Author: Redcar Red

Pos. 21st (14 pts)	SUNDAY 24 NOVEMBER 2019			Pos. 14th (23 pts)
Boro		2-2	Hull City
Tavernier (7) Fletcher (26) ▮ Johnson (37)	37% 10(5) 3 10	POSSESSION SHOTS (on target) CORNERS FOULS	63% 12(4) 9 16	Bowen (71, 75)

Johnson loses more than sparkle!

The build up to this one saw Hull fans take the view that if their season is to mean something and they would challenge for the Play Offs then lowly Boro is exactly the sort of team they should be looking to take three points from on their travels. Conversely Boro fans fearing relegation were thinking that Hull at home followed by Barnsley in midweek could be the turning point of their season. Suffice to say a draw would satisfy no one and a defeat would bring both sets of cynics out in droves.

The local Humberside press were pinning hope on Boro having four first teamers unavailable, Shotton, Browne, Saville and Gestede. Clearly their awareness of this Boro squad didn’t go deep enough to know that whilst they saw it as a definite weakness in Woodgate’s planning Boro fans saw it as a 50% reprieve. A half full/half empty scenario if ever there was one. The guarantee that neither Gestede or the underwhelming Saville would be appearing on a bench near the Riverside anytime soon was a relief to many.

Team news saw Friend again unavailable with Dijksteel coming in for him. The conundrum was the likelihood of McNair dropping back into defence or perhaps Dijksteel would form the right side of three CB’s? McCann had brought back Tom Eaves to lead his attack with Bowen and Grosicki either side of him. Ayala was wearing the captain’s armband and Randolph had managed to get through his International break without further injury. The subs bench saw Clayton as the only recognisable “first team” Boro player with the rest made up from the Academy plus Bola.

The Riverside was sparsely populated with many perhaps choosing the comfort of the armchair over the wet, grey Tees drizzle. Ref Jeremy Simpson blew for Hull to kick off with the visitors adorned in a strange sickly Teal Blue attire. In a move which caught most out Howson appeared as the Right sided CB in the back three. An early second minute Boro free kick launched from the right wing saw Fry get his head to the cross from the edge of the box but Long in the Hull goal was never troubled. Hull broke immediately with Bowen flying down their right and getting a cross into the danger zone which was tipped away by Randolph. A quick fire Boro clearance saw Britt marginally offside in the fourth minute as he nearly broke from the half way line in a lively and enterprising start from Boro.

A short corner from Hull in the fifth minute was dealt with by Fry and as the ball was cleared outside of the box a foul in Boro’s favour effectively ended any threat from the Visitors. Boro cleared the ball up to the other end which was in turn badly cleared back out with Fletcher nodding the ball down to McNair who ran with Dijksteel accompanying him, cutting the ball back across the box with Assombalonga running into the Hull box but Tav was already in-situ to take a touch and then stroke the ball calmly home to put Boro one up in the seventh minute and lance the Riverside pressure boil. A Home goal was a welcoming rare sight for the hardy souls in the South Stand starved of such delights.

Boro’s confidence was clearly boosted to the extent that we witnessed a long-range Wing strike a minute later which went well wide. The next five to ten minutes saw Boro continue to pass the ball around with Dijksteel looking fresh and Fletcher and Assombalonga looking connected and even joined up in their thinking. So far Hull hadn’t exploited the height weakness in Boro’s back three and a good break on seventeen minutes saw Johnson find Fletcher on the half way line who advanced and played in Britt who took it down the left and cut it back to the supporting McNair whose effort shall we say wasn’t up to his usual high season standards but it was good stuff from Boro.

A long penetrative overhead ball saw Britt take it down but two attentive Tiger defenders managed to thwart him from adding a second with the ball going out for a corner despite optimistic penalty claims from the South Stand. Without taking too much from Boro’s efforts Hull looked decidedly flat and lacking ideas so far and indeed were very scrappy in possession often inviting trouble. A strong McNair challenge in the twenty second minute allowed him to brush off the attentions of a Hull midfielder, break forward, slide the ball out to Fletcher on the right wing, cutting inside to shoot but with the ball just sailing over.

Two minutes later McNair and then found Dijksteel in the same position who statically sent in a cross which was inches away from meeting Britt’s head. Amazing what a bit of confidence can do and that confidence was at maximum level when Johnson played it out of defence to Britt, taking it wide, read Fletcher’s run into the box and tee’d it up perfectly for Fletch to tap it past the despairing Long and rounding him slide the ball home with aplomb. Two nil up on twenty-seven minutes at home was as good as it has got for Boro in 2019.

A solo Bowen run saw him drive through the Boro defence as a warning that the game was still far from won, he was picked off by Wing tracking back toe poking it to Randolph to clear in what was the first real Hull threat of the half. Dijksteel was then taken out as he dribbled down the right flank. The resulting Free Kick was sent in by McNair to the far post with Ayala muscling out his Hull adversary for the Ref to bow for a foul as his header was saved by Long anyway. Another brilliant Britt powering run found Johnson whose curving shot was palmed away for a Corner which was eventually punched clear but the whistle went for some bizarre reason for a Hull Free Kick for a supposed imaginary infringement on Long.

Six minutes before half time and just as everything was looking perfect on Teesside Johnson launched himself into a knee-high challenge in the Hull half with no danger or threat whatsoever and received an inevitable straight Red Card for his ill-disciplined indulgence. Ridiculous in the extreme not to mention reckless.

The restart saw Boro regain possession, McNair broke and looked to have been brought down (albeit easily) on the edge of the Hull box with the Ref ignoring Boro appeals which added to the emotive state in the Stadium. Hull turned to the attack as they now threatened the Boro goal in numbers with the Riverside atmosphere now sounding like the Alamo. Every Teal Blue passage of play jeered and boo’d especially unfairly I thought on Lichaj with the Ref receiving vitriol for his perceived double whammy to Boro in as many minutes. In fairness to the Ref I think Paddy went down too easily and Marvin’s boot was half way up Tigers Captain Eric Lichaj’s leg regardless of whether he reached the ball or not.

A pressure reducing Johnny Howson break out found Tavernier who ran the length of the left hand touchline filling in for the now absent Johnson, took on half the Hull side but eventually ran out of options when outnumbered and surrounded. It showed intent and that Hull still had to be aware of a Boro threat on the break as the first half came to an end.

As first half’s go it was probably the best Riverside Boro performance since the Home game against Sheffield Utd last season. That rash lunge from Johnson however had changed the script completely with the question now being asked could this fragile Boro side galvanise themselves and fend the Tigers off in the second half.

Ashley Fletcher paid the price at half time for Johnson as he didn’t come out having gone off for Adam Clayton to come on to try and hang onto the two goal lead leaving Britt as a sole Striker. Reshuffled Boro looked to have gone 441 with Howson on the Right and Tav at Left Back and Ayala and Fry in between. The opening five minutes saw Boro pegged back adopting a “lets hang on to what we have” strategy inviting Hull to attack at will. The only early Tiger threat being a long cross met by Eaves that was glanced well wide of Randolph’s goal. Two minutes after that however Dael Fry had to be attentive to get in a last-ditch challenge on Bowen in the Boro six-yard box as slowly the pressure from the visitors started to mount.

Britt won a Free Kick to momentarily ease the pressure but Clayton was then booked for seemingly time wasting when lining up the kick in what seemed like a ridiculous piece of over officiating from the Ref who up to that point had called most things correctly. Britt then won another Free Kick which was cleverly chipped over the Hull defence for Britt to collect and cause a few seconds of Hull hearts in mouths as he twisted and turned their defence. The ineffective Lopez and Elder then went off with Batty and Bowler coming on as McCann made a double change on fifty-eight minutes. Hull now pushed even further up and a packed Boro box saw some hectic nervy defending with Grosicki now becoming an influence on the game. It was a straightforward case of attack versus defence now. Pressure was growing and ten-man Boro were looking more desperate in their defending, barely holding on as Howson made a last ditch block and hoofed clearance. In the next phase Dijksteel broke in a rare Boro offensive foray, de Wijs professionally tangled with the Boro Dutch Right Back come attacking Midfielder taking a yellow for his challenge.

Wing lifted the resultant set piece in far post for Ayala to head back to Paddy whose shot was blocked and the ensuing ball saw a Tav corner who received it back and hit a drive which Long done well to block rather than save with both arms. Boro needed that fillip of hope if for no other reason than to provide some much needed relief. Randolph then had to be alert form a left footed Bowler effort after an Eaves knock down with seventy minutes approaching. Then the inevitable happened, an innocuous ball to Bowen saw him run through the middle of the Boro half and hit a long range effort which curved inside Randolph’s far post. Two One and toilet paper was feverishly being restocked in the concourses!

Tav responded with a sprint and cross come shot after the restart as Boro needed to find a way to get back into this and hang on for the last quarter hour which thus far in the half looked very unlikely. Four minutes later and it was Bowen again who outjumped Tav at the far post from a di Wijs header to smash it home on the edge of the six-yard box. Two Two!

Hull now looked to get at Boro even more, confident they could take all three points with impunity. Boro’s’ defensive tactics had by now imploded big style, no outlet meant that Hull could push on with no real fear of conceding. Inviting Hull to attack in the second half hadn’t worked as the Tigers had no need to hold players back in their own half apart from Britt’s two minders. Personally, I would have left Fletcher on and put him out wide and kept the shape at the back intact but sitting back so deep was now the ultimate cause of our own undoing.

Ten minutes of normal time to cling onto a point that should have been comfortably three or worse as nerves were noisily jangling around the Riverside apart from the away corner were despair had now turned to effervescent optimism. A Launched clearance from Long after a wasted Boro Free Kick saw Bowen burst clear from the half way line with Howson chasing back doggedly and doing just enough to prevent his Hat Trick. A sliced clearance from a by now unplayable Bowen cross from Ayala on eighty-three minutes nearly saw an own goal but fortunately for the first time in the second half fortune was on Boro’s side as it spun out for a corner.

Balls were now being reined in on the Boro Box with no end in sight. Ayala was heading clear as Randolph was forced to punch out another Hull corner which came straight back at us. Three minutes now remained as Boro were clung on, solely reliant on Randolph’s long punts upfield for mercy which was short lived as nothing stuck. Boro were routinely carved open again as Grosicki won a corner which was delivered just onto the “D” then volleyed in but blocked by a fellow Teal shirt as eighty-nine minutes now ticked slowly by. Three minutes added time came up on the Fourth Officials Board as Britt was adjudged to have manhandled a Hull defender. McNair was bundled to the ground near the dug outs for a late Boro Free Kick. The big lads went up for Boro but the ball was headed clear all too easily but fortunately falling to Dijksteel. Unbelievably started to dribble in circles and in doing so losing possession instead of playing the ball out wide or back into the Hull danger zone. Hull broke as a consequence and but for more desperate last ditch defending Boro would have come away with nothing.

A brilliant opening thirty-seven minutes from Boro up until the mindless moronic needless challenge from Johnson. The second half tactics handed the initiative to Hull and in my opinion done nothing to help ourselves. Clayton didn’t add anything to the team and in truth sitting deep caused us problems. We needed energy and pace as an outlet and for that reason Fletcher should have remained. As much as I can compliment our Coaches for the first half the second half was a tactical nightmare but not all of the blame for that was in the dug out, the majority of it resided much further up in the perhaps too comfy padded West Stand seats for leaving a rookie Coach with zero alternative options at his disposal. Today wasn’t about one Summer this had been in the making for a few years now.

Two undoubted points dropped this afternoon which could prove to be the most expensive sending off at the Riverside in its history. We can have no complaints about the Red Card but having a bench full of inexperienced kids, a slow-mo midfielder and a poor summer signing who ironically was signed as a Left Back tells the real story of MFC that I doubt you will read about elsewhere. That solitary point was enough to claw us out of the relegation trapdoor on Goal Difference but how much will those ninety minutes have taken out of the players physically and emotionally?

Britt was the Boro MOM in the first half, in a second half however where we asked no questions at all it is best forgotten about very quickly but Howson was worthy of a mention for running his heart out. No wins in ten now and when you are down at the wrong end of the table the only luck you get is bad luck. Wednesday night sees the only two sides in the Championship with such a run meet at the Riverside in what is now a relegation dog fight in November.

Pos. 10th (24pts)	SATURDAY 9 NOVEMBER 2019			Pos. 22nd (13pts)
QPR		2-2	Boro
Wells (25) Howson (44 o.g.)	61% 14(7) 8 20	POSSESSION SHOTS (on target) CORNERS FOULS	39% 9(4) 6 9	Assombalonga (23,69)

Britt makes a point

What was left of Woodgate’s Red and White Army marched down to Loftus Road to take on the R’s and of course former Boro hit man Hugill although there is a certain amount of poetic licence in the use of the term “hit man” because “grass stained” didn’t have quite the same ring to it. With no less than nine first team players allegedly out for this one the excuses were as good as dusted off and polished before a ball had even been kicked (and over the QPR crossbar most likely).

It looked like our third choice Keeper albeit signed as second choice and back up to injured but Internationally selected Randolph would have to deputise for the current back up Aynsley Pears. Once such a thought would have struck fear, anguish and torment into the hearts of Boro fans but it had a certain depressively amusing feel to it under the current backdrop.

QPR had fitness concerns of their own with CB Toni Lester and Yoann Barbet both doubtful. A win could, pending other results, send the R’s into the Play Off spots whereas a win for Boro might see them leap frog Luton and jump out of the bottom three by a solitary point, if Luton were to win or draw it would mean that Boro remain with one foot in the trapdoor over the International break.

The two o’clock team news was full of surprises, Randolph was back along with Friend and Fletcher all miraculously deemed fit enough to start although there had to have been a huge question mark over Friend’s fitness levels over 90 minutes. Pears was also seemingly fit enough to deputise on the bench with a “finger” injury (doesn’t say much for Mejias) and youngster Tyrone O’Neil was also sat alongside. It looked like a back three with Ayala, Fry and Friend with Johnson and Howson as Wing Backs and McNair back in midfield. No Saville of course through suspension but Clayts was still on the bench with a dynamic looking midfield trio of Tav, Paddy and Wing.

On paper this was probably the strongest side Boro could put out so it would be interesting to see how they shape up against a side that has failed to keep a clean sheet in their last 21 games. Surely even Assombalonga and Fletcher could manage one between them? Ref David Coote got the game started a few minutes behind schedule after the last post for Remembrance Day tomorrow with Boro kicking off towards the Home end. Boro enjoyed impressive possession in the opening minutes and after a foul on Johnson the free kick ball delivered by the very same Johnson arrived at Ayala who stooped to conquer but frustratingly was ruled offside after thinking he had put Boro ahead.

A minute later McNair collected a loose ball in midfield feeding Assombalonga who was stopped in his tracks by Wallace as he closed in on goal. QPR were living on their nerves and living up to never keeping a clean sheet reputation in full technicolour. Eight minutes in and Boro were looking comfortable and also unusually confident with McNair now taking a turn to fire in a blocked shot. Eze came closest to scoring for the “R’s” hitting Randolph’s side netting on nine minutes. A double Boro corner in quick succession were then eventually cleared for a Boro throw in as we continued the onslaught. Tavernier lost possession allowing QPR to get back at Boro but we closed them down quickly forcing Rangers to carelessly lose possession once again.

A very bright Boro start indeed we needed to get something from this quickly otherwise all the energy could subside and we could be caught cold. Just before the quarter hour mark Manning ominously hit the side netting again for Rangers. Boro then went close via a Tavernier header after a great series of interplay between Fletcher, Assombalonga and McNair. Marvin Johnson got in a block on Amos after Manning again broke to prevent Boro being embarrassed. The resulting near post corner saw Fry take the ball clear but Wells brought him down and in doing so easing the pressure on Randolph’s goal.

Then the moment that Boro fans had been desperate for. On twenty-three minutes a bustling break down the right from Howson saw Britt finally break his drought with a glancing diving header to put Boro deservedly one up. Manning immediately had Boro panicking after the restart driving QPR forward once again and unattended Nahki Wells pulled the teams level from a Chair pass in the packed Boro box with Red shirts feebly protesting he was offside. One each all within 90 seconds. It has to be said that despite Boro being good value they were looking very susceptible on counter attacks especially via Manning.

A collision between Fletcher and Wells provided a bit of breathing space as Wells seemed to come off worse. Wells was starting to influence the game for Rangers along with Manning as Boro’s early pressure had now started to wane somewhat. You felt that after that euphoric Britt goal being pegged back so quickly that Boro had lost their mojo. Eze then put a ball into the Boro six-yard box as Wells got a header in for Randolph to get a glove to it to put it out for a corner. Rangers were now looking by far the more likely to take the lead with Boro desperately needing to hold on to avoid a demoralising second Rangers goal.

An in-swinging Rangers cross required Johnson to put the ball out for a corner to the home side and fortunately for Boro after a short corner routine Eze was adjudged to have been offside as he received the ball back again. Randolph took his time in taking the free kick to set Boro up on the front foot in the Rangers half. As the game see sawed it was Manning again fizzing another ball into Boro’s danger zone with Wells getting something on it, Randolph having to be alert on the greasy surface to keep the scores level with just three minutes of first half normal time remaining.

A late QPR corner was delivered in from the right with Randolph initially getting to Grant Hall’s header but it came off Howson to sickeningly go into the net. To me it looked like a ball that the experienced Keeper should have just caught instead of pushing it onto the hapless Howson but that’s what happens when you are down in the dead zone.

Just what we were fearing had materialised as Rangers were now ahead just before the interval. Boro at this stage were looking nothing like the side that had started so lively having had a goal disallowed and then taking the lead only to be pegged back and then falling behind.

Wells found foolishly himself in David Coote’s book after lashing out at Johnson for no obvious or clear reason. The deep dying seconds of the half saw Ayala cut out another threat for a QPR corner but the whistle went to end proceedings. Boro had started really well but fell behind as a result of some very poor marking. Both Wells and Hall had had too much room and space albeit in Hall’s case there was some clever off the ball blocking off to give him a clear heading opportunity.

What had started with grounds for optimism in the opening twenty minutes for the Travelling Army had ended with “Typical Boro” disappointment. Woodgate and Keane now had to re-energise their charges during the half time break to see if they could come out and repeat their energetic opening tempo of the first half. An equaliser for Boro would hit Rangers confidence but a third for Rangers would kill the game off as a contest.

Boro started the second period lively as we had hoped with first Tav testing and then Friend earning a throw in from which Johnson returned it to him winning an early Corner. McNair sent it in, Lumley punched clear and McNair adjudged offside when he received the return ball from Johnson who had collected Lumley’s punched clearance. Dael Fry had to be on his toes to intercept the first real Rangers threat of the half as a timely reminder that the R’s speed could be dangerous.

A Friend delivered free kick reached Fletcher who was brought down by Cameron as he tried to get around the defender, he was pegged back. As Boro were trying to get the ball for the set piece Wallace earned a booking for kicking the ball away. Rangers had been keeping a high line and despite the poor Johnson free kick Tavernier won the ball back from Eze’s miss control earning another Boro free kick in a good area. Lewis Wing lined up his sights but fired in a trade mark rocket free kick just flying over Lumley’s crossbar. Boro tenaciously regained possession again as they kept up their onslaught, pushing forward Luton style applying pressure up on the Rangers backline.

The game was starting to get a little loose and scrappy as Boro desperately pushed and chased and Rangers equally desperate in trying to compose themselves. Approaching sixty minutes and a Randolph goal kick saw Boro once again try and unlock the rickety Rangers backline, keeping possession and passing the ball around patiently but Rangers won it back and Eze and Chair between them earned a pressure relieving corner for the home side. From the resulting corner Manning cut in from the right forcing Randolph into palming it away for another corner. Howson headed it clear to Tav who in turn set up Britt who was brought down as Manning received a talking to for the challenge.

Warburton then made a double tactical substitution with Chair going off for Hugill and Amos departing for Scowen. Finally, the delayed resultant deep free kick from McNair eventually saw a weak shot at Lumley which didn’t really threaten. Wing then delivered a ball in to Britt who got his shot away to the far corner but the scores still remained 2-1 to the home side. Howson was then brought off for Dijksteel as Woodgate made a switch to try and get something from the game and possibly to deal with the additional bulk of Hugill.

Overhit balls were regularly going into both boxes now with neither side capable of getting on the end of them, in truth both defences were looking porous. QPR won a harmless throw in in their own half and somehow the up until then impressive Manning attempted a ludicrous 40-yard back pass and incredibly just as Boro looked like they would get no luck Britt pounced on it to confidently dink the ball over the advancing Lumley. This was more like the Britt Boro had paid £15m for, unrecognisable from that sheepish smirking penalty misser. Twenty minutes remained for Boro to take the upper hand and with their tails up they were looking good value for a third but that risk was still there from Rangers and another break saw Hugill evade Ayala in the pouring rain to win a corner. The resultant corner came in and yet another free header required Randolph to rescue Boro, phew!

Clayts was brought on for Tavernier on 87 minutes (who had enjoyed a decent game) presumably to get in amongst it in the middle of the pitch to break things up. Dijksteel then went in on Hugill who as usual went down but still managed to get a shot in on Randolph. Immediately after it was Randolph to the rescue again with our man marking once more looking atrocious with Clayton alone in trying to close down two men as Eze laid siege. This game still looked like it had goals in it and could go either way despite only eight minutes remaining. Rangers were clearly adept attackers but their defending was absolutely woeful and blindingly obvious as to why they fail to keep clean sheets.

Britt was then dragged back and David Coote somehow deemed it just a free kick but not a second yellow for Hall and with it a sending off. Next up it was Hugill who this time had to be alert defending in his own area, heading clear for a Boro corner from which McNair whipped into the far corner of the six-yard box only for Lumley to tip out. Johnson quickly delivered the resulting corner which was cleared yet again for another Boro corner which was eventually delivered into a melee’ with Rangers hanging on, just managing to keep Boro from taking another lead.

In response Wells broke from Dijksteel and as the cross came in it was cleared up field to Fletcher who was routinely taken out by Hall with only three minutes remaining. The free kick was fed out wide, delivered in and Assombalonga just had the ball robbed off his toe as Rangers broke with Hugill losing Dijksteel to almost nick it for the R’s.

The game now swung down the other end and again Fletcher was dragged back, this time by Cameron to earn a late yellow. The delivered ball was again headed clear only for a Boro cross to come in from Friend to go out for a throw in. Johnson then cut in and despite having his shirt tugged managed to get the ball into the danger zone. Lumley collected the loose ball and cleared out for Rangers to launch an attack which fortunately came to nothing going out for a goal kick.

Eze broke and in doing so evading a Clayts attempt to pull him down, then as he continued his charge forward Fry barged him 25 yards out collecting a yellow with two minutes remaining. Manning sent it the free kick which was deflected by the Boro wall out towards the corner flag where Britt back defending cleared it off a hooped shirt for a Boro goal kick. Randolph was booked for dawdling in his restricted effort to retrieve it. Five minutes of stoppage time had expired and a final free kick to Boro signalled the end of the day’s action.

There were some terrible defending moments from Boro but overall this game was a marked improvement for Boro and if Woodgate is to somehow cling on this has to be a defining moment in the season. That said our two goals were as a result of equally poor defending so perhaps in reality not indicative of change in fortune but at least Britt scored a brace which might boost his hitherto shot confidence. MOM was the same Britt with Randolph and Johnson also running him close. Not getting beat and an away point was perhaps some comfort for those brave enough to glance at the League table.

 

Pos. 15th (21pts)	SATURDAY 2 NOVEMBER 2019			Pos. 22nd (12pts)
Derby County		2-0	Boro
Lawrence (22, 84)	60% 23(10) 6 10	POSSESSION SHOTS (on target) CORNERS FOULS	40% 10(1) 2 13	▮ Saville (32)

Boro Rammed down deeper

Both clubs have faced a somewhat underwhelming start to the season and whilst MFC have downplayed their expectations Derby were fancied as Play Off prospects. Their high-profile arrival in the New Year was probably thought to be the icing on the cake to spearhead their anticipated run in. Disappointment abounds in both Stadiums but even the very mention of the word Stadium added fuel to the relegation dog fight this afternoon.

Derby’s off field problems with three of their Players are well documented of late including the controversial decision to part company with Richard Keogh this week. Boro meanwhile have made the press for telling several players that their contracts will not be renewed at current rates, to be fair I’m not sure if the contracts of a few of them would be renewed in any case. Nevertheless, in Halloween week it added considerable doubt over team spirit in both dressing rooms.

George Friend had resumed training this week but wouldn’t be ready for a while yet, Pears was expected to continue in goal and Gestede was as ever still injured. Derby had George Evans due back from a two-month layoff and newly confirmed Captain Curtis Davis was expected to be the man in the mask after a facial injury which I understand had nothing to do with his driving. Before kick off there were a few demoralising stats for Boro. Only Barnsley were on a longer winless run of thirteen games in the Championship than Boro’s seven games and that only Wigan’s seven blanks meant that they had failed to score in more Championship games this season than Boro’s six.

Fair to say that expectations were pretty low from the travelling perspective but things were not that rosy with the home fans either so the atmosphere could become quite interesting. The Boro team news had Ashley Fletcher missing because of an “injury” (there were groundless rumours that he had scored a goal in training on Thursday and went into cardiac arrest), anyway Browne came in to take his place. Paddy McNair remained as part of the back three with the experience of Marvin Johnson back in for Coulson who dropped to the bench.

The grey foreboding clouds provided a suitable atmospheric back drop after all Hallows eve especially considering the plight of both clubs as the players took to the Pride Park pitch. The bench highlighted just how Boro were down to the bare bones, Mejias, Walker, Liddle, Wood, Dijksteel and Clayton joined Coulson. Cocu brought in Striker Jack Marriott starting today for the first time since September and LB Scott Malone in an effort to resurrect their season.

After a struggling Bugler’s rendition of the last post Ref Darren Bond got proceedings underway with the rain welcoming November into the football calendar. Wigan losing earlier in the afternoon to Swansea gave us some hope we could climb out of the drop zone. Boro got things underway with Britt conceding possession in the opening seconds. He made up for it a minute later when Britt was through on the Rams goal alert to a poor back pass but his effort hit Clarke, one of two despairing white shirts and it went out for a corner.

The early minutes indicated that Derby’s defence was all over the place and chaotic as Marcus Browne nearly stole the ball and then it was frantically down the opposite end as Derby won a corner off Ayala. It was Ayala who got his head to clear the danger from the corner which saw Britt try and find Browne just missing his intended target. End to end stuff but the home side had given reason to get the home fans on edge which suited Boro in those opening five minutes. On ten minutes Lewis Wing fired a ball into Britt, backing into his defender he turned but his shot was wide. Assombalonga seemed much more alert and eager than of late in the opening stages. Maybe it was because of a kick up his backside or perhaps it was the more tenacious style of Browne over Fletcher creating more anxiety in the Derby defence.

McNair went into Ref Bond’s book after being nutmegged for pulling back Lawrence near the corner flag. The ball was consequently sent to the far post which Howson cleared for a throw in. A left footed Shinnie effort deflected off Wing for a Derby corner with the rain now easing off and Derby ominously getting back into the game.

Browne then strangely deposited himself on the pitch requiring treatment for a mystery ailment. As the game restarted Marriott and Martin worked to create an opportunity which should have been a warning. A series of slick one touch Derby inter passing play then carved the Boro back line open allowing Lawrence from the edge of the box to hit it low putting the Rams one up with twenty-two minutes gone. The sun was now shining literally on Derby and Boro were now faced with having to actually score a goal, something which so far this season had been alien. With wobbles still on display Pears had to be alert three minutes later to smother a Rams attack.

Browne was in the wars again as he went down after a hefty challenge. The Ref waved play on but a free kick to Boro in the next phase provided Wing with an effort which went over Roos’s crossbar. Curtis Davies then met a header forcing Pears to tip over the bar at the other end. From the goal kick clearance Browne was brought down again and again Ref Bond decided it wasn’t worthy of a card. Howson worked space and put in a near post ball into Tav but Roos reacted quickest as a rare Boro chance went begging.

A series of Derby shots and Boro blocks eventually saw Howson break and try a ridiculous back heel to the up until now anonymous George Saville forcing him to commit and clatter into Bielik in what looked like a 50/50 for a straight red card with thirty-one minutes gone. Bielik looked like he would struggle to continue but it was Boro who made a change with Dijksteel coming on for Browne as Woodgate reshuffled his pack, personally I would have hooked Tav as Browne had looked by far the livelier. Derby broke after the restart and then Boro counter attacked but Britt dithered and the opportunity gone. Derby broke down the other end as the pace of the game ramped up again.

The momentum now was obviously with Derby with Britt being more isolated than normal. Boro had switched to a back four with McNair and Howson now pushed further upfield. A free kick to Boro in almost the same place as previous was taken charge by McNair who cleared the wall but over the bar to mimic Wing’s previous effort. Boro now looked like they had finally cleared their heads and exerted some pressure on Derby but had to be careful that they didn’t over commit.

There was five minutes added time announced but it was Derby who nearly added to their lead when Fry was beaten to a header by Bogle who earlier in the week had just added to the Derby driving conviction count by picking up speeding points. A minute later it was Bogle again who drove in towards the Boro goal forcing Pears into action which ended the first half action.

Boro as has been their story all season had their chances but fluffed their lines with Britt hitting a defender and then taking too long to shoot and but for astray passing, we could have had a few more opportunities. Elsewhere Reading were winning, Huddersfield were drawing but at least Luton were losing at home to Forest. The “live” League table however didn’t make for great reading as a gap of two points was now opening up.

Derby got the second half underway with no changes from either Manager. The early exchanges saw Derby now pushed further up and looking for an early second goal to kill this game off with Bogle looking lively finding Martin whose effort went wide as Boro’s defence looked at each other in frustration. Boro would have to be strong and solid and compose themselves if they were to survive this pressure. Bielik broke and the Boro defence looked all at sea backing off, our left side looked lost as Tav and Johnson were not joined up in their thinking. Bielik still looked to be struggling but Boro couldn’t make the weakness count in their favour. Holmes then broke down our left but the final ball evaded Martin. Bielik then finally succumbed and hobbled off for Evans to take his place.

Derby’s Malone was off the pitch receiving treatment with the travelling army urging Boro to make the temporary even numbers count as a Dijksteel cross fizzed in which went out for a corner. Johnson delivered the corner in to Ayala but he sliced his shot wide. Derby then pushed up again and as our defence backed off Marriott came very close to adding that killer second goal as Malone had re-entered the fray. An off the ball incident between Wing and Martin ended with Wing going down off the ball holding his face, obviously aggrieved at something.

As the off-field temperature dropped with the sun there were a few niggling encounters going on out on the pitch as Lewis Wing in particular was cutting a very frustrated figure with thirty minutes remaining. Our left flank was looking susceptible as thoughts were turning to wondering if it was perhaps worth risking Coulson. It was Cocu however who made the next change withdrawing Martin for Waghorn to presumably stop some of the niggles Martin was becoming involved in and shore things up.

Twenty minutes remaining and Derby had Boro effectively penned back in their own half needing something clever to get that crucial equaliser and it nearly came via McNair after Johnson had crossed, Howson cut it back to the Northern Irishman but the Ref had saw an infringement in the build up. Ayala cleared a Derby corner but the Rams came straight back at Boro and the pressure was back on again as Boro looked to be understandably tiring.

A silly free kick conceded by Ayala on Waghorn thirty yards out saw Derby deliver a ball in by Lawrence and Pears punch for Holmes to put it out for a Boro goal kick. Walker and Coulson were being readied to inject some much-needed pace and an outlet for Boro with ten minutes remaining. Wing and Johnson made way for the pair with Walker looking to support Assombalonga. It was risky but there was nothing to lose now as Boro needed to try and get something from this game to keep in touch with the bottom feeders. It was however Bogle again who looked the most likely to create as he skinned Coulson with Waghorn nearly benefitting from his efforts.

Minutes later Bogle again tore down the flank, tee’d up Lawrence who calmly put the game beyond reach hitting the Ram’s second into the far corner with six minutes remaining. The wind went out of the Boro sails when that net bulged. It was made all the worse by the fact that this was a very poor Derby side who with all eleven players, we might have reasonably expected something from this game. A great double save from Aynsley Pears saved us from a humiliating third Derby goal as two minutes added time had just been held up. The Home fans chorused “you’re being sacked in the morning” and something else unprintable on here about Steve Gibson after enquiring about his awareness of the score line.

In isolation today wasn’t great but in the context of the entire season to date at some point bad luck, missed opportunities, (a solitary Boro effort on target), officiating decisions and lying tables have to be discounted. MOM was nigh on impossible but Dijksteel done OK when he came on and deserves some credit for that but overall there wasn’t anyone in a red shirt that made a difference.

A run of eight games without a win now and no doubt there will be fresh clamouring’s for a change in the dug out but the accountability for this mess is much higher up the organisation chart. I think there does need to be a change in the dugout but I thought that back in June so nothing new there then. An experienced Adkins or Pearson might just be able to grab what is left of this squad by the scruff of its neck and drag them to safety but the real bottleneck within MFC will like as much remain in situ. As the saying goes if you buy cheap you buy twice, albeit at hugely inflated fees in the case of Boro no doubt!

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.

Pos. 22nd (10pts)	WEDNESDAY 23 OCTOBER 2019			Pos. 21st (11pts)
Huddersfield		0-0	Boro
	57% 10(2) 4 12	POSSESSION SHOTS (on target) CORNERS FOULS	43% 13(2) 3 14

Stalemate under Sky

Boro made the relatively short trip down and across the M62 in what is almost a derby for Boro these days after Leeds and Barnsley distance wise apart from the fact that neither set of fans have any level of particular animosity towards the other. This season both sets of fans have had to settle for a series of underwhelming performances but a Terrier supporting ex-work colleague of mine informed me that there is now renewed optimism since Danny Cowley arrived in Kirklees or a “degree of confident assuredness” as he described it.

Boro had the usual suspects injured plus a worrying rumour about Darren Randolph which would be a massive blow for Boro, just as well than that we have two goalkeeping coaches in our management set up so hopefully there was nothing to fear but fear itself. That concern aside, prior to tonight’s Kick Off the Terriers were top of October’s Championship form table and Boro rooted at the bottom.

In reality the very recent form of both sides would indicate that the home side should have enjoyed a comfortable win. Huddersfield had seen two draws and two victories in their last four games picking up eight points versus Boro’s, three defeats and draw and with it a solitary point. Defeat tonight however would see Boro in their worst league position for a very long time and for many of us of a certain vintage we associate that with very painful memories.

Ironically the Team news saw that Huddersfield had to award a debut to 19 year old Keeper Ryan Schofield in place of regular Keeper Kamil Grabara who had become unexpectedly ill. Boro as we suspected had to award a debut in between the sticks themselves to Aynsley Pears. Of perhaps more interest to some Boro fans was that Britt had finally been dropped to the bench with Ashley Fletcher given his chance to lead the attack. It looked very much that Woodgate was sticking to the same structure that functioned credibly against West Brom with three at the back and once again Howson and Johnson operating as the wing backs. Of further note was that Coulson returned to the bench in place of Bola.

Boro entered the field with their traditional red and white shirts and red socks but with those bizarre blue shorts just looked wrong on so many levels. If things are that tight perhaps, we can have a go fund me page for some red shorts. Psychology plays a big part in many things and that kit just looks wrong and perhaps is indicative of the messed up thinking inside the club at the moment.

Boro kicked off with a hoof to nowhere and put themselves under immediate pressure in the first three seconds leading to an opening minute corner. Fortunately, an offside flag in the next phase allowed Boro to calm down. Pears was busy in the opening minutes clearing balls upfield as Boro struggled to deal with the intensity of Huddersfield’s early pressure. A free kick for a foul on Tav in the sixth minute saw Paddy McNair deliver a in superbly curling ball around the Huddersfield defence for Ayala to miss a golden opportunity. An excellent set piece delivery but poorly met by Ayala.

Two minutes later a Boro attack involving Tav went out for a corner as Boro looked to be clearing their heads. On ten minutes a Shotton fluffed clearance came straight back in for Grant to head just over Pears’ crossbar. Marvin Johnson then forced a corner off a defender on 12 minutes which looked like it was cleared directly off the line as the Terriers Keeper Schofield completely misread the trajectory from MacNair’s delivery. As play went on Shotton went down after an awkward landing approaching the quarter hour mark and seemed to be in great discomfort. As he gingerly resumed his duties Fry dithered instead of clearing his lines and collected a yellow for his being caught in two minds.

The resultant free kick cleared the Boro wall but straight into Pears’ arms but his poor clearance put Boro immediately back on the defence conceding a corner for the inexperience. A twentieth minute break from Huddersfield youngster Lewis O’Brien was headed clear by Shotton then came back in via Diakhaby back to O’Brien but his effort sailed over the crossbar. A brilliant cross field switch to Johnson was cut back across the Terriers box to McNair whose effort just went wide. On twenty-eight minutes Pears was forced into his first real dilemma when he had to come for a looping cross to catch cleanly. A wicked O’Brien shot from twenty yards out then had Pears scrambling to collect the quick strike but he was equal to it as the tempo had noticeably started to increase.

Dani Ayala battled his way past three Terriers to set up an attack and after a throw-in and a desperate Huddersfield clearance the ball came central to Fletcher to force a shot, which went just past the upright on thirty-seven minutes. A minute later and as Wing miscued a challenge in midfield Paddy McNair had to break up an attack and take a Yellow card for his troubles. An over enthusiastic striker’s challenge from Fletcher gave away a free kick 20 yards out with three minutes of the half remaining. A Daikhaby curled free kick cleared the wall as Pears just about got a glove close to his upright but the ball went inches wide. A well worked opening then came to nothing as Boro over passed and over played things and McNair’s effort went over the crossbar Assombalonga style. The whistle went with Boro clearing their lines again to end 0-0.

Boro had looked laboured and leggy in possession. Too often Red shirts were on top of each other instead of looking for space, angles and openings. A sure sign of a lack of confidence and belief. Huddersfield weren’t exactly much better but they at least had a crispness and fluidity to their movement. The best that can be said about Boro’s first half is that it was functional but they needed to release the ball quicker and move forward with more pace and movement if they were to get anything from this game. Two touches in defence nearly cost us, two touches in midfield invited interceptions and two touches in attack broke down before they gained momentum.

Both sides came out as you were as the Terriers kicked off by passing it back to Schofield in goal. The opening minutes from Boro simply saw a lack of control and more nervy miss-hit passes and less than convincing build up play. Huddersfield’s wide men had swapped flanks but other than that it was very much more of the same. A 49th minute Johnson free kick was drilled in low and hard as Schofield somehow got down to it but it squirmed out to Fetcher four yards out with the keeper at his mercy and he somehow managed to hit it over when all it needed was a gentle toe poke. An incredible miss but so very typical of our Jaffa Strikers all season. That one would have been put in by my previously suggested tea lady using her hostess trolley.

Tavernier was full of running but when in an offensive position he just ran into trouble whilst Fletcher would never have an easier opportunity to score in his entire career. Cowley meanwhile brought Chalobah off for Juninho Bacuna on 55 minutes in an effort to tip the balance in his sides favour. Shotton came out of defence and battled through three or four opponents to find Saville who picked out Tavernier who swivelled and shot but it was well wide of the target on 62 minutes from the edge of the ‘D’. Diakhaby was then brought off for Frazier Campbell for Huddersfield while Fletcher went off for Assombalonga.

As sixty-five minutes ticked over it really was poor fayre by both sides as there was no mistaking that this was a clash between the bottom feeders. A great cross from Johnson found Assombalonga at the far post but his knock back was headed out by O’Brien. The corner was well delivered but dropped at Schofield’s feet with nobody in a red shirt alert to it which just emphasised the lack of class in both teams in defending and attack.

A fierce cross fired in by Johnson was cleared but delivered back in from the opposite side by McNair but Britt got under his header as it looped harmlessly to Schofield. Britt was then hauled down by Schindler for Johnson to repeat his earlier free kick but he passed it to Tavernier who made a mess of things and a Huddersfield breakout fortunately went over the bar in an attempt more akin to the different posts regularly used at this ground. Johnson then went off for Coulson who made a lively start.

Britt found himself clean through after a perfectly weighted Saville ball played him in on a one on one with the keeper but Britt had his shirt pulled off his back by Brown in full view of the Referee and the chance was gone. What the referee was seeing throughout this game versus what was actually going on was a mystery. He whistled and carded for minor events then seemingly ignored nailed on infringements. How a Strikers shirt can be hauled off his back to the point where his entire number has virtually disappeared yet not be deemed a foul beggared belief.

Huddersfield then had another mini Keeper crisis as Schofield went down seemingly injured with ten minutes of the ninety remaining with third choice Keeper Coleman warming up. Coulson was body checked but the Ref waved away Boro protests for a booking and it was Saville who entered the book for offering his informed opinion. Howson under pressure then gave away a free kick out on our right which was headed clear by Ayala and then again by Shotton for Coulson to break but he was brought down by O’Brien who in turn was taken out by Tavernier as the game opened up with “anxiety” clearly showing on both sides.

A last-minute corner of the regulation ninety for Boro was won by Tav as six added minutes were announced. McNair’s delivery was good again but Kachunga stood firm blocking off Britt. Clayton then came on for Saville for what reason I’m not sure as Saville had a decent game and looked to be injury free. Ayala was then wrestled to the ground by Campbell courtesy of an introductory forearm around the neck but the ref saw nothing and likewise just a second later McNair was cleaned out with both offences on the edge of the Huddersfield box. A last-minute booking for Bacuna on a breaking Howson ended proceedings with the whistle blown as soon as the free kick was taken.

Man of the match could only be Dani Ayala, as bad as that miss was he at least got on the end of it and was immense in his steadfast defensive duties all evening, leading by example. There was little to get excited about tonight for either set of fans with Boro perhaps slightly more relieved to have avoided the ignominy of being in a relegation spot. Looking for positives the structure of the Boro defence in keeping a clean sheet was believable plus of course the return of Coulson who looked lively and alert when he came on.

Pos. 21st (10 pts)	SATURDAY 19 OCTOBER 2019			Pos. 1st (25 pts)
Boro		0-1	West Brom
	33% 17(7) 6 10	POSSESSION SHOTS (on target) CORNERS FOULS	67% 19(4) 7 14	Robson-Kanu (82)

Kanu bags late winner

The International break couldn’t have come quickly enough at Boro. With performances somewhat less than expected, a prickly Woodgate interview on Sky and now sitting just outside the drop zone that International pause button will have been greatly appreciated. A chance to draw breath, lick wounds and reassess the somewhat less than intended start to the season.

Coulson was back playing for the U23’s last night and whilst this game has come to quickly it must be a huge relief to have someone with a vague semblance of a Left-Back close to returning. With George Friend also still out, the fear was that Boro would have to go again with Shotton square pegged in there. After the ignominy of recent performances and the complete inability to both cut out and defend crosses there was hope that we would see a back three to steady the ship.

The brilliant form of McNair whilst on International duty caught the eye of many along with Saville’s seemingly Jekyll and Hyde character when it comes to playing for Boro and playing for Northern Ireland. Both would have given cause for some optimism for Woodgate along with Darren Randolph as usual being praised for some excellent saves with the Republic. The challenge would be in effectively integrating George Saville in whatever position best utilises the ability that lies deep within that Michael O’Neil seemingly has no problem unlocking.

West Brom meanwhile were riding high under Slaven Bilic atop of the Championship before Kick Off this afternoon. The Baggies also benefited from the break with the news that Ahmed Hegazi was match fit along with Grady Diangana who had been struggling with an Achilles problem. They would be without Matt Philips, Kieran Gibbs and Kenneth Zohore sidelined by a calf injury.

It was a wet and miserable Friday night with rain lashing Teesside so the pitch this afternoon presumably would be wet with plenty of zip to encourage fast pacy football although whether that would suit the skill sets and set up of Boro would remain to be seen. It appeared on paper at least to be of more benefit to the West Brom squad than Boro’s. Hopefully the technical under turf layering of sand and whatever else is used on the Riverside greenery would have drained away the most of the heavy precipitation.

Under the grey autumnal Teesside sky, the announced Boro line up seemed to intimate three at the back with Howson and Johnson operating as wing-backs. Clayts was on the bench to make way for Saville with Wing and McNair alongside. Tav was included operating in and around Britt who for me was fortunate to still be involved. The big fear pre kick off was that we would be operating a back four with Shotton at Left Back and Howson on the Right.

The Baggies kicked off and almost immediately Livermore wiped out Saville in what looked a straight red card for a knee-high challenge but incredibly he escaped any punishment from Ref Oliver Langford. Wing’s resultant free kick was cleared but the follow up saw Britt get in an early effort but with no power behind it and Sam Johnstone in the West Brom goal collected easily. Overall a bright start from Boro in the opening five minutes and thankfully we had set up with a back three after all.

On nine minutes Shotton managed to block out a Krovinovic shot after Howson was skinned but was denied by Boro’s Landlord with Randolph looking uncharacteristically beaten. The Baggies now started to dominate and had two attempts in quick succession with Boro’s defending playing themselves into trouble of their own making. Charlie Austin was proving to be a nuisance with Boro looking very nervy. A quarter of an hour passed and Boro still had a clean sheet against the League leaders as Britt felt the effects of a hefty challenge from Semi Ajayi.

Boro’s first corner came off a Johnson run, Wing’s corner was poor but as a scramble ensued out on the left McNair collected the ball and let fly needing Johnstone to tip it clear for a corner. The short Boro corner was cleared but came back to McNair who won another corner. Austin headed this one clear with Wing failing to beat the first man and as the ball came back into the danger area Bartley foiled Britt to put it out for yet another Boro corner. An ensuing Boro penalty appeal was waved away from another scrambled West Brom clearance eventually going out for a throw in as Boro were enjoying their best spell of the game.

Lively Diangana broke from a free kick but Howson was alert and managed to somehow win a goal kick for his troubles. A Howson cross was badly cleared which ended with an alert Lewis Wing pouncing after another less than impressive West Brom defensive display but his resulting shot would have cleared Eston Nab. Charlie Austin then caused some consternation for a challenge on McNair with Langford reaching for his yellow card which seemed strange after the earlier one from Livermore on Saville went unpunished.

Thirty minutes in and West Brom’s defence looked every bit as vulnerable as Boro’s when put under pressure. Boro however now looked more settled, that flurry of corners boosting confidence and raising hope with the Home fans and the mood and feelings seemingly reciprocated. A Baggie chance was spurned when Diangana beat Shotton but his final ball seemed to spin and squirm with Livermore trying to rescue the failed attack. Despite the form book Boro were impressively giving as good as they got as the away fans applauded the loss of one of their own with his sad demise with England in Sofia at the start of the week with the home fans joining in.

West Brom’s first corner came after a Marvin Johnson block. Delivered to the far post it was a lesson to Boro in how to beat the first man with the pace and trajectory finding the back peddling Diangana but fortunately for Boro not really threatening. A whack to the face left Tavernier writhing requiring treatment whilst allowing a time out for Woodgate and Keane to get some instructions to Boro with Bilic doing the same to his charges, bizarrely adorned in yellow and green stripes. My pet hate for Clubs changing strip when there is no clash illustrated to maximum effect. A Diangana cross was headed clear by Fry but the ball was returned with vengeance via a left footed Pereira shot dealt with comfortably by Randolph.

A shot by Marvin Johnson was blocked and simultaneously followed up by Britt whose saved effort then came out to Saville but his headed effort went out for a corner off the crossbar which was then comfortably collected by Sam Johnstone while Oliver Langston blew for the end of the first half. As the half had drawn to a close Boro had grown and matched their opponents and it was impossible to tell who was top and who was at the wrong end.

Many Boro fans turned up fearing a thrashing but the changes to the back although initially seeming tentative settled down with Johnson and Howson proving useful outlets as well as holding their own getting back doing the dirty work. The midfield competed well against Pereira and Sawyers (who had been largely quiet first half). Tav was a nuisance popping up causing the West Brom defence to readjust and check where he was and in doing so giving Britt some space. But for a few stray and careless passes Boro could have been ahead. So far then a better showing than of late but there was still forty-five minutes to play.

Unsurprisingly Boro were unchanged for the second half as were the visitors with both Managers clearly thinking they had enough to get something out of this tight encounter. An early Boro free kick for a foul on Howson was floated in as Ayala and Fry went up for it only for Ajayi to head it out. A Tavernier pull back on Diangana resulted in a yellow card for a “professional” foul as the game swayed to the opposite end. After clearing a Baggie attack Howson burst away finding Tav but Bartley was on hand to send the ball back in the opposite direction ending in a spectacular overhead kick from the victors as the tempo picked up in an end to end encounter. An Assombalonga chance from McNair then fell to Johnson whose hasty shot hit the side netting.

As the Teesside skies turned black with the rain now pouring down Jake Livermore looked to have sent the visitors ahead after Diangana set him up skipping past Fry but Shotton once again came to Boro’s rescue. The lively Grady Diangana put a ball across to Charlie Austin but thanks to orchestrated Boro defending the flag went up for an offside.

West Brom were now seriously looking to get a stranglehold on the game as the rain kept pouring down. Tav won a challenge to launch an attack and after a series of midfield exchanges the ball came to Howson who took his chance and stung Sam Johnstone’s palms in the process. Seconds later and it was Tav again whose ball cut across to Saville drawing a great save by Johnstone to put it out for a Boro corner as the game (and with it the tempo) was halted for a dubious head injury. Thirty minutes to go and the game could go either way but the fear was that if it went to the visitors it may burst this newly inflated Boro bubble.

Bilic brought Robson-Kanu on for the clearly unhappy Charlie Austin and Edwards come on for Kravinovic. McNair had to be alert as he covered for Ayala and was cleaned out for his trouble whilst clearing the danger resulting in a yellow card shown to Ferguson. Edwards found himself clean through but incredibly Marvin Johnson somehow got a leg around to somehow hook it clear with Ayala dealing with the follow up. A slip up by Tav allowed Diangana to once again attack down the wing his cross finding Robson-Kanu who missed the target but it was a wake-up call to Boro. They desperately needed to re-focus and concentrate as West Brom were now pushing up and going for the kill.

Boro were now on the back foot with Ayala conceding a corner as all Boro clearances were simply coming straight back at us. The Pereira corner was half cleared as another follow up pressurising corner was awarded to West Brom which thankfully was over hit. Woodgate took then took Tavernier off for Ashley Fetcher to come on to try and offer a fresh outlet, stretch the West Brom defence and to hold the ball up.

A careless short free kick from Sam Johnstone nearly let Britt then Saville in in what would have been a huge embarrassment. Immediately however they tore up the other end of the pitch winning a corner which Pereira launched finding Bartley who swung his foot in an agricultural manner and missed. It was building! The next Baggie corner was delivered in and after an initial Saville block Fry hoofed it clear and in a swift counter attacking movement Fletcher burst forward supported by McNair and Saville bursting a gut with Britt along for good measure. Fletcher passed to McNair who played in his fellow countryman and as Saville’s shot was tipped away by Sam Johnstone into the path of Fletcher who unbelievably missed the gaping target. That was a huge let off for the visitors and a woeful disheartening miss from Fletcher.

Fifteen minutes remained and as Marvin Johnson went to collect the ball for a throw in there was a melee’ in the dug outs and of course Leo had somehow become embroiled as the Ref issued some cards to those in tracksuits. A Boro break out then saw Britt blocked by Livermore who this time received a belated yellow card. As the tempo built a long-range Sawyers effort was well covered by Randolph and the eightieth minute ticked over. A minute later and Diangana ran down the left, got the ball into the box, Randolph saved the first effort only for Robson-Kanu to stab it home. Tough justice but it was coming as the Baggies had upped their intensity since those substitutions and when we needed it most Fletcher simply choked at the vital moment.

Tempers boiled over with frustration mounting over the visitors time wasting tactics as Marcus Browne was readied to replace George Saville with three minutes of normal time remaining. A Boro free kick on the half way line was played out wide, down the wing and eventually the cross came in but Ayala couldn’t connect as he seemingly misjudged the flight of the ball. Five minutes added time came up as Bilic then brought Heghazi on for Livermore in an effort to secure the three points and hang on to what they had earned. Heghazi’s first touch however was on Marcus Browne giving away a free kick central to the West Brom goal. Lacking composure, Lewis Wing blasted the free kick to nestle somewhere in the upper tier. With seconds of added time remaining Diangana raced to the by-line, kept possession only for McNair to indulge Robson Kanu in conceding a frustrated free kick.

Overall a much-improved performance from Boro but as fatigue set in the options that Bilic had at his disposal plus Diangana was the difference. Calmness from Robson-Kanu and wasteful finishing from Fletcher would be the difference. Had Livermore been booked in the opening seconds or even sent off it could have been very different. “If only” however does tend to be the reserve of those struggling to find their way out of a dark place.

The defeat was probably as expected but the manner of it in fairness wasn’t. In theory the performance was improved but the psychology of yet another defeat looked to be having an effect as the Boro players trooped off the Riverside pitch. Missed chances had proved costly for Boro as where the results filtering in from elsewhere. It wasn’t a great performance by any means but considering where they had come from of late and the opposition the set up worked but ultimately quality told in the end. There wasn’t a lot to split them apart but MOM for me was probably jointly between Marvin Johnson and Paddy McNair. Hard to be overly critical after this afternoon efforts but it’s the season to date and league position that will be the judge and jury.

To get out of this mess today’s team set up needs to be the one that we stick with. We won’t be playing the top side every week but we will pick up more points in this league than we lose once continuity and synergy kicks in if we stick with it. Maybe it’s not pacy and exciting but its light years from Pulisball, it’s a step forward but most importantly a step in the right direction despite the result.

There is a big decision however for Woodgate and Keane to make and that is having all those attempts on target but no goals mean that something has to give before they do. Finding a best fit defensive and midfield solution for the squad will not be enough if we have a poor mid-week at Huddersfield with non-scoring attackers. Maybe we don’t have recognised Striking alternatives but maybe it’s now time to find a new John Hickton. Whatever they do the constant searching and formation tinkering has to stop if SG is to avoid Wexit by the end of October.

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.

Pos. 19th (10 pts)	TUESDAY 2 OCTOBER 2019			Pos. 5th (18 pts)
Boro		1-1	Preston
Fisher (42 o.g.)	43% 14(3) 2 16	POSSESSION SHOTS (on target) CORNERS FOULS	57% 9(1) 3 17	Harrop (40)

Deadlock at the Riverside

With Boro sitting in a precarious position in nineteenth the last thing they needed was a side sitting in fifth and averaging two goals a game coming to the Riverside tonight. Boro having already played most of their fixtures thus far against bottom dwellers it was inevitable that some stern tests would start coming up thick and fast and how they respond tonight could be an indicator of future prospects.

Rudy Gestede was reported to be back in training but was considered unlikely to be fit enough for this encounter but could eventually sneak a space on Woodgate’s sparsely populated bench. Whether that was a positive or negative is open to much debate but he certainly couldn’t do worse than the present non scoring Striking incumbents. Coulson and Friend were still missing and unlikely to be back for a few weeks more at best.

The corresponding fixture last season saw a controversial home defeat and if we lost again tonight it would be the first time that we suffered successive home defeats against Preston since September 1928. If the visitors did record a victory it would be the first time since April 1972 that they won successive league games against Boro, all very unwelcome stats for Boro’s rookie Manager.

A defeat now would put an entirely different perspective on the new transitioning project and indeed may even call time on the project entirely with fans already becoming agitated after Saturday’s humbling capitulation against a former Boro Boss.

Injury wise Alex Neil had pretty much a full squad to select from including former Boro striker David Nugent who despite his advancing years would be one of the first names on the Boro team sheet today had he still been at the Riverside. When announced Woodgate made four changes from Saturday with Howson, Tavernier, Browne and Ayala coming in with Bola, Wing, Fletcher and surprisingly Johnson out.

Ref Darren England got proceedings underway at a sparse looking Riverside under moody drizzly floodlights with Preston adorned in Yellow kicking off. Assombalonga backheeled an early ball to Tavernier to get things moving for Boro showing promising early intent. A minute later McNair linked up with Howson but the Northern Irishman’s shot went well wide of Rudd’s goal.

A huge psychological positive was that Boro managed to get through the first five minutes without a soft corner and an own goal so things were possibly looking up. Preston were enjoying some possession in the opening minutes resulting in Ayala having to block a shot. It appeared that Boro had Shotton at LB with Clayts in front of the defence, Tav on the right and Browne on the left. It was Browne who had the first serious attempt from the middle of the box but Rudd got down to it. A few seconds later Tav played a brilliant ball into Britt around the penalty spot but he failed to get his shot away quickly enough with Browne waiting agonisingly for a pass. A big improvement from Saturday. Boro were now getting the upper hand with confidence levels growing seemingly seeing Tav and Browne causing problems gave hope.

It was hearts in the mouth time when Ayala made a challenge on Barkhuizen around 20 minutes which the Ref waved away thankfully. Shottoninho drove forward from defence to the edge of the Preston 18 yard box playing it across to Tav whose effort went a few yards wide but Boro were certainly more effervescent than at the weekend. Not great but an improvement as Dijksteel had a chance which fell to McNair who got his shot off which came back off the post hitting Britt who didn’t know an awful lot about it and it remained 0-0. Bad news was that when the action settled Marcus Browne was sat on the turf looking desolate but hobbled back onto his feet after some Physio attention.

Preston’s first corner came when Fry deflected a ball out after a swift counter attack from the Lilywhites. With ten minutes to go to half time the game became a little scrappy with the Ref seemingly being very lenient in favour of Preston much to the annoyance of the home fans. A weak penalty claim for an aggressive challenge on Tavernier was waved away as was a second penalty claim. An Ayala conceded corner was swung in for Alan Browne to head, Clayts cleared it away for another corner which was eventually cleared out to Tavernier. Josh Harrop replied when he chased down the left flank with Dijksteel for company but fortunately he ran out of Riverside turf before Dijksteel was tempted to commit himself.

With 5 minutes to go it was Harrop again who this time met a scuffed shot off the upright to tap in past Randolph to put the visitors ahead just before the break. Just as Boro heads were bowed Tav burst forward down the right wing to control a long ball out of defence, cut it back to feed in McNair who drove into the box and fizzed an awkward low ball across the Preston six yard box and in the confusion it deflected into the net for what looked like an own goal from Fisher under pressure from Britt. Two minutes additional time went up as soon as the game restarted.

Daniel Johnson up-ended Tavernier which drew some boos from the home fans but the Ref declined to make any decision and restarted with a drop ball just as the half ended. It was a bit nervy and edgy at times with a few penalty appeals. By no means a classic but probably Boro were the happier side having stabilised things after Saturday and also coming from behind so quickly. Not great but most would have taken going in at half time level especially after going behind. Overall very much a typical wet and miserable Tuesday night at the Riverside.

Boro started the second half with no changes for either side earning a quick free kick from which Browne went down in the box but nothing given. Tavernier was played in by a cavalier McNair, Tav nutmegged a Preston defender and got a shot away which wasn’t ever threatening but the build up and link up looked increasingly heartening. Shotton then had a shot from twenty-five yards out but it went well over. Browne went down again under a strong challenge but Darren England was having none of it, Britt then clattered Fisher as things were now getting heated in the technical areas

McNair set off on a run and was brought down as he hared forward but the decision was given against him bizarrely for another free kick to the visitors. Preston scorer Harrop went off for David Nugent entering to a gentle applause from both sets of fans on 55 minutes. Now Tavernier was played in by Howson who one-two’ed with Browne but his shot was tipped over for a corner to Boro which was eventually cleared up field. Sixty minutes gone and the second half was looking more promising for Boro with Browne, Tav and McNair all looking lively and full of energy.

Clayton played a ball to Britt who laid it ff to the dynamic McNair again but it was cleared. Fry then had to block a Daniel Johnson effort after beating Clayton as the game swung to the opposite end. A Daniel Johnson free kick was lofted into the box which despite a yellow shirt going to ground the Ref allowed the game to carry on. Browne collected it, turned Pearson and was taken down as he looked to have left his marker and earned the first yellow of the evening. Tav and McNair linked up well for Paddy to get a shot away resulting in another corner to Boro which Tav delivered into the middle of the Preston box but was cleared after a melee’ with Ayala going down and then Dijksteel collected the loose ball and played it back up to Tavernier, as his effort was cleared the whistle went in Preston’s favour for some unclear reason.

Daniel Johnson should have put Preston in front again after Barkhuizen played the ball across to him but fortunately he lacked composure. Dijksteel fed Browne who coolly rounded Fisher and looked like he used a hand to retrieve things but calls were once again ignored by the Referee. Howson then tried to find Britt but the ball was cut out, Tav then fired in a shot but it rebounded off a defender as Boro now looked to be trying to get that all important second goal. Britt was adjudged to have fouled Fisher as Preston were looking relieved to take the opportunity to take the sting out of the game. Fifteen minutes were remaining, Dijksteel linked with McNair but as Daniel Johnson took him out the Ref just ignored the blatantly obvious with the Red Faction opining about the gentleman in the middle’s fitness for purpose.

Browne won a free kick again from the attentions of Fisher and immediately after the restart he tried a cheeky long range shot which never looked likely to go in but good to see someone in a red shirt with a bit of intent. Marvin Johnson was being readied for Boro to replace the lively and effective Marcus Browne and with Ashley Fletcher also coming on for Britt. Gallagher then came on for Johnson with Barkhuizen also going off for Potts for the Lilywhites with only ten minutes remaining.

A Preston free kick after an Ayala indiscretion ten yards out from the Boro box looked like déjà vu for a moment. It was Gallagher and Ayala coming together last season that sent Boro into a downward spiral. Interestingly Howson gave his skipper a mini lecture over the incident which perhaps illustrates who would be the most suitable to wear the armband in Friend’s prolonged absence. Another Preston free kick was awarded after Clayts took one for the team after another Ayala faux pas which saw Gallagher send it towards the back post cleared out by Fry to Rafferty who hit it well wide fortunately.

One minute of the ninety remaining and a rare decision going Boro’s way was played to McNair whose effort came to nothing as four minutes additional time were held up. Marvin Johnson tried to get past Fisher who blocked him off receiving a much belated yellow card for his trouble.

A last gasp long throw from Shotton saw calls for a Boro penalty on McNair ignored only for Preston to break and a tracking back Ashley Fletcher earning a yellow for his frustrated tackle on the West Stand touchline. It was delivered in by Gallagher and after a nervy scramble the final whistle went with honours even. Not a great spectacle but it at least drew a line under the weekend. Tav had a good game and looked lively as did Browne but McNair was the man for me that made Boro tick, was the main catalyst who got things going throughout the evening earning the MOM. By no means a great game but avoiding defeat was crucial for Boro as they now travel to out of form Birmingham on Friday night.

Pos. 18th (9 pts)	SATURDAY 28 SEPTEMBER 2019			Pos. 7th (16 pts)
Boro		1-4	Sheff Wed
McNair (19)	53% 9(2) 4 9	POSSESSION SHOTS (on target) CORNERS FOULS	47% 11(5) 6 17	Clayton (5 o.g.) Iorfa (6) Reach (23) Fletcher (34)

Mocked Monk Mauls Muddled Boro

This afternoons game was always going to be an interesting affair after the EFL’s investigation into stadium sales at the apparent behest of SG and the somewhat confusing timeline in the case of this afternoon’s opponents – plus the return of Garry Monk, whose legacy still lives on or rankles depending upon perspective. Having just taken over at the Owls, today’s encounter at the Riverside was his fourth game in charge. It’s too early to come to any conclusions but suffice to say that he had a decent record at Leeds and then worked miracles at Birmingham whilst his time at the Riverside was certainly no worse than what ensued after his demise.

It’s the third side that Boro will face in the top ten this season having earned a very credible draw away at Bristol and a somewhat fatiguing defeat last week away to Cardiff due to an unfortunate OG. Boro were sat 15th, an equidistant position before kick off between a relegation spot and Wednesday in 10th which indicated that Monk probably had the slight advantage despite being the away side.

Boro’s injury situation was static with Gestede, Friend and Coulson still missing. The young LB would have been a risk to throw into this game after a lengthy lay off even if he was deemed fit. Hernia victim Jonny Howson however was anticipated to be possibly in line for a start after being a surprise inclusion on the bench in South Wales last week.

Would Woodgate revert back to his preferred 433 or stick with 352? Come two o’clock team news indicated that it was 433 with Bola returning at LB and Ayala dropping to the bench to make way for a player that looked extremely lightweight and vulnerable on his last outing. A brave decision by the Manager in fact a bold decision because if Bola showed the same level of disconnect then Wednesday could be in for a rewarding afternoon. Wing was reinstated in place of Saville with the two strikers seemingly untouchable and very fortunate to be starting again.

For the Owls, man mountain and Boro irritant Atdhe Nuhiu was starting in what looked like 442 for the visitors with former Boro man Adam Reach also selected in a Riverside bathed in Autumn sunshine. There was no sign of Jordan Rhodes on the bench for Wednesday which either indicated his fall from grace or the Owls strength in depth.

The several thousand Wednesday fans greeted their team bedecked in green, which was presumably because of some sort of identity crisis or that in South Yorkshire blue and white clashes with red in marketing land (or should that be exploitation world?). Iorfa got things under way for the green army, an early slip up was pounced on by Assombalonga but his decision making was in short supply once more as he tried to nutmeg his opponent rather than doing the simple thing and finding Fletcher.

The Owls earned the opening corner and as the Red Faction were suffering flashback the “Typical Boro” inevitable happened only this time Clayton beat Fletcher to the ball and another glancing header saw us go behind in the opening minutes for the second week in succession. Just as the Wednesday fans were settling down from their infuriatingly ironic celebrations Bannon delivered a free kick into the Boro box from which Iorfa stooped to beat Fry and head home from 8 yards out, giving Randolph no chance. A blunt lesson in deliveries and another in how not to defend, beleaguered Boro were now two down and only seven minutes gone.

Britt was struggling with what seemed like an ankle injury after a collision with a defender that left him requiring treatment, which may have been purely tactical to help his team mates clear their heads. Wednesday had started this game by far the livelier, whereas Boro just hadn’t started at all and looked extremely vulnerable, the ditching of Ayala and three at the back now looking very questionable. Britt was penalised for holding Odubajo as the red shirts launched their first meaningful attack. A minute later a nervy Bola header had Fry under pressure as the ball was played back to Randolph. Boro’s midfield were anonymous and the defence looking susceptible. Another Wednesday attack saw their number seven Harris beat Dijksteel for Steven Fletcher to out-jump the relatively diminutive Bola to see his effort go out for a corner that was unconvincingly defended.

In a rare Boro fray, Britt was hauled back just over the halfway line which incredibly didn’t see a yellow card in what looked like a professional foul to prevent a break. Paddy McNair then went down in the box with a half-hearted penalty appeal waved away for a corner. Johnson swung in a crisp ball from the resultant corner and the aforementioned McNair half volleyed the ball into the back of Westwood’s net from the middle of the box. That was like a boil being lanced in the pent up Riverside as the clock approached the twenty-minute mark.

A run by Dijksteel then played in Wing who hit a shot, which was not up to his usual standards, but it did at least signal intent and that Boro now sensed they were equal to their opponents because in the opening quarter of an hour they looked anything but. Just as Boro now looked like rescuing something Clayton was caught dawdling, the alert Adam Reach pounced, sent in a left footed low screamer to make it 1-3 to the Owls. Twenty-three minutes gone and it was looking farcical apart from that brief three-minute Boro cameo.

After the restart, Johnson back defending put it out for another corner from which Bannon played it across the face of Randolph’s goal for Hutchinson steaming in but he narrowly miss his connection. From the next phase Bola then played a ball into Ashley Fletcher, he and Westwood contested the ball which the experienced Keeper eventually collected at the second attempt. Woodgate, Leo and Keane were looking lost and confused on the touchline whilst Ayala was embarrassingly warming up as they remedied to repair their collective Kamikaze tactical damage before a ball was even kicked.

Whilst there was an abundance of head scratching going on in the Boro technical area Odubajo left the bewildered Bola for dead, played the ball back to Reach who in turn crossed to the back post for Steven Fletcher to make it four nil with the ball nestling in the corner of Randolph’s goal. “Can we play you every week” chorused from the away fans as the South Stand started to empty. Bola was as poor he had been in his last Riverside outing, totally out of position, letting a long Westwood clearance fly over his head for Odubajo to collect. Clearly very little had been identified by the coaching team and even less had been learnt.

If ever Garry Monk could be accused of being smug there was never a moment when it was more suitable or indeed probably brought him more pleasure with the Riverside turning toxic. His side were attacking with ease and every time they went down their right flank, we looked likely to let another one in. A Labrador puppy having his tummy tickled offered more resistance!

Sam Hutchinson needed to receive some attention which provided Boro a chance for Leo and Keane to try and reorganise the sorry raggle taggle bunch. Being four one up with consummate ease there was no need for Monk to risk Hutchinson any further as he limped off for Luongo to take his place.

Another nervy scare ensued with the first half coming to a close when Nuhiu had Shotton needing to be alert to spare any further embarrassment to Boro pride as Fletcher played him in unopposed. The atmosphere in the ground was now like a morgue as Wednesday fans becoming tired of cheering and jeering, headed for half time pints with the North, West, East and South Stands in contrasting solemn silence. A cacophony of loud boo’s beat shock jock MMP to his max volume button as the half time whistle went. Truth was that for all of that half we had been an embarrassment, tactically we were all at sea looking clueless and confused. “Deluded” was the all-enveloping word that entered my head as I watched sorry looking red shirts bow out with a whimper past an even sorrier and shell-shocked looking home bench.

What Woodgate and Co. could do during the half time break was certainly questionable but considering the coaching team had screwed up with their selection and tactics by abandoning the back three and believing that Bola can compete at this level was bewildering. When the teams returned for the second half Ayala and Browne took to the pitch with Clayton and Bola unsurprisingly and unceremoniously missing as Woodgate reverted to a back three.

The North Stand was distinctly quiet and not exactly expecting to see much action in truth if the first half was anything to go by along with the very obvious lack of “returnees” to their seats. There were a few feisty challenges and free kicks disrupting any patterns of play in the opening stages of the half. With Palmer off the pitch receiving treatment for one such challenge, a Wednesday free kick was launched into the Boro box evading Iorfa and Nuhui as Shotton thankfully cleared his lines. Bannon then upended Browne which to me looked like a bit of homework coming to fruition in an effort to unsettle the potentially hot-headed former Hammer.

A Shotton cross nodded back by Johnson in the Owls box saw a Westwood punch fall to Assombalonga who only a few yards out done what Britt does best, scuffed his attempt and missed by a mile (OK maybe just the whole three yards) when hitting the target was infinitely easier. Boro had at least started with more impetus but let’s be honest it would have been impossible to start with anything less than that shambolic first half which was by far the worst seen at the Riverside for some time and that includes the spineless Premiership surrender season.

Assombalonga was again in on goal but his effort this time saw the side netting ripple after he’d done the difficult and clever bit. Seconds later Dijksteel had to be on his mettle to prevent a fifth going in at the opposite end. Another Bannon delivery but this time it was poor and Browne cleared it out to Fletcher finding Britt who found Wing finding McNair who disappointingly launched his shot into the North Stand. Randolph then flapped at a Reach cross and Steven Fletcher was put off by the close attention of Ayala. How many goals were left in this game was anybody’s guess? Odubajo then had a side footed effort pushed out for a corner by Randolph, the first Bannon corner was cleared by Fry only for a second in quick succession which was half cleared with Wednesday coming straight back at the Boro defence eventually needing a Dijksteel header to clear.

A set piece saw Boro send up their big lads but it was taken short and the cross when it came was easily read and from it Wednesday immediately launched another assault which Dijksteel rescued and in doing so set up Boro to get forward again. Marcus Browne was then taken out by Odubajo as the Ref seemed very lenient in terms of issuing cards. Howson and Saville had been warming up but presumably not to replace Browne hopefully. The away fans were understandably vociferous whilst the dwindling home support was somewhat subdued.

Browne was again in the action as Bannon this time brought him down and finally Ref Livingston handed out a yellow. The ensuing free kick was delivered in low from Wing and cleared out by Borner for a Boro corner. The short corner was sent in by Johnson with Iorfa clearing out for another corner which in the interim saw Johnson replaced by Walker. Johnson had been one of our “best of a bad lot” performers so why it was his number held up was anyone’s guess but maybe that’s what the bench had done, guess that is! Meanwhile, when the delayed Wing taken corner arrived it was lacklustre and cleared out for a throw in.

A Wing free kick was hit in low again, cleared out by Steven Fletcher for another Boro corner as another hapless floater (pun intended) was delivered for Westwood to easily collect from a thoughtless Boro set piece. It was nowhere near as bad as the first half but still looked as clueless and fractured as a Garry Monk Boro display, oh the irony!

Ten minutes to go and those two Britt Assombalonga misses looked to have sealed any hope Boro had of getting back into this game. Sam Winnall then entered the fray for the visitors in place of Nuhiu presumably with the instruction to just run around trying to stretch Boro’s defence. Boro had obviously run out of ideas, Reach and Odubajo were comfortable as were Bannon and Iorfa and Wednesday never looked like letting this game slip. Bringing on Walker under the circumstances seemed a very strange almost eccentric act of desperation, defeated Boro now looked to be just playing the game out hoping to hear that final whistle.

A hoofed McNair clearance up to Browne summed up the lack of structure as Iorfa collected easily. Ayala beat Winnall to a ball but the defensive clearance was as it had been all afternoon. aimless and more in despair than anything. With Walker breaking clear for Boro he was clipped earning Luongo a yellow card. Lewis Wing’s free kick cleared the wall but was frustratingly way off target. Harris then left the field of play for Fox as Monk wound the clock down. Randolph had to come out and collect as the game was entering those decaying last minutes, going through the motions as four minutes of added time was announced.

Dijksteel whipped in a great ball but there was nobody in a red shirt in the Owls box to deflect it past Kieron Westwood. It was Randolph’s turn again to get down and save from Reach as there was seemingly no end to this pain. A last ditch Boro corner was delivered but hit off Ayala which was then quickly despatched back into the Owls box but to no avail. Fortunately, the final whistle sounded to bring the humiliating embarrassment to an end.

It was an afternoon that highlighted all our shortcomings in one game. Naïve management, dreadful set pieces, naïve tactics, poor team selections, inept Strikers and predictable deficiencies all blatantly exploited. Dejected Boro fans headed home utterly dismayed at what had unfolded as the away fans justifiably celebrated. The only positive was that it didn’t get any worse in the second half. Overall that performance was about as sharp and polished as a Woodgate post-match interview, incoherent and grammatically questionable.

Sadly, my apathy has seemingly cocooned me or more likely prepared me well as I walked away with feelings of resignation rather than anger or frustration. As I entered the house Mrs Red anticipating a frustrated and angry other half expressed in surprise how I didn’t seem to be bothered, my reply was telling in that I said in all honesty “I’m not. It is what it is”. I just thank the big fella in the sky that I didn’t buy into all the fake bull and spin that many were deceived by in the summer providing some immunity for me now.

Man of the Match? Yer jokin aren’t yer!

Pos. 13th (12pts)	SATURDAY 21 SEPTEMBE 2019			Pos. 15th (9pts)
Cardiff City		1-0	Boro
Fletcher (2 o.g.)	46% 9(1) 3 9	POSSESSION SHOTS (on target) CORNERS FOULS	54% 11(0) 8 12

Blue day at the Bluebirds

This afternoon in the Principality sunshine saw a reunion of sorts with Boro for Lee Tomlin, Joe Bennet and Aden “one season” Flint and of course Rudy Gestede. Prior to Kick Off both sides had amassed nine points each which was a statement of mid table mediocrity and nothing like the auto promotion or play off places fans of both clubs had been harbouring hopes for back in August. That man Robert Glatzel who demolished us with a pre-season friendly hat trick has since struggled since joining the Bluebirds and up until kick off at least had all the hallmarks of a “Typical Boro” non scoring signing.

Jonathan Woodgate’s disclosure beforehand that he still wants to play exciting attacking football but realises that the Championship is a grind and sometimes performances and tactics have to be employed to reflect that was perhaps a warning to the travelling army not to expect gung-ho football this afternoon.

Friend and Coulson were still recovering for Boro but surprisingly Howson had made the bench after his hernia operation. When the Teams were announced Glatzel was missing for Cardiff due to illness but Lee Tomlin bravely made their bench despite a midweek car accident and Joe Bennet starting. Bola and Wing had made way for Ayala (Captain) and Saville with Boro going with the back 3/5 that finished the last game. Neither can have any complaints about being dropped as one seemed somewhat below par in his last game whilst the other just seemed to let the Reading game simply pass him by.

The Game started with a brilliant glancing header from a corner in the second minute from Ashley Fletcher, deftly across the front of goal to score. Unfortunately, it was his own goal as Randolph’s first involvement was in picking the ball out of the net. Ashley was defending in the front of the six-yard box but inexplicably attacked the ball when heading it up, backwards or even out seemed easier.

The Bluebirds sensed blood in those early minutes and then went on to test Randolph a few times as they broke with relative ease to put balls into the danger area as Boro struggled to clear their heads. In response Shotton collected the ball out left and fed Dijksteel in the centre who fancied his chances with a long-range drive that Fletcher tried to attack but the opportunity was cleared by the covering Morrison as Boro now looked to be finally trying to get back into the game.

On eleven minutes Fletcher, desperate to make amends, played in Britt who seemed to stumble into Flint when he looked through on the Cardiff eighteen-yard box. Sixteen minutes gone and the game had now settled which was probably good from a Boro head clearing perspective. A Johnson ball flew down the wing to an imaginary white shirt that as both winger and defender wasn’t there as Boro were guilty of some very poor decision making. McNair had an opportunity that was well wide but Cardiff broke from the resulting goal kick and a scuffed “mis shot” from Ralls in the middle of the Boro box saved our blushes. Saville then cleared the ball out and up the pitch which eventually found Fletcher wide right who played it into Britt in the box who in turn laid it back to the advancing Dijksteel but he just couldn’t connect cleanly and his effort was charged down.

The late afternoon heat seemed to be taking the sting out of the game (not that there was that much sting to begin with). A Penalty shout from Omar Bogle had Boro hearts in mouths as he went down in the Boro box. Almost immediately Bogle again had an opportunity from distance on twenty-nine minutes resulting from a poor Ayala clearance with thankfully Randolph collecting easily but the warning signs were growing if Boro didn’t get a grip. A hefty challenge from Clayts on Patterson out on the left wing had the Cardiff player rolling over in agony and requiring treatment. I thought Clayts was fortunate not to receive a yellow as it looked to me like he had a second nibble at Patterson as he was going down. A thirty third minute Boro corner from Saville was far too easily headed clear. Two minutes later and a free kick for a challenge on Saville was taken by McNair. The effort from the Northern Irishman sailed over the Blue wall but also Smithies crossbar from 25 yards out. A well worked Boro play down the right involving Fry and Fletcher saw a perfect slide rule pass into the Cardiff box for Britt but he was too slow off the mark and the alert Smithies collected.

A clumsy challenge on 40 minutes saw Cardiff awarded a free kick which saw Omar Bogle smash a thirty-yard drive off the Boro wall. A powerful driving run from Dijksteel saw a backheel from Fletcher to Britt but the attempt was smothered as Boro showed lightweight feint flickering promise. Two minutes added time were held up but a goal kick from Randolph was hit directly out of play summing up Boro’s first half, frustratingly lacking in belief drive and quality. We had no attempts to speak of on target and any set pieces we did have were totally lacking imagination it was reminiscent of a training ground knock about. Britt and Fletcher hadn’t offered a threat of any kind to the Cardiff defence. Had it not been for that sickening opening it perhaps could have been classed as a good solid away performance but that crazy own goal changed the perspective for Boro and we were subsequently found lacking.

The hope was for a vast improvement in the second half. Junior Hoilett came on for Murphy for the Bluebirds at half time with Boro surprisingly remaining unchanged. Almost immediately Bogle nearly embarrassed wrong sided Ayala to put Cardiff two ahead but his effort hit the side netting. Boro had started the half sleepwalking. Saville had our best chance of the game after a Johnson won corner but he side footed his attempt too centrally and in any case over Smithies bar. Britt went down on 49 minutes after a challenge from Flint but it seemed fairly soft to me and more indicative of Britt’s overall hunger or lack of it in the game. Three minutes later Cardiff had a penalty claim after a Blue shirt went sprawling from an over hit cross that Dijkstell was “shepherding” out. The introduction of Hoilett had inspired Cardiff while Boro still looked flat, devoid of ideas. The comparison on Britt’s contribution compared to Bogle and last week with Meite were light years apart, a complete lack of drive and energy

A clever cut back from Johnson to Britt led to a Boro corner on 57 minutes but the McNair delivered corner was lofted in and headed clear for a Boro throw in on the far side which eventually went out for another corner which was then floated to the far side of the Cardiff box but it was headed aimlessly out for a Goal Kick to the home side. Minutes after being brought down in the box and claiming a penalty the lively Bogle then met a cross which hit Randolph’s crossbar with 60 minutes gone. Two minutes later Shotton headed clear and in doing so set up Johnson but his run was cut out with a clattering challenge just over the half way line as Boro’s lack of a threat continued.

Boro were looking totally toothless with zero realistic threat to the Cardiff goal. Defensively we were battling and showed solidity but attack wise we were completely inept and it was long overdue for a change from the Boro bench. Meanwhile Warnock was preparing his second change of the game as Randolph pulled off a one handed save for Patterson to head over the follow up. It was then Bogle who made way for Danny Ward much to the relief of the Boo defence.

Woodgate eventually made a change with Browne coming on for Saville who had flattered to deceive all afternoon but he wasn’t the only one. Fletcher and Assombalonga can consider themselves lucky to have remained on the pitch. This second half was worse than scrappy for Boro with any semblance of shape or tactics very difficult to recognise. Browne looked like he was playing centrally behind the two strikers when he came on but it would remain to be seen if he could provide them with any service.

Marvin Johnson entered Ref Darren Bond’s book for a frustrated foul after being caught out. Meanwhile Lewis Wing came on for Clayton on 76 minutes. A ridiculous throw in by Dijksteel in the general direction of Ayala resulted in a mix up and a free kick awarded 35 yards out for Cardiff as the throw in had totally eluded the Spaniard and in doing so effectively setting up a Cardiff attack. Johnson then went off for Tavernier as Woodgate tried to inject some fresh legs as he endeavoured for his side to get a shot in on target.

Morrison went down after a sniper had seemingly removed his right arm as the clock ticked down on 86 minutes. Ralls then took one for the team as he scythed down Browne. Ayala played a ball out to the right wing for Dijksteel to run onto but even Usain Bolt would have struggled to get even half way to it and in doing so summed up Boro’s second half. Three very short minutes of added time went up as Boro tried vainly to rescue a point. A last ditch Shotton long throw went out for a corner to Boro which in turn was punched clear by Smithies and then returned with venom by Tav near the half way line to go out for a Cardiff goal kick extinguishing any remaining hopes that the travelling army may have had tucked away in the corner behind the now dawdling Smithies goal awaiting the Refs whistle.

A dour Championship game that Boro never really looked like getting anything out of. Its easy to blame the early set back but there was nothing from Boro at all offensively. There should have been changes at half time but they would have had to have been bold ones. Britt was a passenger, partly as a result of a lack of service undoubtedly but also in part to his own immobility. Johnson having the dual duties of a wing back may have taken some of the crosses away that he normally delivers but he was on the left and not the right where some of his best spells of late have been. Clayton, McNair and Saville just didn’t spark collectively in the middle. Fletcher unfortunately needs to toughen his game up as I keep repeating if he is to make it at this level. Prancing around without end effort or aggression will see him likely sinking down to league one or lower in his future career. The lad needs to up his mental toughness as much as his languid playing style. He has something deep down in his locker but infuriates with his lack of attitude. Man United, West Ham, Middlesbrough and then what comes next for him? He can stop that slide and rebuild but he has to do it quickly and nobody can do it for him.

Looking for a MOM was almost impossible, Shotton was one of the better performers and a contender but for his attitude and despite lots of disparaging grumbles I’m going to give it Dijksteel who despite a few howlers at least looked like he was putting in a determined effort. It also has to be remembered that he was (like Johnson) playing as a wing back and as a consequence by design would be caught out occasionally.

A very unflattering performance overall from both sides from which apart from a solitary Britt attempt that may have vaguely counted as “on target” I’m struggling to recall any Boro attempt on target. No denying it or dressing it up, it was a rank bad performance and there were far too many Boro Players who instead of hugs and confidence building need a massive boot up the backside. We can’t depend on Mrs Assombalonga having a baby every week for him to play with a spring in his step and we can’t have a midfield that offer nothing going forward.

Our Strikers don’t strike and whilst we don’t have anything in reserve, I’d rather see Tav and Bowne given a run up there with Wing behind to at least move and stretch opposition defenders. It was very warm out there today on the pitch but there was no excuse for not breaking sweat. Woodgate, Keane, Leo and Co. need to get to the bottom of the apparent apathy and lacklustre showing. Going behind in the manner we did was disappointing but there were 88 minutes to get something out of this match and we never ever looked like doing so. Woodgate made the right choices in dropping Bola and Wing after last weeks below par showing, he now needs to do the same with his Jaffa frontmen. “But we have no Strikers” I hear from some, my view at the moment is that we simply “have no Strikers” or at least any that fit the job description so why play them?