Southampton manager Russell Martin expressed hope ugly scenes involving rival fans would not tarnish a “beautiful moment” after leading his side to Wembley with a 3-1 win over West Bromwich Albion.
Adam Armstrong’s brace following Will Smallbone’s opener propelled Saints into the Championship play-off final against Leeds United on May 26.
Home fans spilled on to the pitch to celebrate moving a step closer to an immediate Premier League return but trouble flared when some clashed with visiting supporters in front of the away end. Martin condemned the crowd disorder on a raucous evening at St Mary’s as he turns his attention to clinching promotion at the national stadium.
“I haven’t seen it but I think it’s unnecessary and I’m pretty sure it will be a real, real minority,” said Martin. “Our fans were amazing tonight. For those who did do that, if it tarnishes the night we’ve had and the win we’ve had and getting to Wembley in any way then they’ve let themselves down.
“But hopefully it was really very few people and hopefully the majority had a brilliant night, and they were great. Tonight was a beautiful moment for us. But we have the chance to have the biggest and best, an even better moment next week so we have to make sure that’s the case.”
Following Sunday’s goalless semi-final first leg, home fans packed the road outside the ground long before kick-off to welcome the team bus with billowing red smoke, setting the tone for a fired-up affair tinged with tension.
Southampton‘s players rose to the occasion as Smallbone lashed home a 49th-minute opener to ignite the atmosphere before top scorer Armstrong drilled home 12 minutes from time and converted a late penalty to complete the job.
Martin, who was appointed last summer following the club’s relegation, praised the impact of the passionate crowd, which included Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, a lifelong Saints supporter.
“The welcome from the fans when we came in, I’ve not seen anything like that,” he said. “They were amazing, they really played their part tonight so I’m really grateful to the supporters for that, it was incredible. (There were) a lot of emotional people on the bus seeing that on the way in and that set the tone really, it made the team talk really easy. The noise was incredible and then you just see the passion of the people. I just wasn’t expecting it to be that big. It definitely helped us tonight.”
Southampton finished three points behind third-placed Leeds during the regular season but did the double over the upcoming opponents.
“Now the challenge is to do that on the biggest stage, to bring that courage and aggression and be the team we want to be,” added Martin.
“I think it’s going to be a really top game of football. It’s going to be one to really look forward to and to feel a lot of butterflies and nerves about throughout the week. But the players deserve the opportunity that they have.”
Southampton‘s path to victory was aided by moving advertising hoardings closer to the pitch to restrict the long throw of Baggies defender Darnell Furlong.
Martin admitted it was a deliberate ploy as he expressed unhappiness at the dryness of the playing surface during the weekend stalemate at the Hawthorns.
West Brom boss Carlos Corberan, who took issue with his players having to wait to enter the dressing room after arriving at the ground, had no complaints about the result.
“Tonight the strongest team has achieved the target,” said the Spaniard, whose side claimed an added-time consolation through Cedric Kipre.
“Unfortunately we were not that team. Southampton are in Wembley because they have been better than us. We couldn’t play in our level.”
He added: “The way we came to the stadium today has not been the right way. We were in the bus 15 minutes waiting to find the entrance to the pitch. We arrived 95 minutes before the game and we could only go to the dressing room 80 minutes or 75 minutes before the game. It’s not an excuse. But the level of protocol in these type of finals has to be according to the level of football we represent.”
