With the second legs of the EFL Championship Playoff Semi-finals getting underway on Tuesday, this will be the perfect time to look back on what happened in the first legs.
Aston Villa vs West Brom
On Saturday the 11th of May, the EFL Championship Play-Offs commenced to see who will be joining the champions Norwich City FC and runners up Sheffield United.
Aston Villa hosted West Bromwich Albion in what seemed to be a highly anticipated game as the Baggies are looking to get promoted back into England’s top-flight league after being relegated in the 17/18 season.
Early on in the first half Glenn Whelan’s poor back pass was snatched by Dwight Gayle who was quick to slot it in the bottom right corner with his left foot. The match was mainly dominated by the Villains despite being one goal behind.
The second half saw a fighting spirit by the hosts as the substitute Conor Hourihane, who replaced Glenn Whelan, revived the match as he levelled up from a left footed shot from outside the box to the top left corner, which was assisted by the skipper Jack Grealish. Just a few minutes later, the former Arsenal full back Kieran Gibbs conceded a clear penalty which was tucked away by Tammy Abraham in the 79th minute.
Towards the end of the match Dwight Gayle received a second yellow card which meant he was sent off, meaning that he will miss the next leg of this Championship Play-Off, when the Baggies host Aston Villa at the Hawthorne’s on the 14th of May.
Leeds United vs Derby County
Later on in the day, the 1st leg of the second game in the EFL Championship Play-Offs saw Frank Lampard’s side Derby County FC take on Leeds United at Pride Park Stadium.
This meeting witnessed an aggressive match with 7 yellow cards being shown and also multiple shots from both sides. However, Leeds dominated much of the game as they had 56% possession. Leads attempted 12 shots, with 3 of them actually being on target whilst the Rams had 7 attempts with zero being actually on target. They went to half time with both teams failing to find a precious goal.
10 minutes past the second half, Leeds’s prominent striker Kemar Roofe scored a right-footed shot in the bottom left corner from the centre of the box. Just 1 minute after his goal, he attempted another shot from outside the box which was saved by Roos.
The match finished with a 1-0 win for the away side, which will surely be of help in the 2nd leg, when Leeds host Derby at Elland Road on the 15th of May.
