Football – England – Championship Play Off Semi Final 2nd Leg
Friday 15th May 2015 – Kickoff: 1945hrs
Middlesbrough achieved their first target last Friday night of not losing to Brentford in the first leg of the play-off semi final in spades as they secured a vital 2-1 win at Griffin Park to take a lead to the Riverside Stadium.
It was an impressive display from Boro despite a noisy and partisan home crowd as they overcame a strong Brentford challenge (as expected), and they now hold home advantage in this second leg. Middlesbrough have been in pretty solid form overall in the last few weeks as they’ve suffered just one defeat in their last six which was a 4-3 loss away at Fulham.
But Boro’s strength has without doubt been their home form at the Riverside where they’ve lost on just three occasions throughout the Championship season as well as winning six of their last seven on home turf. Their overall home record finished up on an impressive 15-5-3 42/12 which included no fewer than 13 clean sheets. Only Ipswich Town managed to match Middlesbrough’s 15 home wins in the Championship this season.
Brentford will need to dust themselves off and re-group as they make the long trip to the north east to reduce the one-goal deficit they find themselves behind by. The Bees will have been bitterly disappointed by the manner of Boro’s second goal which came in the dying minutes of the first leg, a massive deflection finding it’s way into the back of their net.
They now face a tough assignment on the road considering Brentford’s inconsistent streak away from home where they’ve won 4, lost 3 and drawn 2 from their last nine on their travels. Their overall away record finished on 11-3-9 32/31 and it seems it’s either win or lose for the Londoners with goals scored/conceded in equal measure.
I think this second leg may be just a bridge too far for The Bees as they come up against the best home side in the division along with a very sturdy defence behind them. My pick is Middlesbrough to win perhaps 1-0 here to take them to Wembley.
Pick: Middlesbrough straight win @ 2.00 William Hill
