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Key events
73 min: Double substitution for Leeds Connor Roberts and Jaidon Anthony replace Glen Kamara and … Crysencio Summerville. That’s a big call from Daniel Farke, even if Summerville has been poor by his standards.
72 min Harwood-Bellis pings a very long pass to release Aribo on the left side of the area, but his lobbed cross is too close to Meslier.
Southampton look comfortable. I don’t think McCarthy has had a save to make since the seventh minute.
70 min: Southampton substitution Che Adams replaces Ryan Fraser, which means a slight reshuffle. Armstrong will play from the right and Edozie has moved across to the left.
69 min Leeds are still having a lot of the ball. Southampton have defended really well though, particularly in central areas. Leeds haven’t been able to pass through them, and by flip they’ve tried.
68 min: Chance for Southampton! Aribo intercepts a pass on the halfway line and pokes it through to Edozie, one v one with the last man Ampadu. Edozie moves into the area, shifts the ball onto his right foot and slaps it wide of the far post. Decent chance, that.
66 min: Leeds substitution Dan James replaces Willy Gnonto, who was kept quiet by the Southampton defence.
64 min There’s no Patrick Bamford on the bench but Leeds have some attacking options on the bench, including Dan James, Mateo Joseph and Joffy Gelhardt. Now might be the time because the promising start to the second half has evaporated.
63 min A decent few minutes for Southampton, most of which has been spent in the Leeds half. For the first time Leeds are showing signs of frustration.
62 min “Ah yes, Peru,” weeps Simon McMahon. “How could you not lose to a kit like that?”
60 min Rutter is fouled near the corner flag by Downes, although Downes didn’t agree with the decision. No matter: McCarthy claims the free-kick with authority.
58 min Summerville wafts a poor free-kick over the bar.
57 min Downes fouls Gnonto 25 yards from goal, to the left of centre. Summerville and Gruev are over the ball…
55 min It’ll be a long 40 minutes for Southampton if Leeds keep this up – they’ve been much the better team since half-time.
54 min Stephens is warned for timewasting at a throw-in.
51 min Harwood-Bellis fouls Rutter just outside the area on the left and is booked. Leeds are having their best spell since the first 10 minutes.
49 min: Chances for Leeds! Rodon suddenly turns into Morten Olsen, surging all the way from the halfway line into the Southampton area. Gnonto nicks the ball but then plays it across to Rodon, whose shot is brilliantly blocked by Harwood-Bellis. The loose ball is collected by Summerville, who curls just wide from the edge of the area.
48 min Edozie dribbles past Firpo (I think) in the area and cuts the ball back to Stephens, whose shot is well blocked by Ampadu. That was a vital block.
47 min “The Southampton kit of the late 70s, made by Admiral, is a classic,” writes Kári Tulinius. “I can’t think of many other shirts which had a thick central stripe flanked by two thinner ones, but as a design it looks striking without being busy. Admittedly, the late 70s were a golden age of red stripes on white football kits, what with Peru.”
And Palace (sort of).
46 min Southampton begin the second half, kicking from right to left as watch.
The players are back on the field.
“This is so not fun starting at 10am…” writes Rachel Clifton. “Hoping Saints can nick another one early in the second and kill the game off…”
You do realise this is the Championship playoff final? I think only four of the last 20 have been won by more than one goal.
Half time: Leeds 0-1 Southampton
Southampton lead thanks to a ruthless finish from Adam Armstrong. They started very nervously but were the better side once they settled and almost scored a second when Illan Meslier denied Armstrong just before half-time. Leeds have been strangely disjointed in attack.
45+5 min Downes marches imperiously through midfield and finds Armstrong, who pulls between Rodon and Gray before hitting a shot that deflects behind off the covering Rodon.
45+3 min Leeds need half-time. Southampton are having an excellent spell, with Smallbone and Armstrong causing lots of problems for the Leeds defence.
45 min: Good save by Meslier! Smallbone clips a free-kick into the area for Adam Armstrong, criminally unmarked once again. He hits a similar shot to the goal, maybe from a tighter angle, and Meslier dives low to his right to save. He can only push the ball out in front of goal but there are no Southampton players following up.
Fraser is then booked for kicking the ball away. There will be five minutes of added time.
43 min Rutter runs elegantly at the Leeds defence and slips the ball through to Firpo in the area. Harwood-Bellies makes a vital tackle and is then wiped out by Summerville, who is booked.
Summerville got the ball but he led with his studs, so once the referee gave a foul it was always likely to be a yellow card.
42 min Downes and Gruev fly into a ferocious, old-fashioned 50/50, then get straight to their feet without appealing or wincing. Which is nice.
42 min “Had to switch to the ESPN+ Spanish feed because if it being out of sync,” writes Graham Randall. “Very much like watching Channel 9 on the Fast Show. Random English names inserted into commentary.”
Leeds could do with Chris Waddle the noo.
41 min Summerville’s corner is punched away by McCarthy. The ball is headed back into the area and almost falls for Kamara, though the referee had given a free-kick against Piroe.
39 min Bednarek takes a shortcut through the back of Rutter and is booked.
38 min “Afternoon Rob,” says Simon McMahon. “Leeds’ all white combo is a classic, but Southampton really have had some cracking kits throughout the decades. It’s just a pity they’re not wearing their home kit today. Reminds me of something else worn by a half decent side too…”
This is the kit, although preferably with Ranx Xerox as the sponsor.
37 min Southampton have kept Leeds at arm’s length since Armstrong’s goal. In fact it’s been a pretty uneventful half. I was going to say ‘surprisingly uneventful’, but all bets are off in a game of this importance.
35 min: Southampton substitution Poor David Brooks, who has been through so much in tthe last few years, is very close to tears as he leaves the field. Samuel Edozie replaces him.
33 min Brooks is back on the field but not for long – he can’t run properly and is holding his left arm by his side.
32 min “Armstrong, a legend at making space for himself, has taken a giant leap for the Saints, who must be over the moon, given how they started,” says Justin Kavanagh. “Now can Leeds bring them back down to Earth?”
You’re talking out of… well never mind.
31 min Brooks is struggling and might not be able to continue.
30 min “The ESPN+ feed I am watching has the audio slightly ahead of the video action, so, for example, I heard the crowd roar before I saw the Saints score,” writes Andrew Bartlett. “No bueno, especially as I want Leeds to win.”
Out-of-sync commentary is one of the most annoying things in the entire world. I’m disappointed it hasn’t been mentioned in any election manifestos.
29 min Brooks needs treatment to his shoulder after falling awkwardly. That allows the two managers to give an impromptu teamtalk.
27 min Walker-Peters wins a corner for Southampton, who’ve had a pep in their step since Armstrong’s excellent goal.
Leeds break from the corner, four on two, but Gray’s pass goes astray. That was a chance.
26 min “As a Liverpool fan, I was very impressed at Southampton’s style of play at Anfield in the EFL Cup this season,” says Neil Waters. “Easily better than half the Premier League. Russell Martin seems to be the next great manager who was an average footballer.”
They’re all the rage these days.
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