By Hugo Varley
Southampton bounced back to the Premier League at the very first time of asking as they edged out Leeds United in a gritty Championship play-off final.
A sold out Wembley was a cauldron of noise throughout, with two sides who had battled at the top all season thrashing it out over an enthralling 90 minutes.
Ultimately, Saints top-scorer Adam Armstrong was the man of the moment, grabbing the decisive goal just after the half hour mark with a pinpoint finish across goal.
Daniel Farke‘s Leeds huffed and puffed, dominating possession but they couldn’t break down a dogged Southampton defence, finding themselves increasingly limited to speculative long range efforts as the minutes ticked by and frustration mounted.
Today’s victory marks a very first promotion for manager Russell Martin, who took over at St Mary’s last summer with one clear task – return the South Coast club to England‘s top tier.
The early exchanges saw both sides push forward, spurred on by the capacity crowd; United’s Archie Gray fired an effort just wide, before Will Smallbone tested the palms of Illan Meslier with a curling free kick.
The game’s magic moment came just as the Saints were enjoying their best spell of the game.
Smallbone angled a superb through ball to Armstrong who quickly went two or three strides ahead of a wrong footed Leeds defence.
The 27-year-old still had plenty to do but showed his clinical edge to drive a low effort into the right hand corner just passed Meslier’s reach.
The goal sparked ecstasy in the Southampton end which almost provided the momentum for a second moments later.
Armstrong was at the centre of the action once again, this time swivelling brilliantly inside the box, forcing Meslier into a fingertip save. The ball then bounced precariously around the six yard area, but no Saints player could connect with the follow up, as Leeds clung on.
Half-time brought with it the chance of a reset for the Yorkshire side and United came out for the second period with their tails up.
Just three minutes into the half, Wilfried Gnoto found himself in acres of space on the edge of the box yet the Italian international could only bend a great chance wide.
The Whites flooded forwards at every opportunity but just couldn’t piece together a decisive move as Martin’s side held firm in the face of huge pressure.
Southampton sat back and picked their moments to counter on the break, making the most of pacey wingers Samuel Edozie and Ryan Fraser and 20 minutes from time the former almost put the game to bed.
Edozie picked the ball up on half way and drove at a backtracking Leeds defence, weaving in and out before creating room to shoot inside the box. The ball curled past a stranded Meslier but flew inches wide, just as the 21-year-old was ready to wheel away in celebration.
As the Southampton backline began to tire, Leeds finally started to calve out clear cut opportunities and they came agonizingly close to drawing level through Daniel James in the 80th minute.
The former Manchester United man connected superbly with a half-volley following smart build up play in the box, only to see his dipping strike crash against the underside of the crossbar.
Nine minutes of injury time handed Farke’s side one final chance, but James was denied again, this time by the outstretched hand of Alex McCarthy, diving low to his left.
The full-time whistle was greeted with an outpouring of relief from the Southampton faithful, as they held on for a return to the promised land of the Premier League, 12 months after crashing to relegation.
Martin and his steadfast players were treated to a standing ovation from the jubilant 40,000 strong Saints support as they held the trophy aloft from the Royal Box and toasted the hardest fought of victories.
