Southampton and West Brom played out a 0-0 draw in the first leg of their Championship play-off semi-final on Sunday.
The two sides faced off at The Hawthorns in intense heat but neither team were able to break the deadlock.
This means both clubs will effectively play out a one-off match in the return leg at St Mary’s on Friday night to determine who will line up in the final at Wembley on 26th May.
Chances were few and far between in the first leg, with Adam Armstrong missing Southampton‘s best chance and Alex McCarthy saving well from a close-range Grady Diangana header.
There was one surprise inclusion for Southampton, with manager Russell Martin opting to bring in Sekou Mara with Che Adams not passed fit to play.
Adam Armstrong unhappy with Sekou Mara in West Brom draw
Few would have expected Mara to start in such a big game, especially when he was so poor when he was last handed the opportunity to start in the defeat to Stoke City.
However, with Adams not recovering in time from the muscle strain that forced him off against Leeds United and Ross Stewart not yet ready to start, the 21-year-old got his chance.
Unfortunately, as he has so often this season, Mara squandered the opportunity.
His strike partner, Armstrong has a poor game himself, but former Saint Jo Tessem noticed the 27-year-old getting increasingly frustrated with his junior attacker whilst on commentary duty for BBC Radio Solent.
Tessem observed: “Sekou Mara has been very still and stationary in this game so far. Adam Armstrong looks quite frustrated with him, he wants to see more from his teammate.”
Mara may not feature again in play-offs
For Martin to trust Mara to come in for Adams in a game of this magnitude says a lot about how highly the Saints boss rates the Frenchman.
Unfortunately though, other than the odd glimpse, Mara has been unable to deliver when given chances to start games this season.
Adams is expected to be available again for the home leg against West Brom and subsequently the final -should Southampton get there – and Stewart is building up his minutes as quickly as he possibly can, so it is not unthinkable that Mara has made his last contribution to the play-offs.
It could even be that, if Adams does not return in time for Friday, Martin opts to change to his favoured 4-3-3 formation and use Armstrong as the central striker, although the former Blackburn Rovers man has struggled in the lone centre-forward role this season.
Chances may just be running out for Mara to be a success as a Southampton player.