West Bromwich Albion gearing up for dramatic play-off second leg at St. Marys

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A massive game to get to Wembley.

Transcript

00:00 Charlie, West Bromwich Albion obviously involved in this fantastic playoff situation come the end of the season.

00:07 Now Carlos Corberão, as we've mentioned before, has made it to a playoff final.

00:11 West Brom travelled to Southampton with a goal of short at the Hawthorns.

00:16 That first leg, how did you see things going?

00:19 It was fantastic performances from both goalkeepers on the day.

00:24 How do you go about leaving that home leg?

00:28 Obviously you've not lost the game, which is a positive, but you've also left the floodgates sort of open for a big night at St Mary's.

00:35 It was a great situation really because it wasn't really a 0-0 game.

00:40 Of course, that's what it was in the end on the scoreline, but it felt like more of a 1-1, a 2-2.

00:45 Both saves from Alex Palmer and Alex McCarthy, keeping out efforts from Grady Deangarner in particular,

00:50 Flynn Downs having a big opportunity for Southampton as well.

00:53 It could have definitely been a score draw on a different day, but 0-0 it was.

00:57 I think West Brom can take confidence from that because they'd lost to Southampton in the two matches earlier in the season.

01:04 2-1 away at St Mary's, 2-0 at the Hawthorns.

01:07 Russell Martin quite often getting the better of Carlos Corbijn, but on this occasion that wasn't the case.

01:13 Martin actually blames the hot weather for the reason Southampton weren't quite at it,

01:17 which I think was a little bit bizarre considering it's not exactly…

01:21 West Brom weren't away from those conditions themselves.

01:24 They also had to deal with the heat. Both teams had the exact same circumstances,

01:28 so I thought it was a bit of a weird moan in the press conference.

01:30 But I think West Brom probably slightly happier with the two teams.

01:35 The fact they're still very much in this after what Southampton did to them earlier in the season at the Hawthorns.

01:39 It might sound weird to say that, that West Brom are happy with the draw in their home leg,

01:44 but just having that goalless draw going into the second leg I think is so important for the underdogs of the tie.

01:49 Had Southampton won that, well, they'd be in such a strong position, wouldn't they, to hold on.

01:53 But both teams have to go for it. I think that will suit West Brom.

01:57 How much of an impact did the fans have at the Hawthorns?

02:01 Obviously, they know how to get up for a big game and they've had a few good play-off runs in the past.

02:07 They really relished these occasions.

02:09 Did anything surprise you at the Hawthorns in terms of how much backing the Corbyron side had from the home support?

02:17 There's always a decent support at the Hawthorns.

02:19 They call it the shrine for a reason and they've had some terrific home form this season and in previous years.

02:25 It's probably the best atmosphere I've seen there, to be fair to them.

02:28 Before the game as well, hundreds of fans waiting for the bus to arrive.

02:32 Corbyron wasn't expecting that.

02:34 At the press conference he said it was very emotional to see so many fans there.

02:37 Then the atmosphere for the game itself, 99 minutes there were in total, including added time.

02:42 I don't think there was any of those minutes where the ground was quiet.

02:45 Very impressive indeed, especially at the beginning.

02:48 Corbyron said it was the best atmosphere he's ever experienced.

02:51 Considering he's been to a play-off final, he's been to matches in Greece, which is, as Aston Villa saw this season, a very loud place to go.

02:59 I think that's quite an impressive comment from him and he definitely meant it.

03:02 We asked him, "Do you seriously mean that?" and he said, "Yes."

03:04 So, West Brom, very important atmosphere and got an important result against Southampton.

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