| Championship | TUESDAY 13 AUGUST 2019 | League Two | ||
| Boro | 2-2 (PENS 2-4) |
Crewe | ||
| Fletcher (75) Bola (90+1) |
65% 15(3) 6 14 |
POSSESSION SHOTS (on target) CORNERS FOULS |
35% 10(3) 4 4 |
Porter (42) Kirk (45+1) |
Crewsin in the Carabao
Third time lucky for Boro or so they hoped tonight. Crewe Manager David Artell’s kind words about Boro in the build-up to the Carabao Cup first round tie would maybe extend to providing us with our first win of the season. It was anticipated that Woodgate would rotate his squad and those who had signed recently along with those who had been mere onlookers would get a chance to get 90 minutes under their belts and in doing stake a claim for a start at Blackburn on Saturday.
When the line-ups were announced only Clayts had survived from the previous two starting elevens with Pears and Walker getting the nod for their first team starting debuts along with newbies Dijksteel, Browne and Bola. The good news was that George Friend was deemed fit but there was still no sign of Dael Fry. Other notable starts were given to Walker and Wood with Liddle on the bench. Meanwhile Artell had made just three changes from his Crewe side that had faced Oldham at the weekend.
The game started at a fairly steady pace with the first real action coming on five minutes from a Walker attempt from the left at Richards in the Crewe goal after being set up by Saville. A set piece opportunity from a Crewe free kick saw Dale rise to meet a header leaving Saville for dead but somehow missed when scoring seemed easier. That was an early let off and warning for lacklustre Boro with less than ten minutes gone.
The game had a surreal atmosphere with only the West Stand open and the small away section on the opposite side of the Riverside. This may have affected the tempo but Boro just didn’t have that same level of intensity as they had when they had started their two previous games. A ball launched by youngster Wood at the back saw Browne set off but as was our problem on Saturday the linesman’s flag went up to pull things back. Come fifteen minutes Crewe had looked comfortable and far from out of their depth at the deserted Riverside. A corner from the Railwaymen was cleared out of the Boro box and saw Tavernier set off but the final ball was intercepted and Crewe were back in possession again, pushing forward as the game now looked to break sweat albeit barely.
On twenty minutes Woodgate was barking instructions. His charges just didn’t have that energy or intensity that was supposed to be the trademark of this season. The Boro performance this far into the game was like the atmosphere, fairly flat and uninspiring. Gestede put a ball across the Crewe goal mouth on just over twenty minutes but Walker was too far behind to get close enough to it. An overlapping run from the Crewe LB played a ball into our box requiring Woods to clear it out for a corner. Thirty minutes in and the most interesting talking point from a Boro perspective was Adam Clayton’s new haircut which was less Gender neutral than of late.
Our right and left backs Dijksteel and Bola seemed to be keeping things tight rather than the Howson and Coulson cavalier style of charging up field. Walker had a chance that came back out to Saville who couldn’t get a shot away and then Browne was next to have a go but it all ended in a free kick to Crewe and typified how the evening was going for Boro. Browne and Pickering were getting involved in their own personal duel with a few niggly exchanges between the two which didn’t reflect what was going on elsewhere on the pitch. A Bola run down the left played in Tavernier whose strike hit a defender for Boro’s first corner on thirty-five minutes. The corner ended with a Gestede attempt on goal. Crewe broke up the pitch from that corner with Porter who couldn’t beat the two red shirts closing in on him but his theatrical dive was ignored by the Ref.
So far despite the ten changes Boro looked like they had picked up where they had left off in the second half against Brentford. Dale then had a good chance for the visitors which was cleared by Saville as Crewe were clearly more than equal to their Championship opposition and growing in confidence.
Forty minutes was approaching and a few cans of WD40 wouldn’t have gone amiss based on what was on display thus far into the contest. The signs were all there that lacklustre Boro would be lucky not to find themselves undone. Crewe racked up their third corner realising their opponents were far from Championship class tonight. They worked a good passage of play the through the middle of the pitch and a ball across the face of Pears’ goal saw Chris Porter head in. That one goal advantage was no less than they deserved as Boro just simply looked disinterested and second rate with nobody coming out of that first half with any credit.
The goal boosted Crewe’s self-belief and with it Boro were starting recriminations between themselves as frustration grew between Saville and Gestede. To rub salt in the wounds the League Two opponents then counter attacked in the second minute of added time and as Dale skinned Bola Charlie Kirk was the grateful recipient to put the visitors two up as the Boro bench cut a very forlorn and hopeless sight. Ref Mike Salisbury blew for the half time break to a crescendo of boos from the scant Boro attendees which in reality will like as not have been the real die hards. A team full of strangers with absolutely no game plan or if there was one it looked like the eleven on the pitch had been on their phones and iPads during the team talk instead of paying attention. Nobody looked like they had a clue of who was supposed to be where or doing what throughout that half.
The second half commenced unsurprisingly with the arrival of Assombalonga and McNair to try and rescue Boro faces that resembled their shirt colour. For the second game running at the Riverside the opposition Managers tactics had unpicked and dissected Boro. Clayton and Walker were the two to make way but in truth you could have picked any two from those outfield ten. Boro were still looking pretty flat and devoid of structure and belief as the malaise of the first half continued. As frustrations built up Saville found his way into the Referee’s book and then the West Stand found reason to cheer when Gestede’s number came up on the board morphing to jeers and boos as he trudged off after another less than impressive outing. Ashley Fletcher came on in his place with the major task of trying to polish that last third!
McNair flew an effort wide and then was the provider after a run for Fletcher who curled his effort past Richards to make it 1-2 and provide slender hope. Wood came on for Crewe to try and stem the late Boro fightback and cling onto their solitary goal advantage. Britt had a twenty-yard effort but the trajectory was consistent with his penalties. Lowry then came off for Crewe with Jones replacing him with ten minutes remaining. Fletcher who along with McNair had injected some drive since arriving then turned provider for Tavernier whose shot was blocked.
Another chance for Browne called the Crewe Keeper Dave Richards into action as Boro were knocking and Crewe were now seemingly content to hold onto what they had. Richards again had to clean up from Tavernier with just two minutes remaining. Four minutes were added for Boro to save what little self esteem they had and as soon as the fourth officials board had gone down Marc Bola calmly hit a fizzed Fletcher ball to equalise through a crowded box. There was no time for celebrating as McNair was forced to intercept and break up a Crewe offensive immediately from the restart. Those remaining minutes were manic as Boro looked to push home their ascendancy but the whistle sounded for full time and penalties.
With the Players huddled together penalty responsibilities were being allocated as both Keepers focussed their thoughts. First off up stepped Chris Porter to put Crewe one up, Britt up next for Boro, stuttered and of course missed (who’d have guessed it), Green put the next one past Pears to make it two nil, Fletcher sent his to the left and low to pull one back. The next one went past Pears for 3-1, McNair placed his confidently into the top left giving Richards no chance, 3-2. Jones then drove his down the middle as Pears dived to his right for 4-2. Then came Browne for Boro and needing to score his weak, tame effort was easily saved by Dave Richards. That was it, Crewe deservedly went through into the next round draw and another few lessons hopefully learnt albeit many of them predictable and played out true to form. MOM for Boro was a joint one between McNair and Fletcher who rescued the evening if only for a short while.