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Middlesbrough and Southampton held their Championship play-off semi-final to a goalless draw, delicately poised at the midway point.
Boro dominated much of the first leg at the Riverside Stadium, ‘Spygate 2’ allegations But the breakthrough was not found.
The Saints had some big chances late on, but couldn’t find a goal. Just like another tie Between Millwall and HullWe head into the second leg as we do.
‘Spygate 2’ allegedly oversteps pre-match
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Tonda Eckert and Kim Helberg both raised questions about the alleged ‘spygate’ incident ahead of the crucial play-off semi-final between Middlesbrough and Southampton
Kim Helberg is pulling no punches in his pre-match interview, after Southampton were charged with breaching EFL rules after a member of staff allegedly spied on Boro training ahead of their play-off tie.
“Maybe?!” said the Boro boss Sky Sports When he was charged before kick-off.
“It doesn’t affect our build-up. We did what we should have done before a game like this. We watched every Southampton game, tried to find solutions to beat them – how they press, how they build. We put every hour towards getting the advantage of winning in the right way.
“We are motivated. We are going to do everything we can to win the game. It is a new game. I believe in my players. We are going to try to win the game.”
Boro dominated the first half, but couldn’t make a break
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Middlesbrough were narrowly adrift of turning their first-half dominance into a goal against Southampton when Tommy Conway hit the upright.
And to be fair to Hellberg, it was about 45 minutes of the first half that made Boro short. Intense, energetic, creative, but not an end product.
Daniel Peretz’s goal was peppered at times, but they couldn’t find a way through. Seventeen shots on target, four on target. An xG of 1.39 to Southampton’s zero.
The best chance fell to Tommy Conway, who had two huge chances in moments. The first was blocked on the line by James Bree, the other hit the far post as he tried to bend it into the far corner.
“I can’t remember a game as one-sided as this between two sides at the top of the table,” said Joby McAnough. Sky Sports At half-time “they will be so disappointed that they didn’t score.”
The Saints spurned a late chance to win
It appeared to be a big chance for Boro gone, as the Saints improved after the break, twice going close themselves late on.
First, Taylor Harwood-Baylis headed over the woodwork from a Ryan Manning free-kick, and then substitute Samuel Edozie stepped up on the counter-attack, but fired just wide of Sol Bryn’s goal.
Dominating for most of the clash, Saints could easily take the lead in the second leg.
