Shilen Patel instantly reacts as West Brom set up Championship play-off clash v Southampton
Shilen Patel has hailed the West Brom fans and players after they sealed a spot in the Championship play-offs on Saturday.
Goals by Alex Mowatt, Kyle Bartley and Darnell Furlong secured Albion a 3-0 win against Preston, meaning they finished fifth in the 2023/24 Championship season.
It sets up a play-off semi-final clash against Southampton, with the first leg taking place at The Hawthorns next Sunday (12 May).
Patel hopes the fans can once again bring the noise for that game as they aim to join Leicester and Ipswich in making the leap up to the Premier League.
“Well done by the boys in a big moment,” said Patel via his personal X account on Saturday (4 May).
“Great day for the club and we seized the opportunity to have even better days.
“Massive credit to the fans as well for an incredible atmosphere, I hope the place is rocking again next week!”
Will West Brom win promotion to the Premier League?
What a difference a day makes.
Like a lot of West Brom fans, I was rather pessimistic about our chances of finishing seventh in the Championship after our recent collapse.
However, a brilliant 3-0 win over Preston has massively boosted hopes of going all the way to Wembley and winning against either Norwich or Leeds.
Obviously, it’ll be very hard to beat Southampton.
They did well at Elland Road on Saturday as they beat third-placed Leeds 2-1. However, it wasn’t long ago they were being humiliated by eventual Championship title-winners Leicester when Russell Martin’s side lost 5-0 at the King Power Stadium.
Patel is optimistic though and who can blame him?
Carlos Corberan has done brilliantly at The Hawthorns and if the fans can recreate the atmosphere they made in the Aston Villa play-off semi-final in 2019, they’ll surely put themselves in a commanding position before the away leg at St Mary’s.
In other West Brom news, Tony Brown wasn’t happy with a first-half incident in the win over Preston.
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