| Pos. 22nd (12 pts) | SATURDAY 26 OCTOBER 2019 | Pos. 5th (23 pts) | ||
| Boro | 0-0 | Fulham | ||
| 56% 14(1) 5 16 |
POSSESSION SHOTS (on target) CORNERS FOULS |
44% 7(1) 2 9 |
▮ Rodák (17) | |
Cottagers Blank Boro
After the trouncing of Southampton by Leicester last night there were a few of us fearing a similar repetition this afternoon at a moody and wet Riverside with the visit of Fulham and one-time Boro target (yet another if only!) Aleksander Mitrovic who scores every time he sneezes. The total contrast between their main Striker and our own couldn’t be more extreme not helped by Boro being bottom of the Championship Form Table.
Fulham have had the odd blip this season so it wasn’t beyond the realms of possibility that a Saturday afternoon on a cold and wet Teesside may not be to the liking of the boys from the capital. If they turned up fired up then youngster Aynsley Pears could be in for a baptism of fire. Another Boro youngster Coulson was in contention for a start after a few months lay off having had a run out in the second half on Wednesday night. Friend and Gestede were still out injured along with Randolph. Fulham’s only injury concern was if Bournemouth loanee Harry Arter would be available after missing midweek.
Having the joint lowest Championship home goals tally (5) this season it was unlikely we would witness a goal fest from Boro today and keeping things tight at the back would likely be the game plan. Scott Parkers side had lost just once in their last six games picking up eleven points (equal to Boro’s tally for the entire season) whilst Woodgate’s Boro had lost four and earned two draws and just two points over the same period.
Boro team news saw Shotton and Johnson missing and what initially looked like a back four with Coulson coming in at LB. It meant that the one area of the side that had started to look settled was now shuffled putting a young inexperienced Keeper under greater pressure.
Presumably Shotton’s absence was forced but the dropping of Johnson meant that only Howson, Fry and Ayala remained from what appears to be our best defensive five plus keeper. The hope was that McNair would drop back and maintain the back five, if so it made the dropping of Johnson from that five all the more bizarre.
Facing two consecutive away trips after today this was our nearest home game to 11th November so a minute’s silence was observed (apart from a few mindless morons) in a sparsely populated Riverside before Fulham got proceedings underway. McNair thankfully did take up a spot in the defence whilst both teams were resplendent in their normal first choice strips with no garish third strips or combinations in sight.
Fulham started the livelier unsurprisingly but in the fourth minute Fletcher broke away down the right but his end effort went disappointingly wide. A ball rescued by and then crossed in from Howson after a mix up between Tav and Britt was almost met by Saville but he was adjudged to have been offside. Moments later Britt was left writhing after a collision as Boro launched another assault. An enterprising start in fairness from Boro considering the pre-game fears.
A disputed corner kick was awarded to Fulham in the eighth minute which was cleared by Howson feeding Tav scampering clear, finding Fletcher but his shot missed the target completely. Aynsley Pears then dropped a ball into his box whilst back peddling on ten minutes to raise a few heart rates but recovered in what was the first serious question asked of him. A move between Mitrovic and Reid ended with Reid shaping up but Ayala was solid in blocking the threat with a quarter of an hour now gone.
A minute later Fulham had another effort with Cavaleiro skinning Coulson but it went out for a goal kick as Fulham now started to exert some real pressure in the game. On seventeen minutes a peach of a ball from Wing from one side of the pitch to the other over half the length of the pitch saw Howson give chase with Fulham Keeper Rodak advancing outside his box to handle and earn a straight red card from Ref Peter Banks. The Fulham Keeper protested his innocence which was comedy gold considering how far he was outside of his box. Marcus Bettinelli was then brought on to replace the errant Keeper and Onomah was sacrificed in his place. Boro now had a free kick from the sending off and crucially facing ten men. Incredibly the resultant Boro free kick was entirely wasted as the luke warm Keeper wasn’t even tested in a poorly executed effort.
A Coulson cross to Britt went beyond him but the ball came back to Coulson who found Fletcher but the flag went up as Boro were looking to make their extra man count. The game was approaching thirty minutes and those pre kick-off jitters eased by the sending off. Howson won a throw in off Joe Bryan and the ball was then whipped in by the same Howson and was turned away for a Boro corner. Boro kept the pressure on Fulham and this time it was Coulson who tried his chance from long range albeit wayward.
Mitrovc took advantage after a miss control from Ayala, finding Fulham Captain Cairney but his shot went over. Coulson then broke and found Fletcher but he couldn’t connect. Pears had to be alert after we were exposed down the flank and a fierce Reed shot almost reached Mitrovic. We were passing the ball around but Fulham were sitting deep frustrating Boro until Wing played in Britt who missed a great headed opportunity putting the ball across the front of goal from the back post. From underdogs at the start Boro were now in the ascendency pressing Fulham, leading to a corner with Wing firing in a shot which nearly broke for Saville but went out for a corner. Ayala met the corner but his header went wide. The chances for Boro were growing but wayward, so far Bettinelli hadn’t been tested at all since arriving onto the pitch. Plenty of endeavour from Boro but looking short of composure and speed.
Tavernier was yellow carded for a rash challenge on Cairney showing frustration I suspect as the youngster like many in Red had struggled to make any real impression on the game despite the man advantage. Mitrovic fed Bryan whose shot was smothered by Pears but the fear was that in the build-up the big Serbian was just inviting a challenge inside the Boro box to go down.
As the half drew to a close Tavernier required treatment as the game took a breather, Browne warmed up with both technical areas taking the opportunity to issue instructions. Things were not looking good for Tav as his treatment took a couple of minutes and he made no effort to get up onto his feet. As Tav hobbled off Caveleiro immediately cut in after the restart and his effort went wide as Boro were caught cold with both sides now playing with ten men. Four minutes came up on the fourth officials board.
The half ended ten v ten and Coulson adding to the yellow card count but at least Boro had the option to restart the second half with a full compliment of eleven but it was unlikely if Tavernier would make it judging by his hobbling and strapping on his ankle. Presumably Woodgate and Keane decided to wait and consider the change rather than immediately kneejerk with a like for like change and they may tactically use the break to their advantage.
Any thoughts of Tactical astuteness from our management duo were unfounded as Boro started the second half with eleven but to the surprise of most of us Tavernier convinced both the Physio and Woodgate that he was fit enough to continue. Considering he hadn’t been an influencer before his knock I was surprised that he was risked any further. On fifty minutes he did manage to get a ball into the box which evaded everyone in a Red shirt. Bryan then attacked down our right getting past Howson firing in a shot come cross across Pears’ goal with Cavaleiro closing in but he just couldn’t time his arrival. There was a real danger that our total inability to create attempts on target could come back and bite us.
Fletcher and Britt both challenged for a Howson cross and in doing so put each other off but fortunately for the pair of them the Lino’s flag went up for offside sparing their blushes. The longer the game was going on without Boro threatening Bettinelli the more likely it was looking that we would fall to a sucker punch. News filtered through that Huddersfield were beating Barnsley and we were now in the relegation zone as the home fans were becoming frustrated at the lack of penetration and the slow motion two touch predictable football. A slip from Wing allowed Decordova-Reid to let fly from distance but was well covered by Pears. The growing pressure from the stands was clearly being felt out on the pitch as sixty minutes ticked by with Boro now looking as though they had run out of belief, passing the ball sideways and backwards retreating into a shell.
A challenge from Denis Odoi after Wing played in Fletcher led to a Boro corner. McNair’s delivery evaded everyone including the Red shirts in Bettinelli’s box. Saville then came off for Marcus Browne as it appeared the increasing disdain from the home fans had percolated through to the Boro Coaching team. Twenty minutes remaining and Boro needed to seriously up the tempo, our Strikers needed to prove their worth now more than ever. Bryan broke free and crossed to Mitrovic who should have scored but thankfully he finished his header like Ayala had previously by sending it over when we expected him to kill us off. Fulham were now looking the more likely to get something out of this game and as another Fulham attack ended in a goal kick, the tiring Coulson who had been subject to a few recent torrid moments was replaced by Marvin Johnson.
A bizarre backheeled ball from Britt to Howson just illustrated how out of sync, he currently is with his team mates. Frustrating didn’t come close to describing how we were slowly losing the momentum and with it the upper hand as Fulham now sensed that we offered very little threat and at times it even looked as though they had the extra man. McNair led a determined bloody-minded fixed bayonet charge out of defence and as he ran through the Fulham team Reid scythed him down collecting a card in a much-needed piece of Boro positivity. Twenty-five yards out and Lewis Wing beat the wall with the free kick, his effort going low hitting the upright.
Johnson fed Britt who in turn won a throw in off Mawson as Boro looked a little more assertive since Marvin’s arrival but the next phase of play saw Britt adjudged to have fouled Bettinelli who milked the challenge taking full opportunity to run down the clock. Another Boro attack ended as Cavaleiro robbed Britt after he dithered, you could now almost smell and taste the home crowd’s frustration. Ten minutes of normal time remained and Boro desperately needed a goal to get themselves out of the relegation spot. Tension in the stands were palpably straining under the pressure. A Fulham assault involving Mitrovic was ended with a well-timed Marvin Johnson challenge. Knockaert was then brought on for Decordova-Reid as Scott Parker sensed his side could take all three points from this game.
A Boro corner was delivered in by Johnson which saw Mitrovic head clear as Knockaert raced away only for Howson to win the sprint and set Boro back on the attack from which a deflected shot went out for another Boro corner. With just over five minutes to go Cavaleiro then went off for Le Marchand as Parker played his last throw of the dice. McNair uncharacteristically lost possession on the half way line and tugged back Mitrovic to rescue the situation picking up a yellow for his error. Boro now looked to be out of ideas with the Cottagers exerting their way back into the game with Mitrovic firing a shot in at Pears as they poured forward. Two minutes remaining and a Howson cross was met by Browne but although he connected his header glanced well wide of the Fulham goal.
Mawson then nearly found Knockaert but Fry broke away winning a free kick for Boro in the process. It was taken quickly and when the cross came in it was easy pickings for Bettinelli. A nervy Ayala slip then nearly let Fulham escape with all three points. A few innocuous looking Boro build ups in added time were eventually cleared by Mawson and then a break saw Mitrovic protesting that he was fouled as Pears collected the ball. Meanwhile the big Serbian rolled around attempting to run down the clock further.
A last second Johnson cross was met by McNair but his effort was straight at Bettinelli recording our only effort on target (I may stand corrected on that but I couldn’t recall another). The final whistle went to a chorus of boos. Despite playing against ten men for seventy-three minutes Boro never looked like troubling Bettinelli and ended the day in the relegation zone. This game had all the feeling of the end of something or at the very least the beginning of the end. There were huge gaps around the Riverside despite the claimed 19,000 with many fans no longer on board realising the spin sold to them during the summer had little substance and as time has progressed even less credibility.
MOM was as usual McNair but I doubt anybody in a Red shirt would find much solace in that. The worry now is that we looked out of ideas and apart from basic crosses we didn’t look like scoring at all. Our Strikers looked as bad as they have been all season, maybe even worse. Our build up play was as it has been all season slow, pedestrian, easily read and picked off. No penetration, no creativity, no pace and no flair.
When you see an opposing Keeper sent off and your team still can’t raise their game it all becomes a very dispirited exercise. As I said earlier this month this side has all the hallmarks of a Maddren team and headed in the same direction. Lots of endeavour but dysfunctional with little sign of credible tactical awareness and understanding. Listening to the post-match Woodgate interview it didn’t instil any confidence. They are all sounding prickly, exactly the same game after game and unfortunately not in an inspiring articulate way. SG can leave it for as long as he wants to and no doubt will but this entire set up is a busted flush, it’s not a work in progress it’s now worse than Strachan and much worse than Mogga’s demise.