| Pos. 12th (16pts) | FRIDAY 4 OCTOBER 2019 | Pos. 20th (10pts) | ||
| Birmingham City | 2-1 | Boro | ||
| Villalba (33) Bailey (89) |
52% 26(8) 11 18 |
POSSESSION SHOTS (on target) CORNERS FOULS |
48% 5(3) 3 11 |
Ayala (87) |
Boy Blues Batter Boro
A hectic three games in seven days drew to an International break closure tonight as Boro headed down to St. Andrews in search of some desperately needed points. After the walloping at home by Wednesday Boro stoically steadied things by claiming a draw at the Riverside against Preston on Tuesday night and here we were on Friday hoping to keep a gap between 20th and 22nd. Pep Clotet’s Birmingham had their own troubles having lost their last three games on the trot sitting in 14th, three points ahead of Boro.
Some doubts were cast over Assombalonga’s overall contribution of late with feint boos even being heard on Tuesday evening as the teams were read out and after another inauspicious performance it was pondered if tonight would be when Woodgate finally accepts that for whatever reason Britt just isn’t doing it. After draughting in Tavernier and Browne on Tuesday the two youngsters grabbed the opportunity adding much needed pace and directness but despite that it still didn’t light Britt’s touch paper.
Envious was perhaps too strong a word but the sight of Lukas Jutkiewicz lining up for the Blues would have had many of the travelling army thinking in terms of value for money. Injuries were pretty much same as you were for Boro with perhaps the back in training Rudy Gestede being slightly nearer to being fit enough to pick up his next injury.
When the teams were announced Gestede had made the bench as Woodgate went same again including Britt Assombalonga. Jutkiewicz started for Boro against his former club as did Randolph and Shotton. Birmingham got things underway with a back pass to their Centre Backs. A well worked ball over the top of the Boro defence saw a deflected cross fall on the penalty spot to Villalba whose shot was incredibly saved one handed by Randolph at point blank on two minutes. An early warning of Birmingham’s methodology for the evening.
The high pressing quick tempo stuff was all from the home side in the opening five minutes. A neat Boro free kick on the half way line set Tav free who cut into the Birmingham box beating his man but took it too far after doing the hard bit and was dispossessed. Birmingham were snapping into tackles whereas Boro looked slow to react all over. A sliced clearance from Fry in the box prevented a repeat attempt from the Blues in the centre of the Boro box on Randolph’s goal.
Another Birmingham cross came in unopposed in the 9th minute and with it another warning to Woodgate that his charges were third rate so far and urgently needed to get a grip on this game as Birmingham were fast and fluid leaving their dazed opponents in their wake. On eleven minutes Roberts got over Shotton at the far post and headed down into the middle of the 6 yard box where Fry this time sliced the ball towards the crossbar requiring Randolph to leap and tip it over for a corner to Birmingham.
In response a rare Boro foray saw Britt try to loop the ball over his head and his opponents but fell on his backside and Boro’s first and only threat was ended as quickly as it had begun. Tav had to then chase back covering for Dijksteel to pick up his marker on 14 minutes and desperately outstretched a boot to play the ball back towards Randolph in his own 6 yard box The visitors just couldn’t string a pass together and were chasing blue shirts everywhere.
In the opening twenty minutes only Tavernier and Randolph were coming out of it with any credit. A looping cross from a throw in by full back Colin required Randolph to tip it over as it was ridiculously squirming into the net. The resulting corner had Randolph again tested, getting a fist to it to clear. Birmingham obviously felt that Boro’s defence were susceptible to crosses and targeted that. Sunjic upended Shotton in the 23rd minute allowing Boro to get their big lads up from the back but the free kick was woeful in its execution and it needed Tav to again chase back to spare blushes.
A tug on McNair’s shirt on the edge of the Blues box led to a free kick delivered in by Tav forcing Camp to punch it out for a corner as Boro recorded their first attempt on 26 minutes. Half an hour ticked by and the only positive was that somehow Boro had kept a clean sheet despite being bossed all over the pitch, defending desperately with last ditch clearances to match. A rare series of Boro movements in the Birmingham half saw Tav and Browne along with McNair and Shotton starting to exert a little pressure and positive intent. It still looked more fortuitous than orchestrated however and the inevitable breakthrough came in the 32nd minute.
Birmingham simply teased Boro, dragging them apart in midfield and then a ball out to Colin unmarked again wide left saw him advance with Shotton arriving twenty minutes too late to cut out the cross for Villalba (who had sprayed out the original pass to Colin) arriving to bury his shot low down past the helpless Randolph. It was no more than they deserved. Boro’s back four had looked stretched and exposed all evening allowing crosses to be delivered with ease and the inevitable happened, the only surprise being why it had taken so long.
Howson, Clayton and McNair were overwhelmed with the relentless energy shown by Birmingham, Britt had been an onlooker with no service and nothing to work with, Tav was running himself ragged but in isolation whilst Browne was simply looking agitated. A long throw to the far post had Randolph tipping over his cross bar again as Boro just couldn’t get out of their own 18 yard box let along half of the pitch. A minute later and the long throw routine was repeated. This time fortunately it was cleared but as was the story of the night only momentarily as they came straight back at Boro past the ineffective Shotton at LB, this time Randolph uncharacteristically dropped the cross and was fortunate for it not to be over the line.
A minute later Colin evaded Shotton yet again to cross and a scramble ensued in the Boro box leading to a corner which was cleared away but then came back in via a wicked deflected shot from Sunjic going out for another corner as the pressure kept building. This time it went out for a throw near the corner flag which in turn went out for yet another Birmingham corner which Pederson got his head to and Boro were saved yet again this time via the crossbar and Howson’s unwilling shoulder on the goal line. There had been three minutes of added time to the half but very few had noticed as Boro were well and truly on the ropes and hanging on for their lives. It was like watching Mike Tyson steal Chocolate Brownies from Girl Guides only at least the Girl Guides might have blown raspberries back to show defiance.
The whistle went which ended the relentless pressure on what has to go down as a very weak, disorganised and dysfunctional Boro. This was as bad as it gets from a fan’s perspective. Throughout that first half Boro had looked like total strangers. The back four not for the first time this season were a car crash with the flank being undefended on the left and utter panic in the middle. There was no composure and whatever the game plan may have been it needed to be recycled in the Gents Lavatory at half time to have some practical use for it. As bad as Shotton had been he isn’t a LB and Browne wasn’t tracking back and helping him. Dijksteel wasn’t faring much better on the other side.
The lack of reorganisation or shuffling of the pack from the Boro tactical area was as alarming as the “X” rated performance had been out on the pitch. That first half had all the hall marks of a side headed for League One not helped by a Coaching set up that had no answers. This was more three blind mice than Southgate’s Rabbits in headlights territory made all the worse because this was against a Birmingham side that had lost their last tree consecutive games with fans calling for Pep Clotet’s head before Kick Off.
Howson looked lost as to what his role was in the middle, Clayton wasn’t getting challenges in to break up play and even McNair looked overwhelmed and yet incredibly Boro came out for the second half unchanged. Boro kicked off and passing the ball backwards almost immediately looked to be struggling to retain possession and get anything going as Birmingham swarmed around them, smothering any outlets. Tav had swapped flanks with Browne but I’m not sure how that was supposed to stem the tide when tactically the Boro side was set up all wrong and Birmingham just simply continued to dominate.
A Boro throw in was messed up on our right with Dijksteel and McNair trying to hustle their way into somehow conceding a goal kick for Birmingham in an act that had clueless stamped all over it. Five minutes of the half had now gone and Boro were playing statues when passing the ball around, nobody running into space, nobody anticipating anything with huge empty gaps and not a red shirt to be seen anywhere. Meanwhile Villalba had another effort at will which went just wide with Boro yet to record a second attempt.
Awful, tactics, awful selection, awful management and awful coaching. Spiritless, lifeless, directionless with no sense of belief whatsoever. A booking for McNair for a late challenge just summed up the ineptness of everything and anything in Red. Under pressure Shotton passed into his box allowing Jutkiewicz to collect and shoot for a resulting corner. On 56 minutes Fletcher and Wing came on for Clayton and Browne. Apart from Randolph and Tav, Woodgate could have taken off anyone but as Assombalonga was a spectator it would have made sense for me to swap him for the more agile and lively Fletcher and bring Johnson on for Browne.
It looked like we switched from 433 to 442 but so bad were the opening 56 minutes it was difficult to ascertain if indeed there was any formation. Boro did however seem a little livelier since the changes and actually occupied some areas of St. Andrews in the Blues half. On 62 minutes we reverted to a Shotton throw which after a scramble went out for a corner. Unfortunately, Tav’s corner was too high and hard which was cleared away to Dijksteel on the half way line who tried to play the ball instead of hitting it back to Randolph and was summarily and predictably dispossessed by the physicality of Jutkiewicz.
Tavernier was still looking lively and at least trying to get his side back into the game as for the first time Boro actually looked like they cared, just a shame that it had taken 65 minutes. Boro were resorting to a few long balls as well as utilising the mobility of Tavernier and Fletcher. A run from Wing to meet a short pass from McNair saw his cross send Camp scrambling and just about tipping the cross clear. Clotet readied Gardner to replace 16 year old Bellingham to steady the Birmingham ship on 74 minutes as Boro had now shown some late lamented interest in attacking.
On 75 minutes Villalba went off for ex Boro target from way back Jacques Maghoma. Almost immediately Dijksteel was again caught in possession by taking too much thinking time and consequently conceded a rash free kick for which had he not already been yellow carded probably would have picked one up and could consider himself very lucky. With ten minutes remaining Boro’s tactical masterplan was to ready Gestede as Boro’s upright had just rescued Boro again. Gestede came on for Dijksteel bizarrely as Britt somehow retained his disconnected place on the pitch. Howson went to RB while the rest of the side went all over the place. Clotet then brought the Juke off for 19 year old Bailey. After the restart Sunjic went close yet again with a long-range daisy cutter and somehow the score remained binary.
Incredibly a high ball launched from a free kick on the half way line saw Fry and Gestede contest a ball in the Blues box which Fry poked to Assombalonga who cut it back across the face of goal on the by-line and Ayala stooped to force it home, 1-1. There was no time for celebrations as from the kick off Birmingham almost immediately broke up the other end and after a series of crosses and poor clearances Boro failed to clear their lines for the umpteenth time for the unmarked Bailey to head home to make it 2-1 with two minutes remaining. Five minutes added time came up as Lewis Wing overhit a sorry looking free kick across the Birmingham box.
In the 93rd minute a Shotton throw was headed back out and the immediate repeat throw in was scrappily cleared by Birmingham as they clung to their late winner. The late hope offered by Ayala’s goal was far too little far too late and even then, it was against the run of play. The fact was that once we were back under pressure we couldn’t defend and that was the story of the night. The MOM was Randolph for his incredible saves in the first half but even he looked nervy towards the end with Tavernier the only other player in red with any merit. Wing and Fletcher made a difference adding energy when they came on and caused Birmingham some problems. Gestede at least made a nuisance of himself by simply lurking, taking the attentions of a defender when Boro resorted to hoof ball at the end.
The nature of the defeat not for the first time this season is cause for concern, we never looked like surviving let alone winning. It was even worse than the Wednesday defeat despite the score line being more respectable. Defensively the side were as poor as any Boro side I have witnessed for a very long time, the midfield just didn’t perform, didn’t win any battles and offered no protection to the back line. The attack consisted of Tavernier and that was it until the late substitutions.
Something has to change and quickly, this isn’t transition this is pandemonium turning to Bedlam. Its clear that our coaching set up is incapable of organising a defence and without foundations to build upon we will see a lot more of the same unfortunately. Loads of enthusiasm doesn’t cover up a glaring lack of nous made all the worse that it was predicted by far too many way back in the summer of spin except it’s probably now become even more obvious what the future holds.