Middlesbrough and Southampton played out a goalless draw to leave their Championship play-off semi-final finely poised at the midway point.
Boro dominated the majority of the first leg at the Riverside Stadium, dominated in the build-up by the ‘SpyGate 2’ allegations but couldn’t find the breakthrough.
The Saints had some big opportunities late on, but couldn’t find a goal either. Just like the other tie between Millwall and Hull, we head into the second leg as we were.
Pre-match overtaken by ‘Spygate 2’ allegations
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Tonda Eckert and Kim Hellberg both fielded questions about the alleged ‘spygate’ incident ahead of the crucial play-off semi-final between Middlesbrough and Southampton
Kim Hellberg was not pulling any punches in his pre-match interview, after Southampton were charged with a breach of EFL regulations after a member of staff was alleged to have spied on Boro’s training ahead of their play-off tie.
“Possibly?!” the Boro boss said to Sky Sports before kick-off when the allegations were put to him.
“It’s not affected our build up. We have done what we should have done before this type of game. We’ve watched every Southampton game there is, trying to find solutions to beat them – how they press, how they build up. Putting every hour towards getting the advantage to win, in the right way.
“We’re motivated. We’re going to do everything we can to win the game. It’s a new game. I believe in my players. We’re going to try to win the game fair.”
But after the game, Hellberg was more bullish – accusing Southampton of cheating in his post-match press conference.
When asked about the incident, Saints boss Tonda Eckert walked of his own press conference when too many questions were made about ‘Spygate 2’.
Boro dominate first half but can’t break through
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Middlesbrough were a tiny margin away from turning their first half dominance over Southampton into a goal when Tommy Conway struck the upright
And to be fair to Hellberg, the first half was pretty much a 45 minutes that summed Boro up. Intense, energetic, creative, but just no end product.
“I can’t remember a game as one-sided as this between two sides at the top end of the table,” Jobi McAnuff said on Sky Sports at half-time. “They’ll be so disappointed they didn’t score.”
Daniel Peretz’s goal was peppered at times, but they couldn’t find a way through. Seventeen shots on goal, just four on target. An xG of 1.39 to Southampton’s zero.
The best chances fell to Tommy Conway, who had two huge ones in a matter of moments. The first was blocked on the line by James Bree, the other rattled the far post as he tried to bend it into the far corner.
A frustrated Boro boss Kim Hellberg added: “We were outstanding in the first half against a very good football team. That is one of the best halves I’ve seen since I’ve been here.
“But you have to score and get momentum from that. The second half was even. They maybe have one chance that feels bigger than ours. That is football. I’m so proud of the players and the supporters. So proud over 90 minutes.”
Saints spurn late chances to win
Tom Fellows of Southampton is challenged by Riley McGree of Middlesbrough
It felt like a big opportunity gone for Boro, as the Saints improved after the break, going close themselves twice late on.
First, Taylor Harwood-Bellis headed onto the woodwork from a Ryan Manning free-kick, and then substitute Samuel Edozie raced through on the counter-attack, but fired just wide of Sol Brynn’s goal.
From being dominated for most of the clash, the Saints could easily have ended up taking a lead into the second leg.
“The boys were outstanding today,” Southampton boss Tonda Eckert told Sky Sports. “It was an excellent performance that will give us so much confidence going into the game on Tuesday.
“I didn’t see it that way [being fortunate to go in level at half-time]. We played a very good 90 minutes and had the bigger chances especially towards the end.
“We knew that we were up against a good side, especially at home with their supporters. We knew they would have a lot of energy.
“They used up a lot of it in the first half and we knew the game was going to open up for us later on. We made some small adjustments just like we always do. We adapted quite well and there was more than one chance to win the game.”
Saints lucky Boro were in wasteful mood
Tommy Conway missed three big chances to give Boro a precious play-off lead
Analysis by Sky Sports’ Laura Hunter:
This first leg was less spy thriller more dry documentary. The build up to the game proved far more entertaining than the action itself. Southampton will consider themselves the big winners, pummelled in a one-sided first half that produced chances galore but no goals.
They rallied in the second but only generated mild threat. Everything ended up with a rating of PG.
In theory, that should ensure Tuesday’s return leg is full throttle. No holding back. Boro will be kicking themselves they are not carrying an advantage given they generated 21 efforts at Southampton’s goal – four landed to Tommy Conway and he missed three big chances overall.
To break completely with recent form, Saints couldn’t muster a single shot on target and looked like a side whose off-field distractions had got the better of them. Tonda Eckert talked up the performance post-match but the only thing that would have pleased him was surely the generosity of the scoreline.
The German has got three days to figure out why his team looked so laboured for much of a game of this magnitude. Perhaps his analyst team have got some extra insight they can offer – that is if they weren’t too busy watching Boro, of course.
