Boro 2 – 2 Derby

Pos. 16th (34 pts) SATURDAY 11 DECEMBER 2019 Pos. 17th (34 pts)
Boro 2-2 Derby
Wing (16)
McNair (67 pen)
46%
15(5)
5
11
POSSESSION
SHOTS (on target)
CORNERS
FOULS
54%
7(3)
2
13
Knight (54)
Holmes (90+1)

Late leveller rescues Rams

Redcar Red reports on almost another victory at the Riverside…

This afternoon saw the arrival of Wayne Rooney’s Derby County at a very blustery Riverside. Both sides had recently returned to form and had an almost identical record in the Championship with Boro just marginally shading it by conceding two less goals. Derby were unbeaten in their previous four matches in all competitions and like Boro sat just eight points off the play-off places. They hadn’t won away from home for eleven games prior to kick off but recent back-to-back wins over Charlton, Barnsley and Crystal Palace in the FA Cup had eased pressure on Phillip Cocu.

It’s not just the League placings that show a parallel similarity between the clubs. Just like Boro, Derby also had similar injury problems with George Evans, George Thorne, Mason Bennett, Graeme Shinnie, Jack Marriott and Ikechi Anya all out injured. For Boro it was a case of as you were for injuries with the usual suspects still absent including Dani Ayala. Team news for Boro saw just two changes after the draw against Spurs with Aynsley Pears and Lewis Wing replacing Tomas Mejias and Adam Clayton. Patrick Roberts retained his starting role and made his Boro Championship bow.

Cocu had made seven changes to the side that beat Palace in the FA Cup last week. In came keeper Ben Hamer, defenders Max Lowe and Matt Clarke, and Jason Knight, Max Bird, Duane Holmes and Martyn Waghorn replaced Kelle Roos, Scott Malone, Craig Forsyth, Tom Huddlestone, Morgan Whittaker, Louie Sibley and cup goal scorer Chris Martin.

Boro kicked off with an immediate long ball from McNair to Spence who won the first corner of the game in the opening seconds. Roberts took it and a tantalising Wing header went just wide in what should have been the games opener and a huge let off for Derby.

Coulson and Spence were looking lively for Boro along with Wing and Roberts, lots of pressing causing Derby serious worries. Spence “done” Rooney and left him in his wake as he literally barged him out of the way with little to no respect for the ageing, elder ex-International allowing Fletcher to let fly at Hamer’s goal. Five minutes gone and it was all Boro with Derby looking slow and inhibited by comparison. A McNair slip allowed Waghorn in at the other end but Coulson was alert and quickly swept up as the game approached the nine-minute mark and that was Derby’s first real bit of intent.

A comical Rooney back pass had Rams Keeper Hamer flapping and as he hurriedly cleared it out Howson returned it with interest and with a little more composure could have made it count. Derby were sitting really deep, struggling to get the ball out with any believability while Boro were full value for their enterprise, moving the ball around crisply. Roberts forced an error in the Derby defence winning a throw in on thirteen minutes. It was taken by Coulson but the Man City Loanee then lost possession after a good opportunity to test that nervy Derby defence again.

A misplaced ball from Fletcher after Howson had lost his marker was another wasted opportunity for Boro as the game approached fifteen minutes. Then it happened, the inevitable, a brilliantly worked ball to Roberts with Spence dragging the defence apart allowed Tav to take the ball and back heel to Lewis Wing on the edge of the box to fire in a perfect accurately hit shot leaving Ben Hamer no chance and it was 1-0 to the Boro.

The next five minutes saw Boro continue stretching the Derby defence, their midfield bypassed with Rooney a virtual spectator. On twenty minutes Howson cut out a Rooney pass to ironic cheers from the Riverside faithful. Fletcher nearly added to his recent tally with a fantastic Coulson delivery in which went out for a corner. The far post corner was met by Fry and as a scramble ensued the Ref blew for an infringement or more likely out of sympathy for the beleaguered visitors.

A minute later Coulson and Roberts linked up, carving the Rams back line open once again. Cocu was out and shouting in his technical area as he desperately tried to galvanise his side that at this point had looked porous and an accident waiting to happen. A rare Derby attack started when Saville was caught dwelling, giving the ball away cheaply but Fry was on hand for Boro to extinguish the imminent danger. Half an hour gone and apart from a few forays that were handled with ease it was all Boro and Pears looked very cold and lonely in the North Stand goal. Derby launched a ball via Rooney into the Boro danger area but Spence cleared in a no-nonsense fashion. The Rams looked to be waking from their slumber as Pears had to be quick to get down to prevent Waghorn threatening after Holmes had slid him through.

Coulson then evaded two tackles down the left flank but the last one connected earning a free kick off Bogle. Roberts lined up the kick just outside of the box and delivered it cleverly and surprisingly to McNair rather than launching it into the box, Paddy unleashed his shot but it sailed well wide. Roberts cut in from the right and on the edge of the box rolled it for Tav to hit a shot just wide as Boro continued to push Derby back again after their brief respite. Cocu was screaming at his charges to get up the pitch realising that they were leaving themselves open to conceding a second.

The first booking came for Matt Clarke when he took Fletcher out with the home fans baying for a Red. McNair took this one and floated it to the back post before going out for a corner to Boro. McNair readied himself and took Boro’s third corner catching Ben Hamer in two minds just clearing it and Wing testing Hamer again but it deflected out for yet another Boro corner. Just before that Coulson had been rubbing the back of his thigh as concerns were raised that he had maybe overstretched himself and done himself some lasting damage.

Waghorn clattered McNair as a little bit of niggle started to creep into the Derby game and collected the games second Yellow for the offence of berating Referee Tim Robinson. There was another quick coming together between the two just afterwards as frustration bubbled over with the Rams just before the half time whistle. Coulson and Roberts once again danced their way through finding Fletcher as Derby were defending in numbers, with mere seconds remaining the ball went out for a Boro throw but Tim Robinson blew his whistle to end a very entertaining and exciting half of football form a Boro perspective. The only negative was that we should have been at least three ahead as the players walked off to a rare Riverside standing ovation.

No changes at the restart for either side which must have concerned the Derby fans. The Rams however started lively with an immediate assault towards the South Stand clearly fired up with Rooney pushed further up from his anonymous first half role. The first Derby corner of the half followed, taken short then delivered to the back post but wastefully recycled back to Rooney. It eventually went out for a long throw from Holmes requiring Fry to head clear before coming back in fiercely with Waghorn sliding dangerously in. It was Boro’s turn next, cleared out with Roberts chasing it forcing Hamer into conceding a Boro corner.

Early signs of the half were that Derby had entirely changed their mindset, now pushing up and pressuring Boro. The opening five minutes of the half was all Rams, Boro needed to hold firm and work their way back into the game. Saville done well holding his own to win a throw in out on the left back spot and simultaneously trying to gee up his pressurised defence. It was all Derby with Boro now camped in their own box and as Knight out wide on their right, unopposed, put a cross into the box it looped into the corner of Pears’ net in a freak goal but one that could be seen coming since the second half had started. All those missed first half chances now coming back to haunt us.

Ten minutes into the half and the away fans now found their voices after being mute all afternoon. A Rooney inspired attack saw them break towards Pears with Aynsley having to make a save to prevent the worst possible scenario of a quick second for the visitors. The game was now starting to open up with both sides showing intent, leaving gaps, organisation, shape and discipline all starting to fade. Jonny Howson burst forward finding Spence who sent it across to Wing whose effort was cleared as Boro desperately needed to get back in front. A rash or rather necessary Howson challenge on Lawrence just outside the box provided Rooney the chance to try and beat the Boro wall with a free kick which he managed but he also cleared Aynsley Pears’ crossbar.

Twenty-five minutes remained with both Managers now sensing the opportunity for three points. Fletcher sent Roberts away who tried to slide it back to Fletcher resulting in weak calls for a Boro penalty. Seconds later Fletcher held off Rams defenders laying it off to Coulson who played in Saville but it went out as Boro were now moving it about once more. Roberts then drove into the Derby box from the right evading a challenge then Matt Clarke brought him down for an undisputed penalty this time. Paddy McNair despatched it into the side of Ben Hamer’s net to restore Boro’s lead on sixty-seven minutes. Paddy’s assured approach to taking a penalty is light years away from those early season Assombalonga efforts.

A chorus of “the finest team the world has ever seen” was dusted down and brought off the Riverside South and North stand shelves as the home fans celebrated taking the lead once again. Twenty minutes remained which was plenty of time for this game to still have twists and turns. From a free kick Coulson rounded Bogle and was cynically brought down earning another Boro free kick. Roberts left the kick to McNair which was cleared away with ease after a disappointing delivery, just as well he got the important one right just minutes previously. Roberts once again collected the ball and danced away from his opponents, playing in Tavernier, to Coulson, to Wing but he fired his shot over, failing to deliver after the initial excitement the build-up had deserved.

Woodgate wanted to make his first change with Nmecha readied to come on but the Ref waved to get on with things. A Spence conceded corner was poorly cleared but Pears then claimed the ball falling to the ground, eating a few seconds up and taking the sting out of things. Coulson then clattered Waghorn picking up a Yellow for his misdemeanour, simultaneously the lively but tiring and game short Roberts went off for Nmecha.

Fletcher dropped a little deeper and almost immediately earned a free kick in his new role. Fifteen minutes remained as Cocu had Chris Martin coming on for Knight. Derby were now going for it in the final minutes. Wing blocked a Rooney shot and as the ball spun out Martin was looking to get involved but Boro cleared and Nmecha was blown for being marginally offside over the halfway line trying to get Boro back on the offensive.

Coulson drove forward passing Holmes and earning a throw in easing some pressure as Derby then brought Whittaker on for Lawrence as Cocu added a third striker signalling blatant route one intent. Howson won a launched ball from Hamer and set up Nmecha and Boro were off attacking via Spence whose low cross came off a Rams defender for a corner. The McNair delivered corner saw Hamer getting the benefit of the Ref who decided he was impeded.

Pears then had to come out, punching clear a cross whilst under pressure from Waghorn with the Ref balancing up the goalkeeping protection levels and blowing for a foul. Fletcher then departed for Gestede as Boro now mimicked Cocu’s tactics in going route one. Into four minutes added time now, Derby attacked, Nmecha closed down Bogle but as the crossed ball was cleared out by a header from Fry it came back straight back in with a vengeance from Holmes in a similar spot to where Lewis Wing had been in the first half striking a volley that left Pears no chance to level the scores. Holmes was just outside the box with Boro failing to react quickly enough by throwing bodies on the line to close him down and paid the price.

Two minutes now remained of added time as dejected Boro tried to pick themselves up with Coulson breaking yet again but Davies intercepted setting up Bogle and the ball flew down the other end. In the dying embers Nmecha got a header in on goal which Hamer saved with the whistle sounding to end proceedings.

2-2 was a bitter pill for Boro to swallow after such an enterprising first half and will no doubt rue those missed chances. We lost a little bit of magic when Roberts went off but we failed to keep our heads in those dying moments and for both goals we allowed delivery unopposed. The away fans will have been relieved and the neutrals treated to a great game of football but it was a draw that felt like a loss after coming so close. MOM for me could have been Coulson, Spence, Howson or Roberts but Coulson was the one that kept going and stood out for the full ninety but Patrick Roberts looks like he is going to have a big influence on Boro this season.

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