- Southampton have qualified for the Championship play-off final at Wembley
- The Saints thrashed a poor West Brom side in the second-leg play-off semi-final
- Marcus Rashford has to leave Man United… and a Premier League club could offer him a fresh start – Listen to the It’s All Kicking Off! podcast
Wembley awaits Southampton after a display so dominant that next Sunday’s Championship play-off final with Leeds is shaping up to be a supreme showdown between two clubs desperate to return to the Premier League at the first time of asking.
Save for a consolation header in stoppage time, West Brom hardly ever posed a threat at St Mary’s Stadium. The visitors were not even allowed to launch a long throw-in from missile man Darnell Furlong – new advertising boards having suddenly popped up on either side of the pitch as a strategy to prevent him from using that space as a run-up.
As Machiavellian as that tactic may seem, manager Russell Martin insisted it was legal and was relieved it worked, suggesting afterwards it was revenge for West Brom not watering the pitch for their goalless first leg. The vast majority of St Mary’s loved what they witnessed here and that included Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, taking it all in from the stands in his Saints hoody.
Sunak watched as one of Southampton’s own in Will Smallbone opened the scoring before Adam Armstrong struck twice. The only downside was the pitch invasion at full-time which led to some ugly scenes – why celebrating fans feel the need to rush towards the away section, only they know – and Martin hoped that did not taint this victory.
‘If it tarnishes the night we’ve had and the win and getting to Wembley, then they’ve let themselves down,’ he said of the missiles being thrown and reports of scraps. ‘Hopefully the majority had a brilliant night. I loved the energy.’
West Brom boss Carlos Corberan was amazed that his managerial counterpart had accused them of not watering their pitch last week, but did admit the best team won in the end. ‘They were better than us,’ he said. ‘That is why they are in the final of Wembley.’
You could hear the brass band playing When the Saints Go Marching In outside of St Mary’s but you could hardly see them for the red mist from fans’ flares. That warm welcome led to a blistering start as Southampton swarmed on West Brom.
Despite their dominance, it was not until the 49th minute that Southampton made it 1-0.
The move started with Grady Diangana’s lazy pass being intercepted by Smallbone, who exchanged a one-two with Brooks before smashing a beautiful strike beyond Palmer.
Armstrong sprinted away celebrating in the 68th minute but his strike was disallowed for offside. That only delayed the inevitable as Southampton made it 2-0 when Armstrong found the corner through the legs of Furlong.
In the 85th minute, Southampton won a penalty when Ryan Manning got to the ball before Tom Fellows, whose sliding challenge was careless. Armstrong stepped up and made it 3-0.
Cedric Kipre’s header from a corner in stoppage time was a mere consolation as Southampton secured their trip to Wembley, with a little help from a few advertising boards.