Southampton survive on Teesside as play-off semi-final stays level | OneFootball

Tonda Eckert's Southampton dug in on Teesside to draw 0-0 with Middlesbrough in a tense play-off semi-final first leg at the Riverside, leaving the tie level ahead of the return at St Mary's.

According to Sainstmarching.com, the first half was one-sided, with Tommy Conway squandering three major chances. James Bree blocked his close-range strike, then a crisp effort beat Daniel Peretz but came back off the inside of the post, before the forward scuffed from a scramble and the keeper saved.

Southampton improved after the break. Tom Fellows picked out Cyle Larin, who headed tamely wide at the far post, the striker was then booked and withdrawn early in the half.

On the hour Flynn Downes took a yellow to halt Morgan Whittaker on halfway. Late on, Taylor Harwood-Bellis rattled the underside of the bar from Ryan Manning's superb free-kick from the left.

A rapid counter led by Shea Charles ended with Sam Edozie clipping the outside of the post. In the ratings, Caspar Jander scored nine out of 10, Nathan Wood impressed with eight out of 10, Peretz earned seven out of 10, while Larin struggled at four out of 10, with several others in between.

Source: Sainstmarching.com