’s room for both Wee Man and Brooks with Mara and Manning dropping out from the Leeds game.  OK, so is Wee Man at left wing back or is Stevo left back in a back four, or Kyle or no idea really.  If it’s 3-4-2, is Brooks up front with Arma?  So many questions as kick off gets closer.  Atmosphere building… Mark Dennis is on the mic and giving it loads… here we fucking go.

The questions over Saints formation are partially answered in the first couple of minutes but Russell is clearly looking to fuck around with his opposite number. We start with three at the back with Ryan Fraser left wing back and KWP on the right. Within a couple of minutes, we are a back four with Stephens at right back in KWP on the left. Another couple of minutes and it’s back to the back three. Brooks position is still a bit of a mystery as is very much on the right wing with Arma in the middle.

Saints are certainly up for it and Downes tries a kamikaze run at goalkeeper Palmer when he has the ball in his feet and Palmer completely shits himself.  Arma nearly gets in as well and West Brom are very fortunate to get away with it.

THB chips one over the defence and Brooks is in behind Townsend who has an arm on his shoulder and down goes Brooks in spectacular fashion.  Everyone has clearly seen the pull back but the exaggerated fall and is probably the reason why we don’t get anything.  Still a foul though and Townsend was very lucky. Russell Martin is clearly not having that decision and the fourth official it’s getting an earful.

Another superb ball slid forward by THB and Adam Armstrong is away on the right-hand side.  His low cross is met at the near post by Brooks, who can’t quite angle his foot enough to get it on target and it hits the side netting just behind the post. Close.

West Brom’s first attack sees them nearly take the lead by fluke as Fellows cross deflects up in the air off of a Wee Man block and it’s awkward for McCarthy, who has to backpedal to shovel it over the bar.  Other than that brief foray, West Brom are playing in a very defensive fashion, so when we win the ball is the opportunity to do something. From one such break, Brooks is the only Saints player involved and it looks like we’re gonna get another Sofiane Boufal moment against West Brom, but his final shot is blocked after weaving his way past four players.

That’s more or less it for the first half. West Brom win a couple of corners which result in free headers but we survived and other than that it was us trying to find openings against a very well drilled back ten, with Corberan and his team showing very little interest in engaging in a game of football.  He does look like he’s trying to take off though, with some seriously animated flapping.  I imagine that if you are a Baggies player over his side of the pitch, you are delighted that for the second half, you are over the other side.

Half time and 0-0 and nothing to fear.  The Baggies are just about set pieces and that’s it.  Wallace up front is shite and he’s a Skate and they’re not scoring if we keep concentration.

Zidane Decides to Put His Foot Through One

The second half starts and there’s as early chance For KWP but he drags his shot wide.  West Brom haven’t been particularly good in possession in the first half and they start the second half in the same way with Diangana being sloppy in midfield and Smallbone picking it up. He drives forward before finding Brooks, who holds on long enough for Smallbone to find some space from the edge of the box just to the right and in totally un-Will like fashion, he absolutely belts one past Palmer and it flicks the inside of the near post and in. Fucking hell. I’ve never Will Smallbone hit a ball as hard as that. Get in. What have you got now Carlos?

West Brom immediately have what amounted to a little bit of a flurry.  McCarthy fumbles a cross under pressure from Kipre and just about gets away with it.  To be fair, it probably would have been given as a foul of he hadn’t fallen on the loose ball.   There’s another effort from the edge of the box which is blocked by THB, wide for corner.

West Brom suddenly have a bit of confidence and try to play out from the back but don’t look particularly comfortable doing so.  Kipre turns and knocks it back to Palmer, who for the second time in the match, gets put under pressure and shanks a clearance to Aribo on the left. Big Joe picks out an intelligent run from of Brooks who is absolutely cleaned out by the sliding Kipre. No?  Nothing?  Fucks sake. Are you fucking joking?  On we go.

Up the other end and we have another set-piece to defend which Mowat swings in and another free header drops down off off Stephens to Furlong who absolutely leathers it and it’s probably going over but McCarthy reacts well to make sure.  We react well to the pressure with another incisive move and Smallbone slips Adam Armstrong through in the middle and he looks onside for once from where I am…  and he absolutely buries it but the flag is up straight away.  After all, a second goal would make it less stressful and we can’t have that.

An hour gone and Wee Man goes down, presumably knackered and on comes Manning.  Before long, Edozie if on for Brooks.  Both outgoing players have had good games and it’s probably been the best game of Brooks’ loan spell.

It Was at this Precise Moment, that Carlos Knew He Was Fucked

THB is at it again and slides brilliant ball out of defence up the middle to send Downes away and he runs over to the edge of the West Brom penalty area before teeing up Adam Armstrong on the left and he drills it across, through Furlong’s legs and into the far corner of the net. Fucking brilliant strike from a player who has hardly been in the game up till now.  Get in.

With us being ahead with about 20 minutes to go, there’s obviously no need to do anything daft but we over play a bit of the back and McCarthy presents it to the West Brom midfield. Luckily KWP wins it back and gets us going, sending Jack Stephens gallivanting through the midfield. He takes the ball on like Downes earlier, gets to the edge of the box before sliding it left to Manning who hits the deck under a combined challenge from Fellows and M’Vila.  It’s a lot less clear cut that the Brooks one but it’s given.   Up steps Adam Armstrong and with his confidence being the where it is at the moment, you know where it’s going and bang, 3-0, game over.

Icing. Cake

Time is done now, 97 minutes have gone and you know, we might get a draw here.  One more set piece to negotiate and in it comes, Kipre gets up ahead of sub Shea Charles and it’s a good header to be fair, away from McCarthy and into the corner of the net.  Does it matter?  Well, ten seconds later it doesn’t, and we are at Wembley.  A pitch invasion?  Really?  Ah well – we don’t get to clap the players off then.

Well that was absolutely brilliant from the boys. The first half was cagey, mainly because West Brom made it that way, but once Will Smallbone opened the scoring, they had absolutely no answer at all. In the end, it was relatively comfortable which of course, important games never usually are for Southampton.

Russell Martin clearly wanted to keep Carlos Corboran confused about what we were doing for as long as possible as we started with a back five, swapped toa four and then back again within the first three minutes or so. There weren’t too many chances in the first half and it was obvious from about 15 minutes onwards that it was just gonna be a case of could we break the Baggies down and could we withstand the odd set piece that they threw into the box. Like the first game, they didn’t commit any players into the penalty area apart from the bare minimum and the farthest forward player was Skate Jed Wallace who was never gonna do anything up there on his own. We didn’t defend the set pieces particularly well and we got a bit fortunate on occasions allowing West Brom to get the first knock on virtually every one.

As a spectacle, it needed the goal at the start of the second half and Saints certainly needed to go in front because going behind would’ve been a fucking nightmare. The Baggies had been sloppy in possession for a lot of the first half Diangana’s crap pass in midfield led directly to the opening goal, superbly created by Brooks and finished by Smallbone.  I’ve often criticised Will for not putting his foot through some of the chances he has to shoot but he certainly did today.  Should the keeper have saved it?  I think it’s a rare case of a near post goal where the keeper had no chance.

With a brief West Brom flurry survived, the second goal set up by the machine that is Flynn Downes rumbling through midfield, and finished superbly by Adam Armstrong, was brilliant and that was the end of that.  There was no way the Baggies were scoring two.  The penalty given for the least obvious of our three shouts, was well despatched by Armstrong, which made it just a minor irritation when West Brom scored in with the last header of the game.  I hope Carlos was happy with his consolation goal from 180 minutes of zero intent.

It was another game when we were immense all over the pitch with every single player contributing and no one having a bad game from McCarthy through to Armstrong. David Brooks had a particularly impressive game and Aribo and Smallbone are getting better with every single game. The formation change really seems to have helped them.  Ryan Fraser was decent again at left wing back and Ryan Manning did well when he came on, straight away defending with the same intensity that I’ve been shown by the three centre halves and KWP for the first hour of the game.

Flynn Downes - machine.  Even if the bloke only plays one more game for Southampton (which is something I don't really want to think about), then what a man and what a player.  He absolutely dominated again and you may as well rename the Man of the Match award as 'Player Who Scored the Most Goals' award, if he's not winning that.

Fucking hell, did the fans step up today or what? Personally, I couldn’t get down there early enough to see the team arrive but the images on social media afterwards are exceptional.  I haven't seen so much smoke outside the ground since the postponed game against Preston. The atmosphere generated outside the ground then transferred to the inside of the ground and I don’t think I’ve ever seen the ground as one, all up for the occasion. I’ve always felt that has a fan base and Southampton people is general are quite understated and reserved and it takes a lot to get everyone responding like that. Brilliant stuff.

I guess it was inevitable given the heightened emotions of the day but the only slight pisser for me, was the pitch invasion which in my book was totally unnecessary.  Goading the West Brom fans and players also completely unnecessary and not really worth risking a ban for.  I’d rather see the players given the opportunity to celebrate their achievement with their families and fans but some people are selfish and only think about themselves. Also, why have a pitch invasion when you haven’t done anything yet?  This will all be for nothing if we don’t win next week.  Maybe the club should’ve made it abundantly clear at the start of the game they wanted people to stay off the pitch but then I don’t expect they thought it was a possibility in the semi-finals.  There was nothing put on the bloody great scoreboards we have at both ends saying ‘stay off the pitch’, which they really could have put up there with a minute to go and a 3-0 lead.

Another brilliant day for Russell Martin.  I loved the shithousing from the start with the changing formation and also the very obvious tactic of putting and advertising board in the way to stop the long throws being so effective.  They were never going to stop them coming in of course but at least it would have played on Furlong's mind when he was winding up.  Nice one. We've been too nice and too soft for too long.

Anyway, a brilliant performance in a game that could have been very tricky against a team who would have been quite happy to go to penalties from the first minute last week. Game 49 of the season now looms and I hope everyone who wants to go can get hold of tickets   Next Sunday, Wembley, Leeds, bring it on and of course, Up the fucking Saints.