So, the play-offs. I had a bit of arseing about to do beforehand with the car, so Harry and I didn’t get down to the Riverside until about half an hour before kick-off. That meant that we missed the dramatic arrival of the Boro team bus where our fans greeted the team with flares. There were still kids setting them off when we got there, presumably to avoid being arrested for taking them into the ground.
We met up with Tom and Jordan in the fan zone. Tom had averted the need to queue for beer by bringing his own, so we had a pre-match tin of Madri out of his carrier bag. There had been a bit of a mix up with Jordan’s ticket, but as I still had access to an extra one from the third ticket that we’d had last season, Jordan used mine and I went into the West Stand.
Most of the pre-match chat was over the likely consequences of Southampton cheating by sneaking into our training session. Potential punishments suggested ranged from kicking them out of the play-offs to levelling their stadium for car parking. It really was an outrageous thing to do and all I can assume is that the EFL are waiting to see if we eliminate them on the pitch before imposing their sanction.
What is certain is that Gibbo won’t let this go until he considers that justice has been done. Just ask Liverpool about their pursuit of Zeige, or Derby about pipping us to the play-offs with their financial cheating.
First half was all Boro. Despite their illegal advance knowledge of our set up and tactics, Southampton were on the ropes. We came close to breaking the deadlock a few times, with Tommy Conway’s shot against the inside of the post providing the best opportunity. We don’t really have the strength in depth though and as our first eleven tired, they came more into it.
It finished goalless. I’m ok with that as we generally do better away from home. Presumably there will be no more cheating from Southampton, so we should go into the return leg at St Mary’s without the disadvantage of them knowing our plans. That’s if their stadium hasn’t been levelled by then.
Trail of the Lion King 
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