Matt Maher analysis: Advantage Southampton... but West Brom head south with very real hope

And if you’re Albion, you’re pretty satisfied with that.

It’s advantage Southampton, just, courtesy of Friday’s second leg being at their home.

But any idea progress would be straightforward or “easy” for the Saints is certainly gone.

The Baggies will go to St Mary’s Stadium, already scene of one of their most impressive performances of the season, with firm belief they can be the team walking out at Wembley on Sunday week.

Stalemate here simply made the follow-up simple: a straight shoot-out on the south coast to see who can keep their dream alive.

With a bit more fortune or composure in the box, Carlos Corberan’s team might be heading to St Mary’s with a lead. It was notable the visitors selected Alex McCarthy, who twice denied Grady Diangana, as one of their four nominees for man-of-the-match.

Yet his opposite number, Alex Palmer, also made two big saves, the second of them spectacular in nature when Ross Stewart’s shot took a wicked deflection off Kyle Bartley and the Albion keeper readjusted in a flash to kick the ball away with his legs.

By the finish the scoreline felt a fair reflection of a match from which there was little to choose between the teams.

It was a far cry from the last time the Saints last visited The Hawthorns in February and departed comfortable 2-0 winners. That night, the first following Shilen Patel’s vital takeover at Albion, there looked a gulf in class. Yesterday, it had gone. Southampton bossed possession, just as they had done nearly three months previously. But Albion gave as good as they got and the fact they had more touches in the opposition box than the visitors justified post-match claims it was they who just about out edged it.

Of course, there was one key difference between the two occasions.

This time the hosts had Corberan on the touchline for the full affair, not only the first six minutes.

The Spaniard, sent-off for kicking the ball when it was still in play in the prior meeting, appeared possessed by an atmosphere he later described as the greatest he’d ever experienced.

It was noisy more than 90 minutes before kick-off, when around a thousand supporters congregated on Halfords Lane to welcome the head coach and his players.

By kick-off, it had reached a crescendo, the teams making their way onto the pitch between flags saluting King Carlos. Perhaps it wasn’t on the same level as that heard five years ago when The Hawthorns last hosted play-off football against Villa.

But there were times when it got pretty close.

“We’ve got Carlos Corberan,” sang the Smehtwick End in the early seconds.

All-action in the technical area, a blur of rapid hand movements, there were times when their hero appeared to be conducting the noise.

His team, listless in his absence in the winter, responded with a performance full of energy.

All that was lacking was a little more quality in the final third, a flash of inspiration which might have turned a decent result into a better one.

Albion were also without Bartley in February due to injury and the centre-back, one of just two survivors from the club’s last play-off outing in 2019, delivered a strong performance in what might have been his last outing in a Baggies shirt at The Hawthorns.

There were countless important headers and several key blocks.

Cedric Kipre, playing alongside him in the heart of defence, was equally as good while Darnell Furlong continued his fine recent form.

Other than Diangana, he was the Albion player who came closest to scoring when he lunged in front of Joe Aribo and stabbed Conor Townsend’s cross wide of the post just prior to the hour mark.

The issue for Albion, as it has been all season, was in attack.

Brandon Thomas-Asante got little change out of the visiting centre-backs, while Josh Maja was absent altogether with Corberan later claiming the Nigeria international was not in the shape required to make an impact despite making a couple of substitute cameos in the closing weeks of the season on his return from injury.

Mikey Johnston, who set the tone for a frenetic opening when he drove at the visiting defence in the first 30 seconds, could not quite conjure the killer final pass.

Both of Diangana’s chances were created by Tom Fellows, the first with a looping cross which the former nodded down toward goal and McCarthy somehow clawed behind. Corberan threw his head back and his hands over his face.

Then, with 12 minutes remaining, Fellows broke free from Ryan Manning, looked up, spotted Diangana running in and found him with a neat pull back. The forward had time to pick his spot but sent the shot much too close to McCarthy.

Moments later, Palmer kept out Stewart’s deflected effort and there were no more big chances to come.

Both bosses later declared themselves satisfied with the outcome, though both would have had cause for frustration, Corberan most pointedly a sense his team had not quite managed the maximum return from home advantage.

Upon Saints boss Russell Martin, meanwhile, there is undoubtedly more pressure at the end of a season where a swift return to the Premier League was the only target.

Failure to achieve it would leave his position in serious doubt. His is the team built with a decent budget, who were favourites to go up automatically back in August.

Martin later suggested the heat the match was played in might have negatively impacted performance.

Come Friday it could turn out to be a metaphor.

“I don’t mind it. I’m from Spain,” smiled Corberan, when the same query was put to him.

On Friday it is Martin’s team who will have the benefit of the home crowd but there will be significantly more expectation than in the warm air at The Hawthorns.

Here the mood was more one of hope. After this, it still remains.