26th May, 2024, EFL Championship Playoff Final.
The result at Wembley was always going to depend on which Leeds United turned up – the one that pulverised Norwich last week or the lacklustre, lacking in ideas one that lost three of its final four league games and put us in this situation.
Sadly it was the latter and all the good points we praised the team for after Norwich had disappeared again. Gone again was the movement and pace of Joel Piroe, gone was the probing control of Georginio and gone was the attacking threat from Willy Gnonto and Cree Summerville. I could argue that Leeds possibly just shaded the game overall – a game in which neither team looked likely to worry the Premier League any time soon – but at crucial moments the Saints were clinical and we were not. When we needed a bit of luck, that too was missing as a late Dan James shot crashed against the crossbar.
So, a 24th-minute strike from Adam Armstrong, his 24th of the season, was enough to propel Saints into the Premier League while compelling Leeds to try to do it all again next season in the Championship. We all know there is no guarantee we will be as competitive next season as this and we have no real idea even which players will still be with us. Uncertainty hangs over us again.
Let’s not dwell on it though, by the time August rolls around and we’ve had our fill of international football, we’ll be back at Elland Road to see a new season unfold and the events of today will largely be forgotten as we get engrossed in a new scenario. Some faces may change but the challenge will remain the same.
I was disappointed today by the way Leeds played and of course by the result but boy what a day out it was! Wembley Way jam-packed with Leeds fans slowly making their way into the famous arena, 36,000 of us. And then the sight that met us as the teams lined up, and the noise; it was a spectacular event. Was it all too much for our young team to flourish in? We’ll probably never know but I for one am glad to have got to experiencei
Sky Bet Championship Play-Off Final
Leeds United 0
Southampton 1 (Armstrong 24’)
Leeds: Meslier (GK), Firpo (Joseph 83’), Ampadu (C), Piroe, Kamara (Roberts 74’), Summerville (Anthony 74’), Rodon, Gray, Rutter, Gnonto (James 66’), Gruev. Subs not used: Darlow (GK), Cooper, Shackleton, Byram, Gelhardt.
Southampton: McCarthy (GK), Walker-Peters, Downes, Stephens (C), Aribo, Armstrong, Smallbone, Harwood-Bellis, Fraser (Adams 70’), Bednarek, Brooks (Edozie 35’ (Manning 83’)). Subs not used: Lumley (GK), Manning, Stewart, Bree, Rothwell, Sulemana, Charles.
Referee: John Brooks
Booked: Summerville, Ampadu (Leeds) Bednarek, Fraser, Harwood-Bellis, Adams, Downes, Aribo (Southampton)
Venue: Wembley Stadium
Attendance: 85,862