West Brom v Southampton: Championship playoff semi-final, first leg – live | Championship

As I grab a chocolate bar at halftimeyou can follow our coverage of the Women’s FA Cup Final.

HT: West Bromwich Albion 0-0 Southampton

45 minutes: Bartley is now on his feet after colliding with his own keeper, Palmer, in an effort to clear the final corner.

We have three added minutes at the end of this first half.

44 minutes: It’s been a while. Cool performance from the midfielder.

However, the Saints now have a corner.

43 minutes: It doesn’t wind up, no. The Southampton the defender clutches his left ankle. Martin didn’t seem particularly concerned and Walker-Peters quickly stood up. Here comes the free kick that Smallbone will take from the right…

42 minutes: Booing from the home fans as Walker-Peters wins a free-kick and subsequently hits the ground in obvious pain, following a heavy challenge from Townsend. KWP may need a minute here. Windy maybe?

41 minutes: That’s right, West Bromwich and Southampton, any chance of breaking the deadlock before half time please? These playoff games need goals!

I seem to have started a debate about the name “Mothers”.

Joe Pearson emails, clearly not enamored with the “My Family” reference, with an alternate link.

For your older American readers, Mikey will always be the kid in the Life Cereal ad:

39 minutes: We really haven’t seen enough of Adam Armstrong in this half of football. He had just been marked offside when the West Brom full-back stepped up four at the right moment.

37 minutes: Bartley headed to the back stick from a free-kick and headed goalwards but was too close to McCarthy.

36 minutes: Southampton they just need to be a little braver when they get to the final third. Not enough passes breaking the lines, it’s controlled but not dangerous.

Speaking of dangerous… Downes is booked for a wild challenge. A nailed yellow card, that.

34 minutes: KWP with a crunch against Mikeyyyyy … but it’s the hosts who attack now.

Diangana dances out of trouble, wins a free-kick and McCarthy is forced into a great save to deny Diangana’s powerful header down from Fellowes’ cross. Good goalkeeping.

32 minutes: Mara pursues a seemingly lost cause and forces Bartley to take her out of the game. Southampton answer correctly now; all possession is theirs.

30 min: Diangana trips over the soccer ball and collides with her own corner flag. In the process, he gives away Southampton the kick that goes into the danger zone and ends with a Mara overhead kick. Broad.

29 minutes: Back at the Hawthorns, Mikey Johnston continues to plague the Saints’ back four, a real nuisance for a winger who was a big hit at Albion on loan from Celtic. I’m a fan of his…my only problem is that I can’t say the name “Mikey” without thinking of Robert Lindsey in My Family.

The report on the other first semi-final game of the playoffs dropped, via Ben Bloom in north Norfolk. Money back!

Time for a drinks break. We’re an eighth of the way through this tie, if you care about such parts.

24 minutes: Arribo almost sneaks in but Kyle Bartley recovers and closes the door on the Saints striker. The top ball was almost perfect.

23 minutes: I wonder if West Brom have flown out of the blocks a bit too quickly. They were all action packed, buzzing with energy and flying into battle. But now those levels have dropped.

21 minutes: Flynn Downs with the best chance of the game. It came from his shot against Fellows, he played a clearance and then tried to direct his effort to the far post on the left. Alex Palmer, in goal for the hosts, put in a vital leg.

20 minutes: Thomas-Assante is caught on the ball in his own half as the Saints in turn press high and try to force the issue.

17 minutes: It’s a more even race now. Southampton held on and stayed resilient to withstand the Baggies’ early barrage… but they’re not out of the woods yet. Fellows looks to have a beating over Manning at West Bromwick on the right.

15 minutes: Aribo weaves free through the center and releases the onrushing Walker-Peters at right-back. He sets up Townsend and takes a shot that goes across the face of the goal with a deflection.

A couple of corners here for the Saints.

13 min: West Brom’s pressing has been effective so far, but Southampton are pass masters and continue Martin’s strict policy of staying out of trouble regardless of the situation.

This leads to some hairy moments in the back.

10 min: Smallbone wins a Saints corner – their first foray forward of the afternoon. Manning almost fumbles before winning the second set.

9 minutes: Russell Martin, looking rather bon chic in a navy blue t-shirt and looking like the owner of the newly opened wine bar, is also clapping and waving in a much more panicked manner than his opposite number.

7 minutes: Carlos Corberan matches his side’s intensity on the sideline, waving his arms in all directions as West Bromwich Albion’s siege of the Southampton goal continues. The visitors don’t have a kick yet.

5 minutes: There is nothing long-winded or tired about the way West Brom started this game. They are full of intensity, backed by a raucous Hawthorns crowd. Harwood-Bellis has already made some telling tackles at the back for the Saints.

3 minutes: Tom Fellows bursts in from the left, turns his man and then goes down amid indecisive Albion penalty appeals. The Saints appear to be in a back three/five, with Walker-Peters and Manning the wings being pushed back right now.

Baggies corner delivered well by Johnston and not cleared by Southampton. The hosts are on top of the early doors.

1 min.: I can’t begin to tell you how late this game started. why is this happening

Oh well, no time to be mad, West Brom are on the front foot, driving forward through Mikey Johnston and Thomas-Assante.

BEGINING

“All the tension is in place Southampton,” says the oracle of science, Troy Deeney. Apparently he ever scored an important goal in the playoffs? Who knew?

As the opening game approaches, you wonder how much an afternoon game in the heat and sun will affect the teams. Earlier, the energy seemed to go out of Norwich and Leeds rather quickly.

The second leg is an evening game on Friday night.

Just a great picture, this. Boiler Man rides again. There is no shortage of play-off fever around The Hawthorns this afternoon.

To take into accountwhoever wins the playoffs.

it’s over 0-0 at Carrow Road. Not a classic by any means. But that will have little bearing on the events in the West Midlands as the players head down the tunnel after warm-ups.

In fact, the lackluster nature of Norwich and Leeds’ performances may even spur these two sets of players. We’re almost ready to go.

Southampton did the double over West Bromwich Albion in the regular season, winning 2-0 at The Hawthorns in February. Both top scorers from that game – Fraser and Brooks – are on the bench today.

So… remember when i said championship have the playoffs always been exciting and action-packed? Norwich v Leeds seems to have been slower. Still 0-0 going into the final phase. Our MBM has you covered.

Now some analysis of the news about the team and you would be hard-pressed to see two sets of substitutes stronger than these, c championship conditions.

West Brom’s substitutes have plenty of Premier League pedigree and a strong whiff of 2016, while Saints boasting Ryan Fraser, David Brooks and Joe Rothwell on their bench is frankly outrageous.

This is not to judge the ability of any of the beginners. Adam Armstrong has been one of the best players in the Championship this season, although missing Che Adams is a blow – Martin said Southampton manage the hitter’s fitness during these playoffs. You suspect Grady Diangana will need to step up if West Brom are to move to Wembley; it is the creative center of Carlos Corberan’s country.

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