Preston 1 – 1 Boro

Preston Middlesbrough
Browne 43′ Tavernier 46′
Possession
Shots
On target
Corners
Fouls
64%
13
4
7
15
Possession
Shots
On target
Corners
Fouls
36%
11
3
5
14

Tav trumps Tony’s tactical torpidity

Redcar Red reports on Boro’s draw at Deepdale…

This game seemed to come around almost too quickly after the vacuum created by the International Football break, two empty weeks then suddenly two games in four days. We barely had time to enjoy the away win at Brentford on Saturday evening when in-form Preston were next up on our travels. Still it’s better to be going into games in such a congested manner on a high than on a downer. The same equally applied to Preston who had put together an impressive run of results themselves of late to claw their way back up the Championship table after a disappointing start to their season.

Boro didn’t have any fresh injury concerns after Brentford whilst Preston had lost their player of the season to date Callum Robinson with a long-term Hamstring injury against Mogga’s Blackburn. The loss of Robinson meant that the Lillywhites had a serious shortage in attack with Harrop, Bodin, Johnson and Sean Maguire all out. Ironically tonight’s game would see the return of former Deepdale striking hero Jordan Hugill to hopefully rub salt into their wounds. Despite their injury woes (and that solitary Alex Neil victory over Boro) on the back of an eight-game unbeaten run the Lillywhites would be a tough nut to crack tonight.

When the Boro side was announced there must have been a flurry of frantic phone calls to Cuadrilla HQ across the North West as the word “fracking” was repeated so many times in the away end a seismic event was a distinct possibility. In came Gestede, Saville, Wing and Ayala and out went Besic, Downing, Howson and Tavernier. Tav and Howson were on the bench alongside Braithwaite but Besic and Downing were both out of the squad. In the beginning it looked like two up top with three CB’s and Friend and Fry providing some width. I use the word “looked” loosely as it was difficult at times to see who was supposed to be doing what with a completely new look midfield of Wing, Saville and Clayts. It was at times pure guesswork as to who was where, when and why. The early hope was that Wing may grab a goal but all semblance hope expired very quickly. On paper it certainly looked like a forward thinking side but given the calibre of some it certainly didn’t feel that way.

Preston started proceedings but as quickly as Boro had an early set piece they were nearly immediately undone by Barker who ripped down the left-hand side and but for Lewis Wing getting back we would have been one down with mere seconds on the clock. Preston continued in the same vein from that point on with Boro happy to concede possession but at times it felt that we were sitting too deep. After 15 minutes the pressure was starting to build on the disconnected Boro defence and once again Wing had to intervene to prevent a gilt-edged Preston opportunity with consequential remonstrations between the three CB’s and midfield. Preston’s second corner of the game led to claims of a goal by the Preston bench and players as Flint cleared off the line after the ball had cannoned off the post. Boro were under the cosh and whatever TP’s logic and tactical plan was it clearly had less hope and support than Theresa May’s.

Considering all the injuries Alex Neil had to deal with you wouldn’t have guessed which squad was decimated with injuries as Boro were struggling to not only break out of their own half but to get any semblance of a credible attacking movement. Before twenty minutes were on the clock TP had shuffled his pack and had square pegged players all over the park. We were all wondering what on earth was the point of all those pre kick-off changes? We ended up with Hugill shunted out wide operating in a Stuani/McDonald type role perhaps with Rudy Gestede now functioning (used loosely) as a lone Striker?

Given that the prize before kick-off tonight was to maybe go top of the League if Norwich faltered it looked very unlikely in the opening twenty minutes that Boro would be going anywhere in a northerly direction. The opening stats must have been embarrassing as Preston were totally dominant; Boro unsurprisingly looked like a team full of strangers with alien tactics topping things off. The old adage of “if it isn’t broke don’t fix it” was clearly lost on Tony Pulis when it came to selecting his team tonight. That urgent, white flagged re-shuffle of the Pulis Pack was as a direct response to Preston’s possession dominance. It at least started to take the sting out of the game as the match approached the half hour mark.

Poor Rudy Gestede didn’t last until that half hour mark as he suddenly went down unopposed and played no further part. I find it bizarre that Players who have long-standing suspect injuries don’t experience a relapse over weeks of rehab and training but as soon as they play in a competitive game that weakness returns? Something has to be very flawed behind the scenes with either training or the physio’s regime in claiming players are back to full fitness.

Anyway Tav came on and immediately forced a corner and Boro suddenly looked a different proposition, more alert, energetic and lively. The Pulis pack had been forcibly shuffled again on Tav’s arrival with Ayala looking to be playing on the right side of defence and Fry central in the Clayton role shielding Batth and Flint, bizarre doesn’t begin to describe it. How we got to this state is a story in itself but as soon as Tav came on we were lifted and confidence levels looked rejuvenated. It’s a harsh judgement but at kick-off it looked like either the players were totally confused or simply didn’t believe in the tactics.

A fantastic corner in from Wing should have resulted in a goal but it somehow went out for another Boro corner. The contrast between this stage and the opening twenty five minutes was now unrecognisable. Seconds later Wing had a dipping shot which was just too high and went over as we seemed to finally settle into the game. Preston then came back into the game mainly via Barkhuizen and Barker who were there most lively players. A free kick for Boro just before half-time was taken by Saville but it was poor and a weak claim for an infringement of Tav was about the best hope we had with the set piece. In fairness both Wing’s and Saville’s set piece plays had been delivered to a higher standard than usual which is perhaps more than could be said for Saville’s general open play, which has probably opened more questions about the sanity of that ludicrous forthcoming fee.

Two minutes before the interval the inevitable happened as Randolph was beaten by a wicked shot from Browne who left the Boro defence for dead and gave the ROI keeper no chance as Preston deservedly went one up. Moult started the move in the middle of the pitch, passing to Browne, who laid it off to Barker wide left. Driving forward Barker played the ball across to Browne who side-stepping Batth despatched it past Randolph into the left-hand corner.

Our failure to make that little bit of pressure count came back to haunt us as Preston now went into the break one goal up and it has to be said deservedly so. TP was going to have to unravel the mess of his own making during his half-time team talk to hopefully repeat his feat of last season at Deepdale.

Why TP deemed it necessary to change a settled and wining side so much seemed naive in isolation for such an experienced manager and didn’t make sense. My guess is that he woefully underestimated Preston and had one eye on Saturday’s fixture against Villa -hence the extreme tinkering. The first half was very poor and in no way did we remotely look like a side capable of automatic promotion, in fact we looked more like a mid to lower table side, which considering the starting eleven and then Ayala playing out right was perhaps no surprise. That Preston goal epitomised the messed up Boro midfield and disastrous mixed up defence.

It appeared that TP held his hand up and realised the sheer madness of whatever was scribbled on his note pad as Ayala didn’t come out for the second half with Braithwaite on in his place. Fry was now restored to right-back and immediately the link-up between Fry and Tavernier led to Tav screaming through towards the Preston goal with Hugill lining himself up to receive it centrally in the box. Tav instead took it himself, levelling the scores by calmly slotting the ball between the keeper and a defender when squaring it to Hugill seemed the better option. Before those jubilations were complete Lewis Wing went down looking very groggy and had to be replaced by Howson and all before the half was two minutes old.

Howson was in the action immediately defending a corner and then as we looked to get out he gave the ball away and as Preston played it around patiently, a shot saw Randolph sparing our blushes to send it wide for a second Preston corner in five minutes. Whilst we were extremely grateful for Tav’s goal it asked even more questions of what the coaching staff see at Rockliffe week in, week out because it appears that what Gestede does and what Marcus Tavernier does would confound the intellect of Einstein because it clearly baffles Pulis, Woodgate and Fleming.

Since the equaliser Preston were pushing back hard and we had to defend for our lives. The restored back line of Fry, Batth, Flint and Friend with Clayts in front proved its worth asking more questions of whose idea it was to set the side up the way they did in the first half. Another nervy gaffe by Howson set Preston away again as he was struggling to get up to the pace of the game, clearly being dropped to the bench didn’t have the desired effect. A Friend cross then saw a Tav header that just didn’t have enough on it but at least the lad was getting in the right places. It has to be said that as rusty as Howson looked Braithwaite by comparison had been entirely absent since his arrival, in fact at this stage he had been completely anonymous.

Suddenly Braithwaite came to life at last, found Tavernier with a well weighted ball who once again proved a handful for the Preston defence who were looking very nervous every time the young lad got anywhere near the ball. A Howson ball over the top to Tavernier saw another break involving Clayton and ended with Saville just missing in a lovely quick and slick break. Without the outlet Tavernier provides that move wouldn’t have been thought off let alone acted upon.

It was now Tav’s turn to pick out Braithwaite who was blocked unceremoniously as Preston gave away a free kick. Giving a set-piece opportunity to a side that under Pulis is supposedly our strong point but of late these had flattered to deceive. Howson rolled the free kick to Braithwaite who fired it into the box but it was defended and went out to Fry, who sent it in to Batth who missed the target. In the next phase of play George Friend put Randolph under pressure with a silly back pass and nearly allowed Preston back in front. Moult then went off for Preston with Nmecha coming on to replace him.

A mix up between Saville and Hugill led to a break down the Preston left with Barkhuizen and Barker once again stretching Boro, who needed another young lad Fry to come to the rescue. An injury to Clarke enabled Preston to run the clock down as the Preston physio attended to him, then changed his shirt and attended to him some more, before finally leaving the pitch. As soon as he came back on he was prevented from scoring by a Braithwaite clearance.

Another slick Howson, Clayton, Saville move saw Tavernier run through on Declan Rudd in the Preston goal and going down a little too easily earned him the wrath of Rudd, followed by some verbal’s in his defence from Clayts, for which all three received a yellow card in a no nonsense triple booking. Some desperate defending now from Boro cheated Clarke and after failing to fully clear their lines the ball came back in to Storey, who as centre-backs do, emulated Aden Flint’s effort against Brentford on Saturday and thankfully blasted it over with two minutes remaining.

A Preston free kick in the centre circle saw a long speculatively taken ball come to nothing to ease the pressure on Boro. Four minutes was displayed by the fourth official as the game hung in the balance. A dubious free kick given away by Flint saw another long Preston free kick hoofed into the Boro box with Flint himself clearing the danger and earning an equally dubious free kick in the process. Two minutes left and this time a Boro free kick on the half-way line was glanced out for a goal kick by Hugill. A short game of head tennis between Gallagher and Flint ended with Tavernier and Howson breaking and another opportunity for Hugill who reverted to type going down feebly earning a yellow card and with it ended the contest.

Before kick-off tonight a point away from home against a side that hadn’t lost in eight games would have to be considered a decent result by most of us. Overall the evening left us with a taste of what could have been had TP not had a tactical meltdown and in doing so surrendering a chance of all three points. The MOM can only be one player (it did momentarily cross my mind to award it to Gestede the grim humour probably isn’t appropriate given that it seems that he may have a serious career threatening problem) it undeniably has to go to Marcus Tavernier who had the sort of impact that we used to hope that Adama Traore would have on many occasions last season except that Tav actually has an end product.

Seeing the positives, two away games in quick succession yielding an average of two points a game is good form but the worry is that had Gestede not picked up an injury we would have likely lost that game and perhaps by a damaging margin so poor were the tactics, organisation, set-up and selection. Let’s hope lessons have been learned and we get back to basics against Villa. Despite the four points from two away games our defence has been uncomfortably overly reliant on Randolph of late and looks far from the lock-out kings of the EFL. The midfield didn’t function tonight but it’s hard to pin the blame solely with them given the shuffling both there and at the back, over-thinking nearly cost us a point that could prove crucial come May.

If you wish to leave a comment about Redcar Red’s match report please return to the Week 15 discussion page