| Middlesbrough | Derby County | ||
| Bogle | 84′ (og) | Friend | 19′ (og) |
| Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls | 41% 10 0 9 12 | Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls | 59% 18 7 4 10 |
Randolph rescues outclassed Boro
This match pitched joint top Boro with the media darlings “Frank Lampard’s Derby”. Boro have been spluttering lately and look anything but a coherent Promotion chasing side yet somehow they have clung to an automatic promotion spot mainly due to the ineptness of the others rather than their own form and belief. Belief was the key word for today’s clash and Derby had it by the bucketful after resounding successes over the Baggies and the Blades and came to the Riverside looking to make it a treble of “B” scalps in a little over a week.
Boro had won nine out of their previous eleven home games against the Rams but last year’s 3-0 loss is still fresh in Boro supporter’s memory. This time around Derby seem to be in fine free flowing goal scoring form while Boro in contrast couldn’t score if their lives depended on it at the Riverside. The painful display against Rotherham on Tuesday night just topped a series of confused insipid displays with the Manager’s tactics being called into question for the first time since his arrival. TP was yet again uttering how his side need to be more clinical in the final third, well with nigh on £40M worth of striking “talent” at his disposal the fans were a little more direct on Tuesday night signing off with a chorus of boos. TP’s tenure is now at a questionable hurdle for the first time since taking over the reins from Garry Monk and Derby are either the worst side to face under such circumstances or the best depending upon your outlook.
Shotton would definitely be missing for Boro as would Bryson for the Rams along with George Evans and Joe Ledley. Boro fans were mostly interested in how many CB’s would be playing and how many benched as oppose to the final selected eleven. TP restored Dael Fry at the expense of Braithwaite who swapped seats on the bench with the youngster which was just as well as Fry made two crucial clearance headers in the opening five minutes to prevent Derby taking an early lead. Maybe it was the weather but Boro started in slow motion, almost frozen as they chased the shadows of the Derby youngsters. McNair had continued as he had for Northern Ireland recently and against Rotherham on Tuesday night looking completely ill at ease in the RB role. He stood off his man, giving them time and space repeatedly and it was only going to be a matter of time before the totally dominant Rams punished us down that flank.
Another foray down our weak right flank saw another cross fired into Marriott who fortunately headed wide just after those two Fry headers and with less than ten minutes gone we could and perhaps should have been three nil down as we were clinging on rather than defending doggedly. Derby are notoriously quick and precise on the offensive but equally notorious for being edgy, nervous, desperate and porous at the back. Considering that this is both well known and often debated it was a surprise to see TP’s tactics completely implode in the opening spell. We were so far off the pace that had it not been for Randolph we could have been four of five goals behind in the opening quarter hour.
Boro’s opening spell was as tactically impoverished as I can remember for a very long time. It seemed as though no pre-planning or scouting had taken place and Derby’s game plan was a complete surprise to the Boro dug out. After Tuesday night the home fans were starting to boo and jeer, negative, jittery back passes borne out of the hopelessness of the way the side had been set up and the glaring repeated weakness of shoehorning McNair into a role that he has shown he isn’t comfortable with. Everything about Boro was wrong, the nervous Derby defence were under no pressure from the isolated slow and lumbering Assombalonga. Apart from Randolph, Boro were very poor in every department.
The positive was that at least we were being entertained by the Derby kids who simply tortured us over every blade of grass by quick, incisive, slick passing movements. It was like watching a squash ball ping around the Easter Island giant statues. After Wilson had an effort palmed over by Randolph and a free kick that went just over the inevitable and long overdue the opening goal came on 19 minutes after McNair made a hash of escorting the ball out harmlessly and pinged the ball back to Downing who couldn’t control it and the cross came in from Malone evading all three CB’s to find Waghorn who with the help of Friend’s close attentions somehow managed to get the ball over the line.
At this point had the contest been in a boxing ring the towel would have been thrown in to save the pugilist from a pulverising. Undeservedly and against the run of play a misjudged back pass at the Derby defence allowed Besic throw who slipped the ball across to Britt who seemed to be wearing clown shoes instead of football boots as he delayed deploying a shot past Carson. The chance was gone and with it any hope we may have had to avoid a total humiliation. The only other effort of merit was a Downing ball played into Flint who seemed to get under the ball which is now his default heading position and Carson was never worried.
Derby had enjoyed something like 80% of the possession at this stage and the only surprise in that stats was that Boro then by default must have had 20 per cent possession at some point unless that included the absent ball boys taking an eternity to retrieve the ball apart from the lad in the NW corner who showed more reflexes than TP’s “Men”. The brief moments when we had the ball we looked shocked and frightened made worse by Besic trying the most ridiculous back heel just outside his own box gifting Derby another opportunity as if they needed it. It will be interesting to see if the same rule of being dropped applies to the big money stars as it does to the Boro lads?
Belatedly TP realised that if he didn’t change something and quickly then the afternoon could turn out to be his Waterloo. Home Boos had resurfaced as the fans saw a disjointed team lacking any belief or the wherewithal to clear their heads. Fry was shuffled out to RB and McNair pushed further forward to form the right side of the midfield as we switched to a back four. Derby weren’t finished as they hit the post after more heroics from Randolph saved our blushes. Almost immediately we looked better balanced, more stable and McNair looked more comfortable removed from the firing line of playing RB.
In an effort to make up for his aberration moments earlier Besic was now trying to drive his team-mates forward but his dazzling dribbles tended to be in isolation and on his own unique wavelength. In the dying moments of the half a scrambled clearance from a Boro corner almost netted an equaliser just before the break.
The half time was going to be an interesting one because the reality is that whatever game plan and tactics that had been scouted and worked on needed ripping up and set on fire to ensure they could never be accidentally uncovered and redeployed in the future. The policy of picking the big signings and loanees rather than abilities and variety meant that TP had little in his locker to change things other than the same old same old.
The second half restarted with no changes from either manager which wasn’t surprising from a Derby perspective but borderline hilarious from a Boro one given the total failure of the first half at every level. Boro looked a little less distressed and exposed with Fry behind McNair but our “style” of football was to hump it high which meant that things inevitably came straight back at us as Britt could neither jump nor control or hold onto the ball. Indeed it was a comical attempt to control a wide ball near the corner flag where his left leg seemingly tackled his right leg to conspire to turn a rare attack into a goal kick. This was rightly just about the last contribution from Britt as he was hooked at the next opportunity for Rudy Gestede along with Besic for Saville. The Besic switch was a bizarre one, a player who could be unpredictable but maybe unlock the Derby defence for a steady defensive Championship midfielder who quickly attracted the attention of the fans for passing backwards, not spotting opening and generally slowing things down, losing possession and putting us under pressure.
Just a few minutes previous to all this in fact after only five minutes of the half, the hapless Paddy McNair had been replaced by Braithwaite. Downing was now switched to the right in front of Fry with Braithwaite operating on the left and big Rudy up front. Derby looked to be entering a control and containment mode while Boro just looked desperate and lacking any game plan other than hoof clearances up field. Hoof passes up field in the hope that Rudy wins something and at least in bypassed the Derby youngsters in the middle of the park who put simply had been impossible to live with from a Boro perspective.
George Friend had a one two moment and found himself in nosebleed territory and unfortunately as is usually the case with George the chance came to nothing. With 25 minutes left Nugent came on for the Rams to a warm generous applause from the Home support as Boro were looking a little more composed but still had yet to register a single shot at Carson. What wouldn’t we have given for a Nugent type Striker to come on in place of those we find ourselves at the club!
It didn’t take long for Nugent to register a shot or for Wilson to test the effervescent Randolph again with a free kick for a foul on the ex Boro Striker. In stark contrast Friend fired a low ball across the box for Gestede to have a carbon copy of Britt’s miss against Rotherham in the same spot in the same goalmouth. A minute later a pin perfect cross to Gestede’s head saw him glance his header wide of an open goal. An earlier challenge with Waghorn had left Rudy limping for the rest of the game which may have hindered his agility.
The contest should have been wrapped up again by Nugent who fortunately must have been wearing his Typical Boro boots as Randolph somehow managed to smother the danger yet again. Another hoofed ball saw Ayala flick on his header to Flint who once again failed to get any accuracy on his header. As the clock was running down and most of us had resigned ourselves to another defeat along with yet another Riverside game without a Boro goal another high ball came in which was headed on to loop into the Derby box beyond the hampered Gestede and Bogle could have left it but somehow got a shin or at least some part of his lower leg to send it past the sprawling Carson to level it at 1-1. Embarrassed smiles and laughter momentarily broke out in the North Stand before the celebrations. The remaining few minutes including injury time saw the game more open than it had been all afternoon with Boro even having the temerity to nick another while Derby cleared their heads. It finished with the Boro somehow avoiding a hammering and fluking a draw in the end.
Any relief from today’s draw must be short-lived. A pattern is developing and Boro despite the best efforts of others not to leave them behind are slipping. We are 17th in the form table for the last 6 home games, for the last 4 home games the reading is even worse seeing us in 22nd spot.
There was an obvious MOM, Darren Randolph was incredible and single-handedly saved TP and half a dozen of his team mates from a deserved savage outpouring on the final whistle. Excuses about missed chances and so many crosses wear very thin when it is blindingly obvious what the problem is or at least in part. Recruitment have brought in players that are no better than what was already at the club and indeed poorer in many instances. The fact that they are getting a place in the starting line-up and on the bench does nobody any favours. Where we are in the table has much to be admired but where we could be had our buying/loaning and selling and selection been more astute could be a legacy that we rue for decades to come if not admitted and addressed.
Today the youth of Derby tore us apart and humiliated static, staid footballers who could not live with them let alone cope. We have endured four games now without a Riverside Boro goal apart from Bogle getting TP out of a hole of his own making today. Three points from a possible twelve; this isn’t survival form let alone promotion.