Shea Charles Sends Southampton To Championship Play-Off Final After 2-1 Win Over Middlesbrough

Southampton reached the Championship play-off final after beating Middlesbrough 2-1 at St Mary's on Tuesday, with Shea Charles scoring in extra time to send the tie to Wembley on May 23.

“Southampton win extra-time thriller to reach Championship play-off final Shea Charles was Southampton's hero as they reached the Championship play-off final with a come-from-behind 2-1 win at home to Middlesbrough on Tuesday”

24NewsHD

The match turned after Riley McGree put Middlesbrough ahead in the fifth minute and Ross Stewart levelled in first-half stoppage time, before Charles’ 116th-minute cross-shot evaded everyone and bounced past Sol Brynn into the back of the net.

24NewsHD

Sky Sports said the game was locked at 1-1 after 90 minutes and that penalties were looming when Charles struck at 116 minutes.

Hull City will contest the final at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 23 May after beating Millwall 2-0 on aggregate, with Mohamed Belloumi and Joe Gelhardt scoring in the semi-finals.

The Southampton-Middlesbrough second leg was overshadowed by 'Spygate', with the English Football League charging Southampton after receiving a complaint from Middlesbrough relating to alleged unauthorised filming on private property.

ESPN reported that Southampton have been charged with breaching EFL regulations, including one which prohibits any club from observing, or attempting to observe, another's training session within 72 hours of a scheduled match between the two sides.

BBC

After the match, Southampton manager Tonda Eckert said, "We've had this topic the last game as well. There is an ongoing investigation and the club has made a statement."

Middlesbrough head coach Kim Hellberg said, "We had a plan if we won the game and now we haven't so now I'm disappointed," after the Saints’ extra-time winner ended Boro’s hopes of reaching the May 23 final.

BBC said Southampton have been charged by the EFL with spying, that the club has asked for more time as it conducts an internal review, and that the independent disciplinary commission is going through the due legal process with no timescales confirmed yet.

“LATE goal hero Shea Charles fired Saints into the Championship play-off final in extra-time of a bitterly contested 2-1 win over Middlesbrough”

Daily Echo

The BBC also outlined that various sanctions could result for Southampton, including a fine, a points deduction or even expulsion from the play-offs, while the football world waits for the outcome of the disciplinary process.

Hull’s place in the Premier League next season depends on the play-off final, with the Premier League article stating that the winner will join Coventry City and Ipswich Town in the top flight for the 2026/27 season.

If Southampton are punished, the stakes extend beyond the Wembley match, because the BBC noted that the tie could be decided by an independent disciplinary panel rather than the players, with Middlesbrough’s season potentially still undecided after the defeat.