Southampton’s manager, Tonda Eckert, walked out of the post-match press conference at Middlesbrough on Saturday after repeatedly refusing to answer questions about allegations that one of his analysts had spied on Kim Hellberg’s training session last Thursday.
Shortly afterwards Hellberg said his Middlesbrough team were victims of “cheating” in the lead-up to this vital Championship playoff semi-final first leg.
A clearly uncomfortable, distinctly unhappy looking Eckert is now preparing for not merely Tuesday’s second leg against Hellberg’s Middlesbrough but an English Football League disciplinary commission.
Less than 24 hours before Saturday’s 0-0 first-leg draw in a tie dominated by Boro at the Riverside the EFL charged Southampton with misconduct and, shortly before Hellberg made it clear he felt utterly wronged by the incident, Eckert squirmed uncomfortably in his chair.
Dave Challinor said Stockport would not relax in the League One play-off semi-final second leg – despite stealing a march on Stevenage with a last-minute goal and 1-0 first-leg win – while Bolton will take a 1-0 lead to Bradford.
Benony Andresson had raced through in the final seconds only to stumble on the edge of the box and lose the ball. However, Stevenage seemed to switch off in that moment and Ben Osborn (pictured celebrating) jumped into the gaggle of home defenders and goalkeeper, poking the ball into the empty net.
It gives County the edge for the return at Edgeley Park on Wednesday, and they will be going all out for another victory. “The game’s still wide open,” said Challinor. “We’ve given ourselves a small advantage but we’ve got to make the most of that advantage at home by going and getting the next goal in the tie.
“We’ll face a really tough test and we’re not thinking about having a lead to defend, it’s a lead that we want to go and extend. We need to win that game and that’s what we’ll try and do. We’ve taken one step, no more than that.”
The Stevenage manager, Alex Revell, was also upbeat, even after the calamity of the winner. He said: “It was a disappointing goal, absolutely. We could have dealt with the initial ball a bit better and took a 0-0 but it is a mix-up on the edge of our box that shouldn’t happen. It can happen in football."
“We’re all disappointed of course because you want to win, but it doesn’t change what we need. If it was 0-0, we’d still have to go up there and win the game.”
At Bolton, Amario Cozier-Duberry scored the winner as the home side claimed a 1-0 win over Bradford in the first leg of their semi-final. The Brighton loanee, named in the League One team of the season, curled in a trademark left-footed shot after 60 minutes. Ibrahim Cissoko’s cross from the left eluded defenders and attackers alike before reaching Cozier-Duberry, who buried his 10th goal of the season.
The same player should have doubled Wanderers’ lead two minutes later, but his low right-footed effort hit the inside of a post and bounced to safety.
Bradford were always in the contest, with the former Bolton midfielder Antoni Sarcevic enjoying their best chances. Denied by a Chris Forino block in the first half, he fired wide in the second, moments after the game restarted with the fourth official, David Rock, replacing the injured referee, Martin Coy.
Sarcevic later shot into the side-netting, with the Bantams still appealing for a penalty for Forino’s challenge on Kayden Jackson. PA Media
In the face of a barrage of questioning about what has become known as spygate, Southampton’s manager kept reiterating. “I think the club has made a statement yesterday evening and that’s all there is to say at the moment.”
Pressed repeatedly on reports that the analyst had acted unilaterally he maintained a largely awkward silence, merely saying: “I think I’ve said more than enough.”
Asked if he had talked about the incident to his players, the 33-year-old said: “No, there was nothing to say, there was a big job at hand.”
Hellberg, who, frostily, shook Eckert’s hand but said he did not speak to his Southampton counterparts, was rather more forthcoming, saying: “I think every club in the Championship should be angry about this … Some people say it [watching an opponents’s pre-match training session] doesn’t give you a big advantage. That’s wrong; it’s a massive advantage. Without it [spying] it would have been impossible for them to know our shape in the first half. We have never used that shape before today.
“It’s just unfair. It’s not OK. There was anger. There’s a loss of respect. It makes me disappointed. It was a big game and they saw everything we were doing – set pieces, goal-kicks, everything.
The Swede, who also said a fine would be insufficient punishment as it fails to provide a proper deterrent, revealed he could barely credit what he was being told when club officials informed him of the incident. “It was a weird situation. I couldn’t believe it when they told me. They had to tell me two or three times.
“I feel sorry for Southampton’s supporters and players,” he added. “They are brilliant and do not deserve to have this thrown back at them. They had nothing to do with it. But someone at Southampton has made a decision to go and cheat. That’s clear. It’s just wrong.”
