| Blackburn Rovers | Middlesbrough | ||
| [sent off] Williams | 45′ | Assombalonga | 19′ |
| Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls |
49% 5 1 4 8 |
Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls |
51% 26 7 5 9 |
Boro Renaissance at Rovers?
A Sunday morning trip across the Pennines in bright sunshine can be a very pleasant experience but when it’s with a depleted defence to face an ex-Manager plus a few ex-Players then TP may have been forgiven for having a few misgivings. Make do and mend would be the order of the day as Pulis was without both Ayala and Flint at the heart of his defence. Meanwhile Mowbray had supposedly rested Bradley Dack and Danny Graham in midweek for this one.
With the Season now well over the half way point the remaining downhill run of games until May are all becoming critical. West Brom aside the underwhelming nature of some performances of late meant that here we were now facing a “must win” game to ensure that we remain in that Play Off pack. TP looked to be going with a 442 based on the team announcement at mid-day with Howson at RB and Shotton partnering Fry in the middle of the defence and Friend as LB. Besic made a return to the starting line up as did surprise announcement Ashley Fletcher who presumably would be partnering Britt up top or maybe wide left with Wing on the right and Britt up on his own? There again would it be a back three of Shotton, Fry and Friend with Howson and Saville as the wing-backs? There was certainly more flexibility in this Boro line up than TP’s norm.
Mogga had restored Derrick Williams, Harrison Reed, Bradley Dack and Danny Graham in his side in an effort to stop the rot of a run of three straight defeats, eager to ensure this afternoon didn’t become a fourth. Harry Chapman didn’t make the Rovers squad which for me was a relief as I was in fear of the “Typical Boro” curse but both Jayson Leutwiler and Richie Smallwood were on the bench for Mogga.
Thanks to the rearranged time and live on Sky there was a much reduced Travelling Army than of late to Ewood Park which saw Bradley Dack kick off to get proceedings underway. Immediately the positioning on the pitch saw Howson and Saville as wing backs with a back three to answer the tactical conundrums pre kick off. A Shotton throw in in the second minute saw the central CB step out of the defence to launch a ball that was nodded on and looking dangerous but no Red shirt reacted at the far post. Blackburn cleared with Armstrong breaking dangerously up their left wing which ended with Besic marshalling the ball out for a goal kick.
A well worked sequence between Besic, Wing and Mikel saw Britt put though but the ball just had a little too much weight on it as Boro started positively. Another Shotton throw in on 6 minutes needed a strong punch from Raya which eventually came to Mikel who blasted the ball back in only to be blocked by what looked like a hand ball by Evans just outside the Rovers box but the Ref waved play on. A counter attack by Rovers was blocked by Mikel who in turn fed Wing and an inch perfect cross found Fletcher who rose to head it but it was straight at Raya who dealt with it comfortably.
Another Shotton long throw after Assombalonga had earned a throw in high up was cleared back out to Shotton who then put a cross in which was met by Britt but again the header was straight at Raya with perhaps a hint of offside in any case. In the opening fifteen minutes Boro had looked very comfortable, almost too comfortable in fact and you had the feeling that if we didn’t make this pressure count we could rue the cost later on.
A long clearance (or “hoof”) from Fry in the RB slot up field saw the ball bounce over Mulgrew and the alert Fletcher then latched onto the loose ball, unleashed a shot that was deflected off the same despairing Mulgrew’s boot to the far side of the box over his keeper where Britt powered a header home into an inviting net to put Boro deservedly one up. Three minutes later a well worked series of intricate tight passes on our left wing saw Lewis Wing swivel and take an audacious shot that went well wide and over Raya’s goal but the build-up play and move was an indication of the growing confidence levels in Boro.
On 27 minutes it was interesting to note that when Blackburn actually had their first set piece Fletcher was drafted back into the defence to add some height which was perhaps another reason for his inclusion as it happened he was the defender that cleared it. Things went a little quiet for Boro as Blackburn tried unconvincingly to apply some pressure over the next 5 minutes. A reckless Rodwell tackle in which he scythed through Britt saw him collect the game’s first yellow after a similar tackle on Saville in the opening stages went unpunished. A ball out of defence from Howson found Wing who drove forward with Britt asking for the ball to be played behind the defence but he opted for Fletcher who cut in but saw his shot hit the side netting.
A minute later another Boro foray saw Besic hit a low twenty yard shot for Raya to scramble down to it. Two off sides for Britt in almost as many seconds saw Rovers now living on the edge as Boro were looking good value for a second goal against a woeful Blackburn side. A warning however came in the form of a fiery cross in from Reid in the 39th minute which was the first bit of work that Randolph had to do in a half that Boro had totally dominated up until then.
The first serious “threat” from Blackburn came just two minutes before the break when Bennet put in a cross to Graham that saw Friend ghost in behind him and get his head to what looked like a certain goal. Assombalonga cleared the danger from the ensuing corner which was eventually given as a free kick to Boro but critically for Blackburn one from which Fletcher broke free and was brought down clumsily in the “D” to see Williams take an early bath and Rovers down to 10 men. The half ended as Boro’s first half’s so often do of late to a cacophony of boos but this time from those of a Blackburn persuasion as the travelling Army cheered and clapped their heroes off the pitch.
Injuries aside there was very little that Tony Pulis would want to change with his side after their first half performance in what was possibly the most measured, positive and entertaining of the season so far from Boro. Here we saw pace, movement off the ball, players running into spaces to receive and a fair bit of swagger for good measure. Mogga on the other hand already had a headache with Boro’s front two and now with a defender down and trying to get back into the game he had his work cut out. His response was to send Nyambe, Bell and Travis on for Rodwell, Brereton and Evans in what looked like either a statement of intent or annoyance with what had gone before.
Fletcher had an early shot at Raya after the restart then seconds later Wing rattled Raya’s crossbar from 25 yards out after a Fletcher knock down tee’ d him up. It was more of the same as Boro continued in the second half where they had left off in the first, in total dominance. Friend went flying down the wing but ran out of pitch despite playing as part of a back three and Howson done the same on the right. A break for Rovers by Sub by Bell needed Shotton to cut out the cross conceding a corner that was well defended. Interestingly Rovers had kept possession from the corner, passing and recycling but Boro defended, closed, chased and pressurised the Rovers players in their possession and eventually forcing them back to their keeper Raya.
Another effort from Fletcher was enthusiastically hit well over when in reality he should have played in a colleague but there was no doubting his desire and hunger. George Friend meanwhile went down worryingly needing some stretches with the Physio to sort himself as McNair warmed up. Right now Blackburn were enjoying their best spell and benefited strangely from Saville adjudged seemingly to have managed to up end an opponent from three yards away leading to a free kick in a similar position to the Blades one on Wednesday night but this one was headed wide.
McNair then came on for Friend going to the right of the three CB’s with Fry now going left. A clever ball from Wing played in across the 18 yard box found Saville whose shot was desperately blocked in the six yard box. The game was now getting scrappy which suited Rovers as they pushed for an equaliser with their man disadvantage seemingly irrelevant. What should have been comfortable for Boro was now looking dubious as Saville had a great chance but hit a poor shot on 65 minutes throwing away the opportunity to put the game to bed. We were sitting too deep again and needed to get the ball cleared with more control and composure to get Blackburn back under the cosh.
An impressive piece of well worked play between Saville, Besic and Britt eventually ended with Britt blasting the ball aimlessly over Raya’s goal. A cheeky Jonny Howson cross was dangerously dipping under the crossbar in the 70th minute requiring Raya to tip it over. From the corner Boro kept up the pressure leading to another corner before which Downing came on for Besic as Wing launched the corner straight into Raya’s grateful arms. Stewy had now taken took up the left wing back role as Saville was pushed forward. A long Boro clearance once again bounced and left Mulgrew lost for the second time but Britt fluffed his lines and just couldn’t get it under control and the moment was lost.
A repeat of Howson’s earlier cross come shot was repeated by Bell that had Randolph this time back pedalling. Another of those bouncing balls this time caught Shotton out allowing Danny Graham through in a one on one but thankfully the ball didn’t land kindly for him and his shot skewed well wide. Fletcher had another good chance but he shot meekly at Raya instead of squaring to Britt on 79 minutes. On eighty minutes Fletcher was replaced by Hugill more to add some fresh legs rather than a reflection on his overall game but we still did need that second goal.
A well worked set piece from Blackburn saw a free kick come across the Boro back line where Graham headed it back into the middle of the Boro box where Dack fired in a close range shot requiring Randolph to get down quickly preventing an equaliser with six minutes of normal time remaining. Things were slightly uncomfortable as Boro looked to close the game out knowing all too well that one slip would undo all the earlier good work.
Downing had a shot that went wide; Britt then had a chance but dallied too long allowing a covering defender to get in a block and all the time nerves in the away end were jangling. Seconds later a fast break saw Britt play a one two with Saville but Britt’s shot was again cleared in the 6 yard box going out for a corner. Mikel played Downing in with a precise through ball taking out three Blackburn defenders for Stewy to get a shot in but Elliot just done enough to put him off as the ninety minutes were almost up.
Boro played keep ball near the corner flag between Britt, Downing and Saville using up a minute of the three added on ones. A crazy Rovers back pass then saw Raya having to scramble to prevent a thirty yard own goal and his clearance found the lively Bell who forced a last second heart stopping corner. Was this to be it? Raya sprinted up and after some head tennis in the Boro box from said corner Randolph eventually claimed and calmed things as the final whistle went simultaneously.
One nil and all three points was a great result on a bright winter’s day in the North West but the second half saw us hanging in at times when we really should have put ten men Blackburn to the sword after a great first half and an optimistic opening ten minutes of the second. Twenty six efforts on the Blackburn goal yet only one goal to show for it were both great and disappointing in equal measure.
MOM was a tough one but thankfully for all the right reasons this time. There were some solid defensive performances from the three, Saville was full of tireless running and made things tick as did Wing along with Howson down the right. Fletcher done well despite his eagerness to score saw him make a few poor finishing decisions but there was no doubt his running led to both the goal and the sending off. Britt ran a lot more than usual, done some sterling defensive work and scored, Besic was calm and measured and done well but the one who shaded it for me was Mikel, he was majestic in the middle, routinely broke things up, shielded his defence and set up attacks.