All four of the teams contesting the Championship play-offs still retain an interest after the completion of the first legs. Although many would argue that Middlesbrough's 2-1 victory away at Brentford puts them into pole position to reach the final at Wembley, the 'Bees' still at least have a chance. The East Anglian derby between Ipswich and Norwich was as lively as expected, but a 1-1 draw leaves the tie set up perfectly for the second leg at Carrow Road.
Brentford 1 Middlesbrough 2 (Half-time 0-1)
Boro took a narrow lead back to the north-east, after an injury-time winner stunned the home side at Griffin Park last Friday.
It had looked certain to finish all-square as the match drifted into the time added on by the referee in the second period. There was still time for one more twist in the game though, as substitute Fernando Amorebieta scored the winner via a slightly deflected left-foot strike.
The visitors had taken the lead on 26 minutes, when Jelle Vossen carefully guided his header into the corner of the net. The assist went to Adam Clayton, whose cross found the Belgian unmarked in the box.
It remained 1-0 up to the break, but the home side were gifted an equaliser nine minutes after the interval. A mix up in the usually secure Boro defence, allowed Andre Gray to charge down keeper Dimi Konstantopoulos' attempted clearance and slot the ball into the unguarded net.
The away side had the final word though to give them the advantage going into the second leg at home. With 30,000 fans behind them and boasting the tightest defensive unit in the Championship, Boro will start the second leg as the strong favourites. They have now beaten the 'Bees' three times this campaign. Many fans will also fondly remember their 4-0 demolition of the same opponents at the Riverside back in September.
Ipswich Town 1 Norwich City 1 (Half-time 1-1)
Norwich fans would have sensed that yet another victory over their bitter East Anglian rivals was on the cards, when they went ahead on 41 minutes at Portman Road. Cameron Jerome's neat pull back found midfielder Jonny Howson, who neatly slid his shot into the net.
Ipswich dragged themselves back level shortly afterwards though.
Paul Anderson (on as a 31st minute replacement for the injured Luke Varney) scrambled the rebound into the net, after John Ruddy could only parry Freddie Sears' shot.
As expected it developed into a hard-fought encounter. The second-half remained close with Norwich having the bulk of possession overall, but the shot count favoured the home side (17-13). Bradley Johnson went close for City, while Town's 27-goal top scorer Daryl Murphy saw his shot blocked by the visitor's defence, to ensure the scores remained level.
With away goals not counting double in the play-offs, there is every chance that at least one of the ties could go to extra -time and possibly penalties.
The second legs will be played as follows:
Friday, 15th May
Middlesbrough v Brentford (19:45)
Saturday, 16th May
Norwich v Ipswich (12:15)
