Leeds United writer Lee Sobot on the 2-1 defeat at home to Southampton - and what now in the play-offs.
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00:00 Hello there, Lee Sobot at the Yorkshire Evening Post here from Ellen Road where Leeds United's
00:07 final game of the regular season and it is the end of the regular season for Leeds because
00:11 they are now heading for the playoffs. The final game of the regular season has ended
00:15 in a 2-1 defeat against Southampton which has meant the playoffs for Leeds but it would
00:19 have meant the playoffs anyway because unsurprisingly Ipswich Town rolled on again with a 2-0 win
00:25 against Huddersfield Town to seal their place back in the top flight after a long absence
00:29 and you have to say first and foremost congratulations to them, thoroughly deserved along with Leicester
00:34 City who have obviously gone up as champions. Leeds obviously now finishing in third place
00:38 which a lot of people were sort of fearing really coming into this game. The odds said
00:42 it all, 16-1 Leeds were to see a lot of mighty promotion on the final day. Ipswich are 1-40
00:48 and those odds never really looked in doubt with the way the day's events were going.
00:53 And Leeds now are heading to the playoffs after finishing in third place. They will
00:57 play Norwich City, obviously Daniel Farker's former side following defeat for Norwich today
01:02 at Birmingham in their final game and really you don't know where to begin now with this
01:07 Leeds side in terms of what will happen in the playoffs. They will go into the playoffs,
01:12 they are actually favourites at the moment as we stand. There's very little in it between
01:17 them and Southampton and you've got to say there will be a big chance that this game
01:20 today could end up being the playoff final but there will only be a big chance of that
01:24 happening if Leeds get through the semi-final first and foremost and what you would say
01:27 is they're going to have to be a lot better than they've been of late. That's now just
01:30 one win from the last six games, four defeats and difficult really to argue with it today.
01:37 Three goals all in the first half, Southampton went 1-0 up, Alan Armstrong has had a fantastic
01:42 season, he was never going to miss when he had presented with his opportunity quite early
01:45 on in the first half. Leeds just pretty woeful defending as has been the case lately which
01:52 is surprising considering how they have been. Ball swept across the box and then from Tadej
01:56 Adams as Leeds didn't clear a corner, sort of second phase from a corner and then he
01:59 applied the finish. Leeds fair play today, they did come straight back, Joel Perue equalised
02:03 a thunderbolt finish from him. Obviously he got the nod again instead of Matteo Joseph
02:07 today with Patrick Bamford still being out with his knee injury. He is expected and hoped
02:12 he'll be back for the playoffs along with Dan James which will give Leeds a big boost.
02:16 That was 1-1 but it already became clear at 6-1 they were probably going to head to victory
02:21 and it then went 2-1 to Southampton, Will Smallbone chasing a ball down the left, down
02:25 the right flank. It looked like it had gone out of play, the replay showed possibly not,
02:29 cut inside but passed Firpo and then swept home to make it 2-1. That's how it finished.
02:35 Leeds went for it, tried to go for it but there were more chances for Southampton really
02:38 and that's now a double for them over Leeds this season and it's worrying. Leeds have
02:42 got to press the reset button, they've got to get back to what they're good at. As I
02:46 say on these performances at the moment you can't see why they're favourites but they're
02:49 favourites because of the players they've got and the fact they finished in third place.
02:52 So let's hope they bounce back. Probably the only soft thing about this today is that everybody
02:56 knew this was probably coming but it has finished here, Leeds 1 Southampton 2 and it's the play-offs.