Author: Redcar Red

Derby County		Middlesbrough
Wilson	2′	Hugill	52′
Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	62% 8 2 4 8	Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	38% 11 2 5 12

Pride restored at the Park

New Year saw a new arrival at Boro in the form of Rajiv van La Parra who was eligible for this one and who had been at Rockliffe for a few days but whether that was deemed enough time to understand his new Manager’s philosophy and tactics was in the air until the teams were announced at 2.00pm. Derby meanwhile had the beast that is Bradley Johnson back in contention after a five game ban as was Tom Huddlestone who would be hoping to start this one instead of being on the bench as he was at Norwich at the weekend. Considering the result at Carrow Road it would be interesting to see if Frank Lampard’s Derby didn’t kept the same line up.

Derby had won just one of the last eight league meetings between the two sides coming last year in an embarrassing 3-0 victory in November against Gary Monk’s Boro at the Riverside. Derby’s last win on New Year’s Day came back in 2013 and ironically against Boro. The Derby team when announced was indeed the one that started at Norwich with Lowe coming in upon his return from a loan spell onto the bench. It was understandably too early for VLP but Pulis defied the hope that many of us had to see Tavernier starting but we have long since lost any hope of watching a Boro side set up to score let alone win games so out went Downing and in came Clayts to form a midfield with Wing, Saville and the “dangerous at both ends” Besic. Big question for the travelling army was would it be four at the back or three CB’s and would Howson resume his right wing-back role with Friend on the left? The drama started early before the kick off in fact as Flint was withdrawn with a pulled hamstring for Batth to get an unexpected start.

5th versus 6th got started with Derby kicking off and in less than 120 seconds Derby had taken the lead with a brilliant run from Wilson slid through by the unmarked Marriott between the Boro CB’s and Midfield, coolly slotting it past Randolph. Boro unfortunately had started on the back foot and it took around ten minutes after that before we cleared our heads. We lined up with four at the back with Fry at RB not that it made much difference because Derby were playing the ball around with confidence and we hadn’t registered anything even remotely close to an attempt with a quarter of an hour gone and indeed Wilson had another speculative effort from an uncontested free kick from distance. Derby’s kids were giving Pulis’s men the run around with all the possession.

Our best and only threat up until that juncture came on eighteen minutes with a Fry cross into Saville that looked like it went out for a corner but the Ref deemed it a goal kick. A minute later another claim for a corner came from a Boro free kick which Friend claimed his shot had deflected out for a corner but again a goal kick was awarded to the Rams. A Dael Fry earned corner saw the ball delivered in by Saville which was adjudged to have come off Friend’s head as another goal kick was awarded to the Rams as Boro had finally started the game, albeit twenty minutes too late. A series of blocks from Derby on twenty four minutes just outside the six yard box saw some hope that we just might start to seriously get into this game.

Scott Carson was now starting to take his time at goal kicks as the spell of Boro pressure was clearly raising concerns and showing that defensively Derby looked frail if pushed. A Wing corner arrived at the near post and was flicked on and bounced dangerously in front of Carson but nobody in a Red shirt was there to connect. On the half hour mark Lewis Wing let fly a shot that went wide but away from play Wilson went down with a mystery injury. A Saville delivered corner then saw Waghorn in his own box defending go down after a clash of heads with Friend and also allow time for the patched up Wilson to come back on. On thirty four minutes Keogh was laid out on his back after a Jonny Howson challenge as the home side were overly happy to take the sting out of the game at every opportunity.

A free kick won by Hugill to the right of the “D” of the Derby box was played a yard to the left by Wing for Saville to blast it but it was blocked by the Derby wall and the home side were now looking very susceptible. A cross from the right bounced in the box but Hugill just failed to connect and then a following Boro corner was cleared out but only for Besic to collect and drive back into the Derby box but a heavy touch Bosnian from meant it was just over the line as he crossed. At this stage Boro looked alert and lively, snapping quickly into challenges with the Rams struggling to get out of their own half. Just before the half time whistle went a nervy moment at the back for Boro saw a hoofed cross into Randolph’s box that was half cleared but then another cross from a follow on free kick conceded by Saville was headed clear by Batth.

Four minutes added time was held up by the fourth official and in a midfield scramble Marriott broke free, Saville lunged in recklessly and was fortunate to escape with just a yellow card as Boro’s hopes to get back into this game were nearly scuppered by a momentary albeit passionate rush of blood. The whistle signalling the end of the half followed shortly afterwards in a game that had saw Boro start in a lethargic manner allowing the Rams an easy opener giving Marriott acres of space to pick his pass out for Wilson. Perhaps the warm up injury to Flint had caused a bit of confusion between Batth and Ayala as Wilson fired home but the last thirty minutes of the half were all Boro. As disappointing as the sloppy start had been there was plenty to be optimistic about in the second half if Boro could continue where they had left off attacking instead of defending.

The sides came out for the second half with no changes for either side. I had thought that Pulis might have hooked Saville as Ref Rob Jones was under pressure from the home fans for retribution on the Northern Irishman. The second half kick-off was ordered to be retaken presumably as Clayts played it back to Wing out wide as Boro clearly meant to start as they finished the first, on the offensive. Harry Wilson lasted two minutes before he was sat on the turf again and had to be replaced by Huddlestone.

Ayala was forced into a low clearing header to concede a corner from which Boro broke and Howson was cleaned out for a Free Kick but when delivered in by Saville it was badly miss hit at grass height to be easily cleared for a throw in which was taken by Friend. A short throw from George “F” to George “S” was laid back to him by Saville and then George played in a great left footed pin point cross for Hugill to rise majestically in the centre of the box to make it deservedly 1-1 on 52 minutes.

Just after the restart Lewis Wing launched a free kick which was nodded on by Hugill to Batth in the six yard box but his header was straight at Carson who didn’t know much about it. Boro then upped the ante further as Ayala took his turn to go close. Boro now had their heads up and eager to get their noses in front. Derby pushing back now showed a little more intent and a Keogh challenge as Boro broke saw the Rams Captain laid out on the touchline at Tony Pulis’s feet clutching his head. I’m guessing that TP may have expressed some negative comment regarding the theatrics from the Irishman as words were exchanged. The game now started to open up a lot more and was swinging end to end with the home fans screaming at Boro’s apparent/alleged physicality at some of the challenges flying in.

Lampard brought on Holmes for ex Boro target Waghorn with twenty minutes remaining, shortly afterwards Boro had the lineman’s flag to thank as Derby had advanced menacingly into the Boro 18 yard box. Immediately before the re-start Saville was removed much to the chagrin of the home fans to be replaced by Downing to go wide left in a straight swap. Besic then got himself booked after giving the ball away cheaply centrally then redeeming the problem by clattering the Derby sub Holmes as he consequently broke free. With a quarter of an hour remaining it was all to play for as both sides were now trying to get the win. Lampard’s next and final move was then to send on ex Boro hero Nugent.

An in-swinging Derby corner needed Randolph to get a fist to it as the Rams were starting to push forward but the ball came straight back at Boro via Keogh who cut it back in to Huddlestone who shot from 25 yards out, Nugent dummied it in front of Randolph but fortunately it went wide. Derby were now starting to dominate the possession stats again and Boro looked to be sitting deep.

There were now a few weary legs in Red Shirts with Derby looking the livelier. Nugent tested Randolph from near the penalty spot as a ball was played in to him but Randolph managed to make himself big, stand strong and it rebounded away off him. Hugill was then retired after running himself into the ground for Assombalonga as the Ref ushered Jordan off the pitch with three minutes remaining. Both sides looked nervy as they probed, both only too aware of the consequences if they slipped up. There were a few hopeful balls pumped back and forth up field as the fourth official showed 5 added minutes on the board.

A free kick just over the half way line allowed Derby to pump the ball into the Boro box near the death knell which was cleared by Fry and then again by Friend. A Wisdom cross was cleared again by Fry and as Derby took the resultant corner it thankfully ran out for a Boro throw. Boro were now in full backs to the wall mode, defending, holding onto the point. Regaining possession we broke, set up Besic who then bizarrely passed straight into the path of Bogle on the half way line as the final whistle went and Boro had fought back to win a very well-deserved point.

After an horrendous start, looking punch drunk and out on their feet for the opening twenty minutes or so Boro fought back bravely and arguably were unlucky not to have collected all three points in the end. There were some very strong and committed performances notably from Howson, Friend, Hugill, Ayala, Batth, Fry and Randolph back to his best kept us in it but MOM for me was Lewis Wing who was out on his feet come the final whistle. That sleepy start for which I’m sure TP will not be holding back from when holding accountability forced Boro to put in their best performance for months to maintain their credible away form.

I would have liked to have seen fresh legs introduced sooner from Pulis and would have preferred Tav to Downing who looked tired especially contrasted with the energy levels of Nugent and didn’t really add anything or provide a much needed outlet and threat near the end. The other quandary I have is would we have put in such a proactive performance had we not gone behind so quickly so again the question that niggles (much as it did after the Blackburn game) is was it because of TP’s tactics or in spite of the tactics? I would like to hope that it showed Pulis that the limitations he thinks we have are perhaps not as severe as he believes and with Tav and now VLP could actually be much better.

Middlesbrough		Ipswich Town
Hugill Tavernier	37′ (pen) 72′	Reach	10′
Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	42% 19 9 5 16	Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	58% 6 4 3 12

Boro double eases tension

Paul Lambert brought his nothing to lose Tractor Boys to the Riverside this afternoon to meet Tony’s confidence sapped Boro. After a very disappointing Boxing Day Pulis will have probably the best chance of his career to right a wrong in only 72 hours against the division’s worst side bar none seven points adrift from safety. So bad was the negative, dreary borefest served up on Boxing Day that this afternoon surely had to be an improvement with beleaguered home fans now openly hostile.

The Injury situation for Boro was a case of as you were with only Shotts and Gestede out although there were high hopes in the concourse that a few others who started that numbing negative display against the Owls would have picked up “niggles”. The Blues had a few more concerns with Ward, Adeyemi, Huws and Skuse all out. Having won just once on their travels this season and having lost each of their last three away games what could possibly go wrong for Boro? Boro had now recorded just one solitary victory at home in their last eight games whilst the travellers from East Anglia had won just four games in their last thirty six matches across all competitions.

Team news saw a few changes for Boro with Assombalonga, Clayts and McNair “rested” and Saville, Wing and Hugill in along with a surprise appearance for Gestede on the bench. Pre kick off we assumed (wrongly) that there would be a back four but TP threw a surprise and went with a back three of Ayala, Flint and Fry with Howson and Friend providing the width. Besic was cleaning up in front of the back three with Saville and Wing providing the tenacity and drive with Downing positioned to link up the play with Hugill. As a game plan it made sense to a degree but in execution the game started like the Riverside atmosphere, flat and pretty much continued in that vein throughout the first half.

That Stadium atmosphere was like the Prosecco party originally planned for Boxing Day where the bubbles had now gone very flat for the majority of the Riverside faithful. On the positive Howson was looking lively in his role. We had a few early corners as Wing and Howson linked up well and seemed to have developed a level of understanding from the off. Despite Lambert’s claims to the contrary his side actually started deep with Boro enjoying the early pressure with a Downing effort sailing over as the first real serious threat on Dean Gerkin’s goal. It took the Blues just short of fifteen minutes to register an attack when Kenlock fed Sears whose angled effort was denied by Randolph.

Boro were chasing, pressing and closing down Ipswich high up with Gerkin putting his defenders under pressure a few times by playing it out to them. A clever bit of play between Wing and Howson saw the new wing back driving forward, playing in Wing who then fed Hugill but he sliced his shot well wide while running into the box. At least there was movement on display along with some attacking intent. On twenty five minutes Ipswich “earned” a disputed corner after an effort from the Blues went over the crossbar from which Randolph had dangled from with both hands but somehow it was adjudged to have been a save much to the incredulity of the North Stand. From the corner Chambers made a looping header which had Randolph scrambling and managing to get a palm to it to push it clear in what could and would have been a huge miscarriage of justice. That moment was the first time the crowd had really galvanised albeit into abuse to the officials which was the nearest thing to support for the home side the afternoon had witnessed up until that point.

Ipswich were very much looking like a side rooted to the bottom of the league but Boro despite having more possession and playing higher up than normal still looked little better. Randolph was hoofing it down field rather than rolling it out to Ayala and Friend which kept the pressure on Ipswich but also allowed them to sit deep waiting for the next assault. It wasn’t easy on the eye and the stadium was eerily quiet clearly still suffering from the hangover where proceedings had finished against Wednesday. There were a few moans and groans as Besic was chased down by Downes setting Ipswich free again as if to rub salt into raw wounds but Spence fortunately fired over for the Blues. Just over half an hour gone and although powder was being kept dry you felt that unless there was a Boro breakthrough things would not be pleasant come the half time whistle.

A deep free kick delivered by Wing was met at the far post by Ayala and after some panic in the Ipswich defence dropped to Hugill who missed his target handsomely. A few minutes later Saville registered a shot on target albeit straight down Gerkin’s throat and was easily collected but it did register an ironic burst of cheers and overly enthusiastic clapping from the South Stand. Just short of ten minutes until that damning half time whistle and the mood was building but not in a positive way. A minute later TP’s personal Archangel must have intervened as Hugill was adjudged to have been manhandled as he went for a cross and the whistle went for a penalty to Boro. It was one of those “seen them given” but equally “seen them ignored”.

It was the break that Boro needed because despite huffing and puffing they couldn’t find a way to seriously trouble Gerkin. Hugill himself picked up the ball, stepped up and put it to Gerkin’s right as he guessed left and the boil was lanced and “we’ve scored a goal, we’ve scored a goal, we’ve scored a goal, we’ve scored a goal, we’ve scored a goal” echoed around the Riverside. It was only a penalty but the goal starved Teesside faithful were appreciative despite the self-deprecating sing song. As the half ran down, Kenlock chased a ball down our right with Flint running across to cover but caught in two minds allowed the Ipswich attacker to get past and play in Nolan who in turn threaded his pass to the chasing Sears whose shot was saved brilliantly by the advancing Randolph, quick off his line, using his legs, and that frail solitary goal advantage was just maintained by half time.

Things had lightened a little but it was a less than convincing performance from Boro and it was interesting as the sides took to the field for the second half there was muted enthusiasm and encouragement from either the South or North stands. Clearly Boro hadn’t done enough and the fans were definitely reserving judgement. Early in the second half Lewis Wing chased onto a ball flying across the Ipswich box and went 50/50 into a tackle leaving Chambers in apparent agony with the Blues defender coming off much the worse. I suspect mainly because he didn’t expect such a no holds barred challenge from Lewis in that area of the pitch. There must have been a Christmas miracle as Chambers went from being mortally wounded, laid out on his back for several minutes to running back on to the field of play a few seconds after the game resumed.

Boro were still enjoying more possession but in this half they looked to be a little more cutting and balls were flying into the Ipswich goal area. Hugill saw a great chance well saved by Gerken and then moments later Saville seemed to go down in the box after being bundled into by Pennington but this time the Ref waved play on which in fairness was the right decision from my vantage point. Saville looked to be keen to add to his couple of Boro goals to date as a minute earlier he hit an effort well over. After bitterly complaining to the fourth official over the “penner” that wasn’t TP sent on Tav for Stewy in an effort to squeeze that much needed additional goal to ease nerves. Tav immediately got into the game and even managed to get himself booked for a challenge on Spence whilst back defending.

In response on seventy minutes Lambert brought Roberts on for the ineffective Jackson but within a minute of that Tavernier had chased into the box after a lovely weighted and paced long range ball from Howson in the middle of the park to hit a low stretching attempt with the outside of his left boot catching Dean Gerken wrong footed for the ball to sneak in at the near post and its 2-0 to Boro. This time the celebrations were genuine and minus sarcasm and cynicism apart from a few mumbles about what does he need to do to prove himself to TP. You could sense the defeat in the air now in the Ipswich camp as three minutes later Besic burst through and crossed a peach of a ball across the box with Hugill sliding in but he was inches away from connecting.

Lambert then put Dozzell on for Nolan but at this point Ipswich looked resigned to another pointless journey with Boro recording a season double over the Tractor boys. Hugill forced Gerken into a flying save to prevent a third after a great cross from Friend. Clayts came on for Besic who had done OK despite having one or two of those Besic moments that were less than magic in his own half. On arriving almost immediately a corner came into the Ipswich box and Clayts hit a stinging shot forcing Gerken to palm it out and the Keeper having to reposition quickly to smother the follow up. Boro were now playing with confidence and belief since Tav’s arrival and that crucial killer second goal.

Ipswich had a close effort with Roberts heading a Kenlock cross wide but at the other end Wing forced Gerken to replicate Randolph’s earlier save with his legs as Boro were still knocking. Ayala went off for Danny Batth on ninety minutes and in added time another Friend cross saw Hugill meet it with Gerken flying full stretch to claw it out. Literally within seconds Friend himself had a header just over. The game and three points along with it came to a conclusion just as Boro were about to take yet another corner.

The game was dire in the first half, improved from a Boro perspective in the second and when Tav came on we played our best football. Friend was solid and put in some immense challenges and got some good crosses in. Howson was lively and alert down the right and caused problems and Wing was playing intelligent balls for Howson to both run into and onto instead of those dull midfield passes to standing targets. MOM for me was Howson but Randolph kept us in it and Friend was impressive, Wing was a breath of fresh thinking and Tav scored again!

It was also interesting to see Lambert select Kenlock in favour of supposed alleged Boro target Knudsen as the lad done well. Three points won but apart from the last twenty minutes a less than impressive performance. Given the back drop at 3.00pm it was never likely to have been a classic.

Middlesbrough		Sheffield Wednesday
		Reach	10′
Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	56% 12 3 5 13	Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	44% 4 2 1 12

The Pulis that stole Christmas

After a series of ex Boro managers appearing in the fixture list we now have another series (well two in a row) of managerless clubs. That you would hope would be an added advantage but whether it is Typical Boro or just Typical Pulis we couldn’t be sure about this game and certainly far from confident despite lashings of seasonal hope leftover from yesterday. This reverse fixture at the same time last year was momentous for both clubs with the unlikely scenario of both Managers being sacked shortly after the game which Boro won.

Twelve months on and the Owls are on the lookout for a Manager again with rumours of Steve Bruce about to be unveiled. TP meanwhile has “revamped” the Boro squad and transformed things by being four points better off than this time last year prior to kick off. Cynics may say small margins but I guess if it means finishing the season eight points better off come May then it might look more appealing which is more than can be said for the fayre presented at the Riverside of late. History had the sides level pegging with 46 wins each and 18 draws so home advantage should theoretically tip things in Boro’s favour but it’s our away form that is keeping us in the play offs not home form where we have a tendency to choke.

Wednesday had earned a solitary point in their previous five championship outings whilst in their last meetings between the sides Boro had beaten Wednesday five out of six times drawing only once with the South Yorkshiremen. Team news pre kick off was that Bannon would be back for the Owls along with Downing for Boro with Shotton rated doubtful. Lee Bullen had shuffled a few things in his pack since Luhukay departed including restoring veteran Westwood in goal. Pulis had gone with his predicted negative eleven with three Centre backs, McNair deputising for the injured Shotton and fresh from his rest Downing restored to the side in place of Saville. The only major surprise was the inclusion of young Stephen Walker to the bench.

Boro kicked off and immediately went on the attack or more likely it was because Wednesday retreated into ultra-defence mode with nobody venturing over the half way line. The opening ten minutes looked promising as McNair managed to get a few telling crosses in with Wednesday looking nervy at the back and the early signs were that Boro may get something from this game. One of those telling balls led to a Downing shot that was grass height but had Westwood scrambling. On Ten minutes Flint rose above everyone to stretch his neck muscles but directed his header up and over instead of in a downwards trajectory. So far not great but steady from Boro as Lee Bullen just looked more than happy to simply out defend the master Pulis.

The first serious adventure from the Owls came just before the fifteen minute mark as they launched a counter attack. Ex Boro boy Adam Reach cleared it out to Ex Makem Fletcher who found the lively Bannan, who played in Joao sprinting clear down the left wing. After doing all the hard work the final delivered ball from Joao was thankfully a poor one. Immediately after that brief exertion Joao went down off the ball as Boro were attacking and as the ball was being passed around and not for the first time went backwards Besic sportingly played it out on the half way line to allow treatment and as it happened Joao’s removal for Onomah to come on in his place. This seemingly innocuous occurrence and the fact that Joao was the Owls top scorer should have been a positive omen.

That enforced change however meant that Bullen changed things slightly and realising that Boro had no key to the Owls resolute defence started probing a bit more and it didn’t take long for the now influential Bannon to play a peach of a lobbed ball through to Adam Reach running in behind the Boro backline to cheekily and all too easily collect and slip the ball under a suspect looking Randolph from a tight angle. There wasn’t a single celebratory nuance from Reach as he was mobbed by his Owls teammates in front of the North Stand in respect to his former club and fans. As it turned out those few moments of respect and appreciation for the Riverside faithful was the only thing to be appreciative of for the remainder of the entire afternoon.

I have a feeling that that single goal will prove to be a pivotal moment in shaping Boro’s season. Things started to turn scrappy and messy and Clayts was booked shortly afterwards for a “challenge” on Reach fearing another Wednesday break. By the thirty minute mark the Riverside mood had turned from festive to toxic as boos were ringing round greeting every backwards and “recycled” pass from Boro. It wasn’t unanimous by any means but in front of over 30,000 fans it was very clear and very audible with I would guess around 40% of the Boro fans registering their contempt at the farce that just went from bad to worse in front of them.

There were so many negatives in individual performances to overall team selection and tactics that it is extremely difficult to pick out one thing. Assombalonga isn’t and never has been a lone Striker. He was so isolated it was ridiculous and was totally, completely and utterly ineffective. Playing with Three CB’s and two Wing backs with a wall of defensive Midfielders in front of them at home against a side that has been so poor and so out of form that they sacked their Manager was negative beyond any sense or crumb or respectability or credibility. Downing was supposed to be the No.10, the link up man between midfield and Assombalonga but had to drop so deep to try and collect the ball that when he did there was nobody in front of him in central midfield meaning he had to go back or sideways.

There was absolutely nothing on the pitch that looked remotely like taking the game to Wednesday or perhaps more importantly that had the skill and the intent to do so. Friend and Howson did attempt a few dribbles and runs but they ran into walls of defenders with no support. The few times the ball was played anywhere remotely near Assombalonga he was alone, isolated and surrounded by blue and white shirts, crowded and with nobody to lay the ball off to or to create an opening. That said if Britt moved any slower he would have been done for loitering and soliciting. Being honest, I don’t blame him, had I been given such a futile, pointless and thankless task I think I would have walked off the pitch and thrown my shirt at Pulis. Had TP been of Eastern European or Middle East origin he would (and should) have been up before the war crimes commission for the use of chemical weapons such was the stench and putrid affair having to be stomached by the home support.

Worst of all was that while the many disgruntled in their best (and suspect) Rock Island, Bilberry, Alaskan Duck, DYKN and Herbert Dross Christmas refinery were becoming scathing and clearly unimpressed it was obvious that the Players didn’t buy into what was being asked of them either. You could tell they were robotically adhering to instructions that they had no belief in. Everything that could be broken was broken, despondent, clueless, dishevelled, disorganised, lacking shape and discipline the Boxing Day entertainment wasn’t just the leftovers from Christmas day it was the remnants of what the dog threw up after a nicked mince pie too many.

There was a penalty claim as the ball hit Hector on the arm which looked more like arm to ball but the Ref was having none of it in doing so perhaps believing that it was kinder to put us out of our misery than to provide false and undeserved hope. I’m sure there have been worse and equally poor

dysfunctional performances from Boro in the history of the Riverside but that first half took some beating. Anyway the half thankfully and gratefully petered out and ended still 1-0 down. If you are wondering what went on between Reach’s goal and the other thirty or so minutes until half time I’m sorry there was nothing, absolutely nothing at all, just repeated passing, probing, recycling, passing back and across and then back across again and then interspersed with a half-hearted despondent probe down the flanks. Even MMP didn’t try and cover up the loud boos and jeers as the confused and sorry looking rabble disguised as TP’s preferred starting eleven trounced off somehow managing to find their way to the tunnel without the aid of a sat nav between them.

The second half saw the Boro players run out to abject silence apart from MMP blasting out his seasonal 80’s collection. In an earth shattering shift of seismic proportions Pulis had taken off a CB (Fry) for Hugill and actually played the by now statuesque Assombalonga with a Strike partner as we lined up for the second half in the dubious hope that we might get back into the game. That said I’m not sure that the opening ten minutes of the first half were representative of actually “being into it” in the first instance as Wednesday were so deep that the Life Guards from Eston Baths were scrambled to try and find them at one stage.

Maybe it was the famous Diamond formation that TP was playing in the second half but whatever way you looked at it there was still a huge blindingly obvious gap in the middle of the park where there should have been some threat or perhaps even creativity from Boro instead of a Vacuum. Ten minutes in and Tav was nowwarming up and in doing so put in more of a shift than those actually employed out on the pitch. The introduction of Hugill had had zero effect on our inability to create anything due to a lack of skill and pace in the build-up, every move in slow motion and telegraphed. Finally as the clock ticked towards 70 minutes the penny dropped as boos intensified and TP introduced Tav for Clayton as Wednesday were clearly happy to hang on to what they had earned. Bullen responded by bringing on Pelupessy for Hutchinson who had been largely forgotten by Luhukay.

For the first time all afternoon Boro finally had a spark, a zest, an energy that not for the first time had been overlooked and ignored by the Manager. The lively youngster had a glanced header plucked out of the air by Westwood which give some hope that singlehandedly he might just be able to have an impact. Then with twelve minutes left until the end of normal time Lewis Wing was predictably brought on to try and salvage something from a game that should have been approached as a massive opportunity to string a few wins together instead of looking like we were relegation threatened and desperate to cling on for survival. With two Strikers, Tavernier and Wing we now looked like we could seriously pose a threat as we suddenly had pace, drive, energy, desire and intent.

McNair took one for the team as we pushed forward with Boyd nearly breaking from the Wednesday half as we looked for an undeserved equaliser. The Owls were now effectively “time managing” every break in play with Palmer finally cautioned as a much belated token gesture by the Ref with howls of derision and whistles in the Stadium. With five minutes remaining Lewis Wing cracked in a shot that had the North Stand out of their seats but it went a couple of feet wide of the post. The side that was finishing the match for Boro was probably the line up most of us wanted to start as we belatedly began to show some spirit. There were five minutes of additional time allowed but it was all too little, too late for a by now half empty Riverside. MOM for me was Tav as he changed the game and made an immediate and obvious difference with his pace, energy and positive approach.

As for what happens now and what the club should do is open for much debate. No doubt TP will point to the restrictions in his squad and diabolically poor recruitment but whilst they are absolutely genuine charges to be levelled at Steve Gibson and his senior club management team the selection and tactics are down to Tony Pulis. Neither Steve Gibson nor the Recruitment incompetents decide that Britt Assombalonga can operate as an isolated lone striker, they don’t decide to play against a struggling opponent at home and line up as though they were facing Barcelona with an overkill of slow defenders and midfielders. Today was the worst of everything and not for the first time this season, any slight improvement came about as a reaction to the negative failure of Pulis’s preferred methodology and favourites. As unbalanced and poor as the squad may be in certain areas it is ridiculous, futile and unprofessional to force square pegs into round holes instead of playing to the strengths and abilities of what you do actually have to work with. The continued omission of the likes of Wing and Tav in favour of non-productive expensively assembled flops was laid bare this afternoon as the lone Striker insistence failed yet again and yet again failed miserably.

At some point something has to change and quickly, since the 22nd of September nil-nil home draw against Swansea to the present time which is exactly three months and eight home matches we have only won seven points at home which puts us in the bottom three of Championship sides home form. Only bottom club Ipswich have won less home points in that time, six against our meagre seven points. That type of form needs drastic culling action and as toxic as today’s atmosphere turned in parts any future semblance of that level of clueless ineptness out on the pitch will leave SG with a very simple decision to make, put simply it couldn’t get any worse unless left unattended.

Reading		Middlesbrough
		Friend	77′
Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	58% 12 4 9 12	Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	42% 16 6 8 15

Friend fires binary Boro victory

Today saw an opportunity for Boro to bounce back against managerless Reading at the Madejski Stadium down in Berkshire. With supposed new non moss gathering boss Jose Gomes still employed by Rio Ave in Portugal subject to a compensation settlement the Royals stand in gaffer Scott Marshall would have been optimistic and buoyed facing shot shy Boro after watching Burton march deservedly into the League Cup Semi-finals at the Riverside on Tuesday night. Slip, siding Middlesbrough apparently had a few niggles and knocks according to TP at yesterday’s press conference. Presumably bruised ego’s were the main requirement for the Rockliffe physio’s ice packs rather than stretched hamstrings.

The “little knocks and niggles” is more likely coded manager speak for dropping a few of those that have flattered to deceive for a very long time now or at least we had hoped. Tuesday night must have surely been a Damsacene moment for the experienced Boro manager in that what he has is now not just leaking badly but starting to dangerously list. If not then the likelihood was for a torrent of abuse from the travelling army building on rankles away at Loftus Road last weekend which then turned into a unified chorus of boos at the Riverside. The hope was that the “one or two changes” that TP alluded to yesterday would have a more positive outcome than watching ten men defend while their striker mate is left unattended and alone in enemy territory.

The “niggle enforced changes” were revealed with Downing omitted from the squad entirely with Hugill out of the starting eleven as TP reverted to a back three with Friend and Shotton operating as wing backs. Surprising for me was to see Besic still in the side after a few dubious performances topped off with dithering yet again instead of clearing the danger for the Burton goal on Tuesday night. Saville we presumed to be playing just behind Britt, supporting him in his lonely role up front. The Royals had handed a debut to 20 year old Gabriel Osha at CB alongside Tyler Blackett. Ex Boro target Chris Gunter missed out with injury and so another 20 year old Omar Richards started in his place at left back.

Reading got the game underway with a back heeled chance coming to Baldock for Reading as Randolph was forced into action early on as Reading passed the ball past our defence not for the first time of late and Randolph fortunately got a boot to it to stop the Royals taking an early lead. A comedy of errors followed in the Reading defence and saw Britt in with a half chance then breaking to Saville and Howson but we just couldn’t take advantage of the situation. Hopefully TP would notice that the Reading back line looked nervy and edgy with two 20 year old replacements in situ.

A Saville near post corner created more chaos in the Reading box with Shotton and Ayala both hovering. Another corner won by Shotton failed to beat the first man by Saville. Boro had Reading on the back foot and still looking very suspect in front of Jaakkola. A poor Royals clearance allowed Clayton to get a cross in to Flint who connected with it but went wide. As defensive a team selection as Boro looked on paper at kick off we were passing the ball around confidently and with fifteen minutes gone Boro were looking comfortable and by far the more likely to score. Assombalonga had another great opportunity set up by Howson but with Blackett closing on him forced a good save out of Jaakkola in the Reading goal.

A Howson right wing cross in to the far post and George Friend was cleared out for a corner which was ultimately collected by Jaakkola who was clattered into by Flint for his troubles. A minor slip by Fry allowed the Royals a little bit of hope but it came to nothing. As dominant as Boro were in this game that was a reminder that if we don’t score goals we are always vulnerable. Howson and Shotton were enjoying a good afternoon up against the stand-in Reading Left Back Richards. A free kick for a foul on Britt was delivered by Saville was met by Shotton in the middle of the Reading box

to put us one up but the linesman’s flag went up for a presumed offside which looked very questionable. Moments later Shotton had to close down Mo Barrow to put the ball out for a Royals corner which was punched clear by Randolph and saw Ayala try and play the ball out of defence which ended up with Baldock fizzing a ball back into the Boro box but fortunately there were no Reading attackers in the danger zone. The disallowed goal had fired up both the home fans and the home side as another Reading corner off Howson’s shin on the half hour mark was delivered in but after a lot of shirt tugging and jostling Flint cleared. Surprisingly the Ref awarded a free kick for Boro which perplexed the home fans but we were happy to take it.

A repeat opportunity for Saville to deliver an identical free kick as the disallowed goal saw the usual Boro big lads up in the Reading box which this time was met by Jaakkola to end the danger. A Shotton break saw Barrow left for dead forcing Richards to concede a throw in but again Jaakkola dealt with the threat. Besic played a poor ball out to Friend to concede possession as Boro attempted a rare break down the left and allowed Reading a chance to get out of defence. Friend again broke down the left but Yiadom tackle prevented any further progress. As the ball then went out of play Shotton was laid flat out on the pitch with nobody near him to be replaced by McNair with the suspicion of a recurrence of his previous injury. It was a huge loss for Boro as up until this point Shotton was arguably the Boro MOM.

Besic picked up another yellow as he was left for dead by Rinomhota as his see/saw contribution to the side continued yet again. The free kick went out for a corner, was cleared but we then immediately conceded another free kick conceded this time by Clayton saw the ball delivered in and after heart stopping activity in the Boro box was saved by Randolph. Almost immediately a long range Baldock shot saw Randolph having to be quick on his feet to keep a clean sheet. Since Shotton departed Reading came back into the game pressurising Boro with the match entering the dying stages of the first half. Barrow beat then McNair out wide to get a ball in which was eventually hoofed clear by Howson, collected by Assombalonga and then twenty yards out Besic had a shot but straight at Jaakkola which in turn went out for a corner. Those frantic few minutes were brought to a close by Ref Stephen Martin who blew for the end of the half.

The travelling army were hoping that we wouldn’t be left rueing those missed opportunities that we had before Shotton went off. Despite having that purple patch in the middle of the half Boro didn’t really seriously threaten Anssi Jaakkola, most of the Finn’s goalkeeping duties were fairly routine crosses and catches. The defensive nature of the Boro set up certainly didn’t help Britt and our old problems of creating good quality chances continued.

The teams lined up for the second half as they had finished the first with Ayala, Flint and Fry forming a back three and McNair and Friend slightly forward as Wing Backs and Howson Besic and Saville in the middle with Clayts protecting the defence. Britt of course was all alone as is ever the case under TP. Boro kicked off the second half in the exact same manner as they did on Tuesday and giving Randolph some action almost immediately. Clearly lessons hadn’t been learnt from mid-week. That did seem to spark Boro back into life as McNair and Besic got us up the pitch where Besic then had a shot put out for a corner taken by Howson which came to nothing.

An in-swinging corner from Saville allowed Jaakkola to again collect easily. A ball over the Reading defence saw Howson and Assombalonga confused with an impending offside and Reading then broke and had Boro looking desperate clearing the danger. The game was now scrappy, messy and as Besic was dispossessed it took a block from McNair to save the Bosnians blushes. The resultant corner was wasted by Reading but again the warning signs were there that if Boro don’t score they look very vulnerable. A chance for McNair ended up with Reading breaking down the opposite end leaving Ayala for dead with Flint coming across to tidy up and Randolph clearing. That might have stirred something deep within TP because both Tav and Wing then started to warm up as yet again our lack of a cutting edged and a plethora of defensive midfielders failed to break down the defence of a managerless and struggling Championship side.

A great ball played in from McNair went past Britt across Jaakkola’s six yard box but there was nobody in a Red shirt to tap it in. Barrow then put McNair under pressure at the opposite end forcing the Northern Irishman to concede a corner which went out for a goal kick as the Boro subs still lined up. Mo Barrow again set up a move for Reading forcing Fry to clear as the home side now looked by far the livelier as Boro resorted to default mode and dropped deep. Boro were looking distinctly flat and out of ideas and we were now struggling to get a grip of things. What the half time team talk consisted of is a mystery because we had zero intensity since restarting the game.

TP then made his substitutions and bizarrely Assombalonga was brought off along with the more obvious hauling off of the erratic Besic to much grumbling from the away end shouting “Attack, Attack, Attack” and not for the first time in recent Boro history. Needing to score against a very poor Reading side and removing a Striker was not what was required in the eyes of the away fans. Lewis Wing came on along with Jordan Hugill as Reading came close with Bacuna but a George Friend clearance up field fizzled out yet again.

Reading then brought Swift on for Loader in an effort to counter what was perceived as a more attack minded Boro. The youngster Osha broke out of his defence Fry like and carried the ball up the pitch well into the Boro half putting us on the back foot. Reading were still controlling the game and a Bacuna chance goal wards seemingly hit Flint on the hand as penalty claims were shouted from the home fans. Saville broke away and was scythed down to give Boro another set piece chance which Ayala went for with Jaakkola with the reading keeper winning the battle. Hugill came close in forcing Blackett to make a goal-saving header as he came close to getting on the end of Friend’s ball in but the Royals CB made a great defensive header.

A fierce Wing shot was rocketed in from 30 yards out to provide Boro with our most exciting effort of the second half. This second half was lacking any real quality from Boro made worse all the worse by seeing a Reading defence that was susceptible and there for the taking made worse by a disappointing like for like sub switch by Pulis with Hugill on for Assombalonga instead of upping the ante. Then as our frustrations had built, almost on cue McNair was fed in by Howson who paused and then squared to George Friend rifling a right footed shot 12 yards out to bury it past Jaakkola and it was one nil to Boro.

A few minutes after that goal went in George Saville went down to much angst on the away bench with some doubt on the merits of his injury voiced by the home fans. A corner taken by Wing was punched clear by Jaakkola, gathered by Saville then recycled to Wing again and it broke to McNair who had been having a good game since arriving as Reading again cleared the danger. With five minutes remaining the young left back Richards was removed for Striker Bodvarsson. Almost immediately Lewis Wing made a run and firing in a shot that was blocked by the lively Jaakkola, seconds later Friend should have had a second as he hit the bar when scoring was easier. Then Friend was adjudged to have handled by the home fans as he got back to defend but thankfully it was adjudged to be ball to hand.

Aden Flint blocked a move involving Barrow who skinned Ayala but the Reading corner was poorly executed and as the ball then went up field Tyler Blackett took Hugill out in what should have been a straight red card but was adjudged a yellow as the fourth official held up five added minutes. Saville took a short free kick and Hugill took the ball onto the touchline, lost it for a Reading throw in and then nearly lost it with Bacuna as they went head to head. Within seconds Hugill then went down

with Blackett in close attendance holding his face claiming an elbow straight in front of the linesman who clearly saw nothing in it. Reading gained possession, immediately went to test Randolph as Bacuna wound up his shot but ridiculously cleared the stand roof never mind Randolph’s cross bar. Flint cleared another Reading assault and then Friend put it out for a corner which ended up as a frantic melee in the Boro box and Blackett who probably shouldn’t have been on the pitch by now had the perfect chance to equalise but fortunately Karma intervened and blazed it over. Stephen Martin’s whistle went and Boro’s good away record continued albeit making far harder work of it than it should have been.

There were many questions on tactics, selections and performance on this afternoon’s performance at the Madejski Stadium but importantly we left with all three points but it was far from convincing. MOM for me was Johnny Howson but a special mention for McNair who came on and put in his best performance since arriving at Boro and for Randolph who kept us in it. With two fortuitous Penalty claims going our way this was far from a resounding away win and could have very easily ended far differently. Playing a lone Striker against a very poor side and then keeping to the same format but with different personnel did not go down well. The result was the right one but the manner of it did little to convince or sway growing sceptical attitudes.

Middlesbrough		Burton Albion
		Hesketh	48′
Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	63% 8 3 7 11	Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	37% 11 2 7 10

Pulis goes for a Burton

In the Quarter Final that time forgot Boro faced Burton Albion in what could fairly be adjudged as the Cinderella tie of the Round. With zero interest anywhere apart from a hardy five hundred braving the wild, wet and windy conditions travelling up the A1 from Burton and the hard core of Riverside regulars venturing out when those of us with more sense should have been sat in front of the glow of a warm fire. Thankfully come 7.45pm the rain and wind had subsided a little leaving a wet surface which would be ideal for a fast paced game, ideal for a footballing side wanting to zip the ball around but then it was TP’s Boro we had come to watch so never mind.

League One Burton had collected a few scalps to get here namely Villa, Forest and Premiership Burnley so the son of one of our most famous sons (James Cook aside) clearly had the ability to manage a shock or three. With due respect to Burton I wasn’t overly worried or concerned about who they had fit or who they would field despite supposedly having 4 or 5 first teamers out. That’s not to say I was being disrespectful it’s just that right here and right now at Boro our team selections of late have been a source of much confusion, including the fans. As it happened Clough junior only made two changes from the weekend.

Up until this point TP had largely used the Carabao Cup as a run out for his fringe players supplemented by a few reserves. Now with just one game away from a two legged semi-final against Premiership opponents and a less than convincing last few weeks in the Championship another selection gamble would either prove brave or foolhardy with spirits at the Riverside restless at best. In fairness TP had quite a few splinter gatherers with a point to prove so that could have worked in his favour but of course that depended on where he would actually tactically deploy them. In the end Pulis made six changes including a few of the peripheral players like Grant, Wingy and Braithwaite but kept several of his nailed on first teamers for this one including Randolph, Downing, Flint and Friend.

The early action saw Boro sit back with Burton working the flanks and getting balls into the box in what has been our trademark start for the Boro these days. I’m not sure if it was Burton’s intensity or Boro just doing that Pulis thing and waiting to go a goal behind before waking up. It took until six minutes for Boro to make their mark on the game and with it nearly took the lead against the run of play as a ball played in from Fry to Braithwaite and then fed teasingly in just in front of the six yard box should have saw Hugill slide in to score but he was a half second out in arriving with his big toe.

Hugill then had a header after a well placed cross was delivered this time from Downing but the looped header was just over the crossbar. Moments later a Wing strike called the Burton Keeper into action to concede a corner. Boro at this stage had now started to settle into the game and were dominating proceedings with Nigel Clough out on the edge of his technical area screaming at his defence to close Fry and Downing down far quicker (or judging by his gesticulations I assume that is what he was conveying). A cheap yellow was given to Hugill for a late sliding challenge on Quinn which was both unnecessary and annoying.

A break involving Braithwaite poked the ball through for Friend who crossed a looping high ball to Dael Fry on the opposite corner of the Burton six yard box but his header in towards Hugill was intercepted and headed clear. A soft free Kick to Burton on eighteen minutes when the Burton attacker seemed to skip into Brathwaite tripping himself was adjudged as a Braithwaite foul. The resultant free kick was played back to the edge of the Boro eighteen yard box but was charged down and cleared without troubling Randolph.

Around the half hour mark Burton had their first corner in the NW corner which was played short then launched, beat Flint but the header thankfully was a weak one at Randolph. Boro then had a Downing Free Kick which cleared the wall but was clawed away at Collins left hand upright in the Burton goal. The pace of the game was a little sedentary and had the atmosphere of a pre-season friendly which probably suited the visitors and their five hundred or so fans. There was a lot of recycling of the ball from Boro to take the sting out but as the home side against league one opposition it wasn’t convincing the home fans as there was little to no high tempo pressing or intent.

A rash sliding challenge from behind on Allen saw a cheap yellow card for Besic on the edge of the Burton 18 yard box. A high hoofed ball up to the on rushing Braithwaite saw him through one on one with Collins but the flag went up for offside as the Dane slotted it into the net. Seconds later Braithwaite again had a chance but it went wide under a challenge as Braithwaite reacted by rolling over clutching his shin claiming he had been fouled.

With four minutes of the half remaining a looped cross came in this time from Lewis Wing but it was plucked comfortably from Hugill’s head by Collins. A breakaway down the Burton Left hand side saw Fry left for dead as a low cross came in that was played across the Boro Box for two free yellow shirts but the ball was placed into Randolph’s top right corner but it went over the bar to let Boro off the hook just before the whistle signalled the end of the first half.

There was a strange muted atmosphere as the players went off, no boos, no jeers, no overt applause or appreciation just a bland polite response much like the game itself had been. It actually felt that I was in a dream and that I would somehow wake up this morning looking forward to tonight’s match so surreal was the indifference at what the fans had witnessed.

The second half resumed with Boro as usual kicking towards the North Stand but yet again a sleepy Boro were almost caught cold as Burton kicked off and went perilously close with a break into the box ripping our so called defence apart. The Burton pressure just continued relentlessly as the visitors now smelt blood. A series of ridiculous Boro passing blunders repeatedly lost possession and encouraged a swarm of Yellow shirts to again run down our right side and unopposed into the Boro box, hit the upright for it to comically rebound out to Hesketh central who, losing Besic, twisted and turned to get a shot off, slipped, fell on his backside, jumped up, had a second go with a daisy cutter from the edge of the Boro 18 yard box and in it rolled past Randolph’s, left hand upright.

Slow starting Boro had somehow managed to take their negative slow motion antics to a new depth. Out fought and out run as Clough had switched tactics during the interval totally blindsiding Pulis as we were now being made to look like a Sunday Pub team. Our slow pedestrian build up to a lone Striker looked more ineffective than at any time this season as Burton looked far livelier and hungrier but most worryingly more confident. Fifty five minutes, one down and it could have been two or three as shell shocked Boro looked totally devoid of ideas.

A mistake by Batth nearly led to Burton nicking their second as he went to sleep and let a ball go over his head instead of reacting to it but he wasn’t the only one at fault, nobody was coming out of this horror show with any glory. Slow pedestrian, readable passing was the best we could muster; I think tactically it’s euphemistically called clearing your heads. We shaped up to hit high balls up to Hugill which Burton predictably dealt with all too easily. The Brewers were now sitting deeper in their own half confidently inviting Boro to pass their way through them and looked at ease knocking the ball about.

TP made his changes as Besic and Hugill came off with Tavernier and Assombalonga coming on to replace them. It would have been more logical for me to put Assombalonga up front alongside Hugill but that would be an admission of guilt from the bench I presume. Downing now went central with Britt taking up the lone role in the hope that Tav might inject a bit of pace down one flank. Prior to Tav’s arrival a Trabant in reverse gear would have injected pace into this Boro side. A half-hearted penalty claim as the lively Tavernier went down in the Burton box was as close as Boro had mustered any excitement in the second half.

In spite of the two Substitutions there was zero improvement out on the pitch as Burton carried on looking composed and by far the more threatening on the break as Boro looked very nervy and scrappy defending. Long gone is that assured defensive swagger from the early part of the Season, replaced by pandemonium and panic. In fairness Fry isn’t a Right back and was done a number of times and Friend on the opposite flank struggled defensively and his attacking forays looked like they were petering out before he gets over the half way line with no serious end product.

The tired and flagging Grant’s number went up for Fletcher on 72 minutes to come on except that it was Braithwaite that was actually being subbed which summed up how the night was panning out for Boro. There were boos as he departed some I suspect at the Dane himself but mostly at the bench for removing a goal scorer albeit an occasional one in a bad streak of form. Struggling to get back into the game the home fans were not entirely convinced that removing another Striker was the best solution to assist with Boro getting one of those things I believe Riverside archaeologists now refer to as a goal. Burton Goal scorer Hesketh hacked down Friend to pick up a yellow and provide Boro with a chance but of course it came to nothing.

As second half’s go this was as uninspiring as it gets. Fry had a chance but he passed instead of taking it on. A cross fired in from Wing was cut out by Brayford as Boro threatened to limp back to life. That cross seemed to offer a slight chink of positivity for Boro as they then started to mount a bit of a mini fight. Once again Tavernier went down in the box this time with the ball breaking to Britt but out it went for a corner which eventually died and ended in a free kick for Burton. Moments earlier the Brewers had been guilty of timewasting with Keeper Collins receiving a yellow for his troubles and now a late substitution saw goal scorer Hesketh amble of the pitch to run the clock down just a little bit more.

A golden opportunity was presented perfectly for Aden Flint and it was impossible to miss but obviously the shock of being able to score for Boro was far too much and he somehow managed to head it wide. There were many other hoofs and runs where Britt was just a yard short or a glanced header from Wing just wasn’t enough or long balls out of defence totally overplayed that even Usain Bolt wouldn’t have made it. We looked totally dysfunctional, jaded and brow beaten despite pumping balls into the Burton half for the last quarter hour plus the five minutes of added time.

The whistle went and I suspect with it quite possibly Tony Pulis’ tenure on Teesside as loud boos from the 17,000 or so home fans echoed around the Riverside on an evening that even edged out Southgate’s Cardiff Cup Tie. Everything that has been wrong and that has gone wrong over the last few weeks was repeatedly magnified. All the flaws and known weaknesses were laid bare in glorious Technicolour. Ultra-cautious nerves allied to negative tactics and a distinct lack of pace and an opposing Coach who wasn’t afraid to attack, change tactics and then sit deep and hang on to what they had justly earned sealed our fate. In fairness Burton thoroughly deserved their win.

MOM, yer jokin aren’t yer!

Queens Park Rangers		Middlesbrough
Wszolek Wells	4′ 60′	Saville	51′
Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	49% 17 2 7 17	Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	51% 8 1 5 12

Rangers Reffing pains pointless Pulis

This afternoon we faced yet another of our Ex Managers and our only trophy winning one at that. The Hoops had a bit of disastrous start to their season in contrast to ourselves but they have been quietly climbing away from trouble and until the last few weeks almost looked like potential Play Off contenders. The fact that the Hoops have endured a bad run in November and December didn’t offer much solace to Boro fans who have seen just eight points garnered from the last fifteen as automatic hopes disappeared over the horizon faster than TP’s deck shuffling at Deepdale. Put bluntly momentum was something that neither side possessed going into this game at 3.00pm in West London.

The big positive for Boro fans packed into the School end was that our away form is still impressive having only been generous once on the Road this season when we felt sorry for Daniel Farke’s then struggling Norwich. With the “R’s” current form less than impressive having lost all their last three fixtures could Boro add to their season saving away form at Loftus Road? The R’s man to watch was former Boro target Luke Freeman who is the Hoops “prolific scorer” with five goals this season. McClaren had a doubt over Hemed but would be without Rangel, Cameron and Hall.

TP had Rudy Gestede still on the treatment table, Mo Besic suspended and Wingy struggling with a Hamstring and rated doubtful. A few others had been suffering with a head cold apparently so it may have meant that TP was forced to shuffle his pack especially with more games coming up over the festive period. Dael Fry was fit again having recovered from the blow to the head against Villa.

Team news saw Saville being rewarded for his efforts last week and perhaps stake his claim for the Besic shirt and a surprise repeat taste of that Hugill and Assombalonga pairing from last weekend. Suspected formation was 4-3-1-2 with Howson and Downing wide, Clayts in the middle and Saville providing the ammunition for the front two? Again Martin Brathwaite (head cold or just frozen out?) was nowhere to be seen with Wing deemed fit enough for the bench along with Tav, Fry, Batth, McNair and Fletcher.

Boro kicked off with a 4-5-1 and Assombalonga looking to be playing out wide which was completely against everything the Travelling Army had hoped to see with Downing on the opposite flank. A Wing Back or Winger Britt certainly isn’t. Just when we get our hopes up TP dashes them once again. Early pressure was from QPR with Luongo having an early shot deflected out by Howson.

Saville hesitating gave away possession and from the resultant throw Freeman went close as the rain was now pouring down in freezing conditions. Seconds later and it was Freeman again and then Bidwell who beat Shotton, his cross picking out Pawel Wszolek who put it past the despairing Randolph on four minutes. At this point Boro hadn’t even got started let alone offered any threat. It was all one way traffic and on eight minutes Nahki Wells had the home fans on the edge of their seats as a long range effort ricocheted dangerously fortunately for Boro favouring Randolph.

The diminutive Wells again tore the Boro defence apart as Aden Flint committed himself allowing the on loan Burnley striker in on goal which went out for a corner thanks to Ayala covering. Ten minutes gone and Boro were simply appalling. Our first corner came courtesy of a Saville effort delivered in by Downing which went out for a second corner after complaints from Boro claiming Flint was shoved in the box. That corner was a low one delivered this time by Howson but came to nothing and Rangers cleared their lines.

Boro had nominally cleared their heads a little improving marginally but still nowhere near good enough as another deep static start cost us dearly with 25 minutes now gone. Our shape had looked awkward and dysfunctional from the off and left Hugill isolated as usual. The Boro midfield started to push up now leaving a gap between themselves and Clayton and spreading out. Despite the changes our set up still looked unbalanced and anything but a credible threat. Half an hour gone and we hadn’t registered any attempts on target. Playing Assombalonga out wide instead of up top with Hugill was failing miserably as most had thought it would from the off. Meanwhile Nahki Wells again had a chance which went wide as Rangers were carving the Boro defence apart fearless from the toothless and spiritless Boro attack.

A good throw out from Randolph set George Friend away who charged forward, beating Wells and let fly a shot that was predictably well wide consistent with our shooting accuracy. Unfortunately there was to be no repeat of his effort back in January. That was the best of the first half for Boro who although by now were not as woeful as the opening stages still offered no serious threat despite enjoying more possession. A free kick awarded for a foul on Downing allowed an opportunity to deliver a set piece which was floated to the far post missing all the big lads in the box as though they had never practiced a free kick in their lives. Total strangers!

The dark miserable sodden skies and heavy depressing pitch just summed up Boro in the first half who didn’t look as though they believed in themselves or each other. A Clayton ball to Downing allowed Stewy to get a shot off that went out for a corner. The corner again was subject to a claim that Flint had been grappled and hauled back leading to Ref Oliver Langford speaking to the giant CB. As play restarted a tackle on Saville was adjudged to be worthy of Langford’s whistle as we were breaking free much to the away fans annoyance.

Just before the half time whistle went another ball from the right flew in as Wells glanced his header wide. The contrast between Rangers firing in balls for their Striker to attack versus the angled balls that Boro were putting in aimlessly for Hugill was stark to put it mildly. Thankfully the first half came to a close and allowed Pulis the opportunity to reorganise the mess that had unfolded before him. The ten men last week scrapped and battled with Hugill and Assombalonga working as a pair looking effective but putting Britt out wide was reminiscent of Karanka nullifying Stuani as a wide player. A complete, total and utter waste of something that looked to be working last week sacrificed for the sake of another cunning plan that blew up in the Managers face before his side even crossed the half way line in anger.

No changes to either personnel or shape saw Boro desperately defending from the off as a Shotton error allowed the Hoop’s to take advantage of our generosity. What went on in the away dressing room didn’t seem to alter or change anything as we started how we finished the first half with Freeman and Bidwell torturing our right side and Boro on the back foot. Howson done well to set up our first attack of the half but again the final delivered ball seemed at odds with our isolated Striker and the distant Assombalonga. A throw in while Rangers were down to ten men with CB Lynch receiving treatment saw a Shotton cross poorly cleared out to Saville who took his chance and hit a great ball straight back towards the Ranger’s goal to pull the sides back level.

QPR almost replied immediately with a quick break which was cleared by Randolph’s feet. McClaren made an enforced sub for Lynch as the game suddenly hit new levels of tempo as Boro looked to be willing to take risks and push forward. A Free Kick saw a lot of discussion and pre planning by Boro with the eventual end product by Howson disappointing. At this stage Rangers looked to be rocking, their enforced shuffle at the back not helping things as Boro for the first time had the upper hand in the game.

A Downing free kick into the box saw Lumley in the Rangers goal all at sea as Flint failed to connect but then a break by Luonga saw Saville take him out to prevent Boro being caught out and collecting a yellow for his troubles. Boro charged forward in numbers looking to exploit the superiority but Howson was bizarrely given offside and the game see sawed back again with Rangers going down the other finding Wells totally free in the box and Rangers were back in front 2-1. It was Boro rocking now as QPR took a short corner shortly after regaining the lead which went out for a goal kick for Randolph to take. Cousins then skinned Friend and Ayala had to intercept to clear it out for another Hoops corner, chaos in the Boro box saw Saville blocking and another Rangers corner led to a shot which went over Randolph’s bar.

TP then brought off Howson and Downing for Wing and Tavernier. A Friend ball into Lumley’s box saw Ayala using his favoured arm to control it which ended going wide after Saville ended the move with a half attempt. A free kick conceded by Tavernier on Luongo saw a Freeman ball fired in that was cleared by Friend who was sent flying for his troubles. Since the Hoops regained the lead Boro had lost their mojo and struggled to get back into the game. A weak Boro corner saw Rangers break away with Shotton just managing to get back to take the sting out of the threat.

A poor free kick was easily dealt with as Boro now looked out of ideas apart from hitting pointless balls up to Hugill with all shape and intensity gone. Twenty minutes remaining and if it wasn’t hard enough battling the opposition and the conditions, Referee Oliver Langford seemed to be a twelfth man for the West Londoners as everything was adjudged to be in their favour. A late tactical reshuffle saw Britt moved up front with Hugill as we went to three at the back and Shotton and Tavernier now operating as Wing Backs. A Massimo Luongo lunge at Shotton saw Saville get involved in a scuffle with the Aussie and having already been booked he was immediately withdrawn by Pulis for Ashley Fletcher to enter the fray.

Less than ten minutes remaining and Shotton nearly gifted Rangers their third of the afternoon as he played a ridiculous ball across the middle of the pitch. With Five minutes now remaining I wasn’t sure if Boro had any semblance of tactics (4-4-2?) then Luonga had another effort that went over Randolph’s bar. A long clearance then from Randolph saw a Hugill knock down to Tav who fed in Fletcher but his attempt went out for a corner. Things were now getting messy with frustrations building and Britt managed to get himself booked adjudged to have fouled Furlong.

Four minutes of stoppage time saw Pawel Wszolek with another effort as Boro had shoved Flint up field. An Assombalonga effort was blocked as desperation stakes were raised and a Fletcher effort from a Friend cross gave faint hope of Boro nicking a point. Tempers then flared as Boro retained possession after Rangers had put the ball out for treatment or a substitution depending on your perspective. A last second lofted Boro Free Kick into a packed Rangers box saw Langford blow his whistle to end a miserable pointless afternoon in more ways than one.

More puzzling tactics and again nothing to show for it as Boro succumbed to their second away defeat of the season. I can’t award a MOM award in what was really poor and unconvincing fayre. Things were very reminiscent of this time last year when the Manager just didn’t seem to know what he had or how he wanted them to perform. Apart from Saville’s goal I can’t recall Lumley being tested at all. How we hope to get promoted by sitting deep defending from the off and no longer with a resolute defence to rely on but with no attacking threat whatsoever can only end one way. It seems that Boro fans are once more having to watch an intransigent, defiant Manager sticking to failing tactics have that all too familiar Groundhog day feeling.

Middlesbrough		Backburn
Assombalonga ▮ Besic	62′ 21′	Mulgrew	22′
Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	34% 12 5 4 14	Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	66% 15 5 8 12

Britt’s best thaws Besic brain freeze

Today saw the return of yet another of our recent Managers and possibly our finest Captain in recent memory, at least for those of us over fifty. The return of an ex Middlesbrough Manager used to be a very rare occasion but nowadays it has become commonplace in the Championship in fact there would have been another one just last week had Steve Agnew still been at Villa. This was Mogga’s first official return to the Riverside. His last exit from Boro was less than most had hoped it would be but the groundswell of goodwill especially as we enter this festive season was still there as most appreciated that despite some poor runs of results he did have a knack of plucking players from bargain bins and in doing so cleared up Strachan’s mess.

TP had a serious selection problem at Right back with Dael Fry still recovering from concussion. Ryan Shotton was back in training but questionable as to where he was in his recovery program. It may be that he would be risked with the only other alternative being Paddy McNair. Other than that there was a clean bill of health apart from Rudy Gestede but personnel wise attacking options were well covered for TP which was more than could be said for their effectiveness.

Mogga had a few question marks over the availability of Lenihan, Bennett and Bell with two of those three, Lenihan and Bell close to returning. Boro’s record against Blackburn isn’t great having only won two of their last seventeen games against the Rovers (ironically under Mogga), drawn seven of them and finishing up on the wrong end of the result eight times. The main Rovers threat was expected to come from ex Boro boy Danny Graham and the seemingly much coveted Bradley Dack now recently reunited with his Z list attention seeking reality love interest Olivia Attwood (who?, yeah I had to google her as well).

Well the Team news saw that two of Blackburn’s injury worries had cleared up enough to feature on their bench. TP threw the curve ball of starting Fletcher at the expense of Tavernier who was on the bench and Shotton thankfully deemed fit again. Why Fletcher was considered a better option than Tavernier wide left was a strange one but early tactics seemed to be focused on Shotton getting down the flanks and firing over hit crosses to the far side of the Blackburn box aimed at Fletchers height advantage. As a tactic it was basic but potentially functional. Defensively it did leave Friend with more to do than preferred especially against the very lively Nyambe but to his credit Fletch did get a few telling challenges in tracking back and even tried to ruffle the Blackburn defence conceding a free kick early on for his alleged physicality.

Blackburn were moving the ball around with gusto and getting players quickly into position to receive, keeping the ball, constantly moving and with it Boro on their toes but it was Boro who were looking the more likely with a more direct style of play. It almost paid off with a Flint header from a Downing corner with less than five minutes gone. The momentum was slowly building in Boro’s favour as a Shotton cross had the Blackburn defence lucky to get a free kick awarded in their favour when Howson looked like he might be in a position to break the deadlock. Rovers were a constant threat however with their ability to pick their way through Boro with crisp incisive movement and if Boro weren’t careful they looked like they could find themselves undone.

Williams came to the rescue for Blackburn when Hugill fluffed his lines on the Rovers six yard box. A rusty challenge from Shotton on Corry Evans surprisingly saw a straight yellow for a late tackle in the middle of the pitch from Ref Simon Hooper. Most refs would have called him over for a talking to but the Official went straight to his pocket which seemed a bit harsh. Five minutes later Williams was involved again this time to receive a yellow card with Shotton on the receiving end. The game was being competed in a no frills fashion but both cards to me seemed a bit of an overreaction from the Ref so early in the game.

In the middle of the park Besic was busy running in circles taking on players unnecessarily at times overcomplicating as he went, it was at least entertaining even if there was little end product. That was to horrifically change on twenty minutes after he dithered in a dangerous position yet again just outside his own box and had his pocket picked by Dack who was clearly aware of the Bosnian’s Achilles heel. A seemingly straightforward clearance was compounded by Mo’s overly inflated confidence and not for the first time this season gave away possession cheaply just outside Randolph’s box and in an effort to remedy his excesses this time went one further in pulling Dack back. There was a moment of despairing hope that it would all go unnoticed but Dack’s protests and a 45 second delay from Sian Massey running the line saw an ensuing flag waving performance that wouldn’t have looked out of place at a Cheerleaders convention.

The two officials were clearly conversing on their headsets as Blackburn players pleaded their case convincingly and a Red Card was produced from Mr. Hooper’s by now favourite pocket. Despite protestations from the North and West stands it was a clear opportunity created by Besic’s dithering and he had to go. After an encouraging start Boro now found themselves down to ten men and it was about to get worse as Mulgrew done what this entire Boro squad seem incapable of perfecting and curled a beautiful free kick up and around the Boro wall leaving Randolph with no chance putting the visitors one nil up.

The loss of our muddling midfield maestro destabilised Boro. It was now a backs to the wall hanging on display from the Red Shirts made worse by Sian Massey (seemingly rattled by the crowds hostility) giving a few strange rulings, rubbing salt in wounds. A shot from Reed flew past Randolph’s post as Rovers were now intent on taking full advantage of their extra man with Boro still struggling to re shape. Frantic activity on the Boro bench to try and plug the gap resulted in the unlucky Fletcher being withdrawn for the more aggressive and stable Wing with just over thirty minutes gone. What had started off as a confident opening spell had now descended into panic mode with Boro struggling to get a grip on the game.

The pressure was continuing to build with a series of Blackburn passes and crosses cutting Boro open, only some last ditch defending and near misses meant that Boro were still surviving as Downing (Blackburn’s Paul) came close but headed over for the visitors. A fierce low Rovers cross evaded everyone and looked a certainty for Graham to make it two as he blindsided Flint but then an outstretched Ayala leg came from nowhere to clear the danger. Minutes later Graham was again causing problems as he closed in on Randolph, shot and the parried rebound fell to Reed who somehow put his shot the wrong side of the upright as Boro again breathed a sigh of relief.

Boro cleared their lines with George charging forwards, went on a run, evaded two tackles and as the third came sliding in George rode it and in doing so saved himself from a bone cruncher but mysteriously the effervescent Gentleman with the whistle saw George’s actions as a dive and produced another yellow card. The frustration in the stands against the officials was now building and as the half drew to a close the vitriolic boos, jeers and whistles was drowned out by fans favourite MMP as he feverishly just couldn’t wait to announce half time scores elsewhere in an attempt to mask the paying publics opinions.

That was a half which turned into a horror show. That blunder from Besic was hardly surprising, he has been guilty several times this season of the same but fortune had favoured him up until this point. Having great ability is one thing, knowing how, when and where to use it is something else and its becoming clear that this huge flaw in his game is now a glaring a liability. TP took some radical brave, decisions at half time and withdrew Clayts and Downing (Stewart) for Assombalonga and Saville and in doing so removing the safety guard from his CB’s in favour of an extra body up front to assist Hugill.

The half started with Rovers clearly under instructions from Mogga to put this game out of sight and a flurry of immediate crosses saw Ayala once againclear the first one with Randolph dealing with the second with a clean collection clearly suffering no ill effects from his Villa debacle seven days previously. As the Rovers pressure continued it was that man Dack again who saw his attempt hit the post with Randolph saving Conway’s reaction follow up shot. Action man Dack then found himself next in line to collect a yellow card for a challenge on Shotton who himself had been full of endeavour on his return. It was only Shotton’s throws at this point that seemed to offer any cause for optimism as he seemed to have gained an extra 5 yards on his trajectory during his recovery.

With just over half an hour remaining a great chance was created by Saville (who had a good game) by launching a targeted long ball out of defence allowing Hugill to run onto it closing down on Raya in the Rovers goal. Unfortunately Jordan hesitated and instead of either shooting on sight or running across the chasing Mulgrew to draw a challenge he only managed a weak shot that was easily smothered by the Batman masked Raya. There were however some positive signs that Hugill with support from Britt were looking like they could maybe get some change from Blackburn as the ten men in Red were all scrapping, fighting in a brave never say die battle to get something from the ashes.

Boro now looked like they actually had a threat with the dual strike force and a foray involving Friend and a clever lobbed one-two with Britt saw Friend cut inside to feed Hugill who held firm and in doing so played the ball into the path of the onrushing Britt who hit a wonder curled strike from the edge of the Rovers 18 yard box to nestle perfectly in the far top corner of Raya’s net. 1-1, game on and in fairness Boro deserved it for their stoic display. A minute later and a Shotton in swinger was punched clear by Raya. Blackburn were now looking nervy and susceptible on the break with Hugill effective in battling with their CB’s and Britt looking for knock on’s and knock downs. Mogga clearly saw that he needed to mix things up to make their extra man count and on came Armstrong for Conway with twenty minutes left to play.

Still concerned five minutes later Mogga made another change this time local lad and ex Boro player Richie Smallwood coming off for Rothwell. The change definitely added some additional spice for Blackburn and two minutes later Reed had forced Randolph into a save to keep the sides on level terms. Boro took the ball up the other end forcing another throw, Shotton launched the ball onto Flint’s head who glancing it backwards across the face of Raya’s goal was teasingly inviting a toe from someone but none was to be found and the ball went out for a Rovers goal kick. The game was now see sawing back and forth and it was Blackburn’s turn to go for the winner with Dack playing Armstrong in only for an Ayala leg to intervene coming to the rescue. Armstrong had been lively since coming on and somehow had avoided Simon Hooper’s final yellow card after a series of tasty challenges on Boro defenders as he chased and closed down with a little more zest than required.

A late Shotton throw in was headed on by an understandably shattered Hugill but it was an easy collection for Raya as there was neither power nor direction on it. That was to be the last serious attempt from Boro as the three minutes extra time petered out and Boro’s indifferent Home form continued albeit it could have been worse, a lot worse.

There were a few interesting things to come out of this afternoon, the first one was the strange decision to take Fletcher in from the cold after being fourth understudy behind non scoring Strikers but suddenly pressed into playing wide left. I don’t have a problem with giving the lad a chance in fact I fully support it but thrown in from the off for his first start in nigh on twelve months seemed a desperate gamble. The lack of pace in the side is a given and that Ashley offers more pace and mobility as well as additional height is a plus but not at the expense of our only other pacy outlet Tavernier. Where all that leaves Braithwaite is anyone’s guess but maybe Besic’s stupidity may earn him a recall.

Shotton returning was a huge plus and his re appearance today was both timely and impressive. Hugill and Britt looked a handful together and whether it was because of the ten men mentality or just the additional body to create a foil up front, for the first time they looked a real formidable and credible offering. Besic should be under strict instructions to track no further back than the half way line, his self-belief is several levels greater than his actual ability. MOM for me was Ayala with Shotton a hairsbreadth in second spot but Dani did stop a few nailed on opportunities in both halves without which we would have been dead and buried. Before Kick off all 22 of Boro’s league goals this season have come inside the box, Britt’s was the first from outside ending the dubious only 100% such record in the Championship.

Plenty to be cynical about but also plenty to be grateful for and under the circumstances it was a good result.

Middlesbrough		Aston Villa
		Chester Abraham Whelan	20′ 64′ 83′
Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	43% 10 3 2 12	Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	35% 20 7 7 11

Bolasie batters bruised Boro

Both sides finished their midweek fixtures leaving their respective fans perplexed. Villa had managed a 5-5 draw against AK’s Forest whilst Boro had managed to shoot themselves in both feet with questionable selections and even worse tactics. In the build-up I reckoned that both Managers would be looking to go back to the drawing board for this one with risk aversion being high on their thinking.

Injuries and suspension seemed to be Villa’s main cause for concern during the week with the former Boro naughty stepper out injured, a few doubts surrounding McGinn and Alan Hutton definitely suspended for this one. Play Off scorer Mile Jedinak was supposedly close to a return from injury as was Keinan Davis but Birkir Bjarnason and Henri Lansbury are both still a few weeks away from returning.

For Tony Pulis he had Shotton close to being back and a question mark over Lewis Wing’s real reason for departing the pitch on Tuesday night. Was it a dodgy takeaway to blame or a slight case of concussion for Lewis? The second diagnosis was never “officially” referred to by name, I suspect to avoid the statutory steward’s enquiry and the enforced lay off plan. The one definite absentee for Boro however would be Rudy Gestede after limping off in the opening thirty minutes at Deepdale.

Ex Boro target, Bolasie would likely be lining up for the first time against us since he rebuffed Pulis believing that his transport links needs were better served in the West Midlands with then new gaffer Steve Bruce. This is the first meeting of the sides since Boro defended for 180 minutes with one questionable shot on target as TP tried to draw his way into the Play Off Final last May. Boro fans were hoping for a little more entrepreneurial spirit tonight from the Red Shirts as Villa managed to keep four clean sheets in five games against us last season. Dean Smith has a more vibrant style about his sides so they could be more open at the back than Bruce’s Villa especially without the veteran Hutton with Elmohamady likely to deputise.

Teams were exactly as expected with Elmohamady in for Hutton and Boro going with the Brentford team. The opening ten minutes saw Villa take the game to Boro with Hugill isolated and Tav playing a dual role in getting back supporting Friend and also getting up the pitch trying to offer support for Hugill. A quick series of impressive Villa passing saw Bolasie wide left slide a ball in front of the retreating Boro defensive line with Abraham connecting on the penalty spot to force Randolph into a great save. If the opening ten minutes were anything to go by it was going to be a long night for Boro as we looked like we were still in Preston.

Worryingly Villa were carving Boro open and getting men into the Boro box with ease whilst Boro rushed and struggled to clear their lines as a result of being pushed back so deep. Friend was lucky to get away with a rash challenge on Abraham as he upended the youngster on the edge of the box with just eighteen minutes gone. The Villa pressure was showing no sign of abating and unless Boro could find an outlet and some way of organised containment a goal was in the offing. A cleverly worked corner routine was flapped at by Randolph with Chester running in at the far post, free to tap in past a despairing Batth.

Tavernier single-handedly responded by turning Elmohamady and getting a cross in but it was behind Hugill and with nobody in Red following up the chance of an early reply was gone. Tavernier again turned Elmohamady to earn a free kick allowing a set piece for the CB’s to get up into the Villa box. But our set pieces are now infamous for all the wrong reasons and the result was nothing. At this stage Villa had a surplus of quick, skilful players and Boro had Tavernier and that was it. There was at least some fightback from Boro now but Villa looked like they could break at will and punish us if we weren’t careful. A Series of desperate last ditch shadow chasing tackles had replaced the more assured Boro defensive style of play from a few weeks back.

A Besic ball to the far side of the Villa box saw Dael Fry come in late and win a Corner which when delivered went back out for another Boro Corner at the SE corner beside the away fans. Besic delivered this one in but was collected by Nyland who hadn’t been remotely troubled up until that point. A run from Besic was spotted by Downing who fed him in and the Bosnian at least tested Nyland. This was the best from Boro so far and led to the first real serious threat on Nyland’s goal ending with a flurry of attempts and Downing blocking Hugill’s shot in an offside position. Four minutes before the half-time whistle Clayts saved us from going two down when Villa all too easily walked the ball into the Boro box and a last ditch tackle seemingly done enough to either unnerve McGinn or take it off his toes.

Conor Hourihane probably should have been yellow carded for a cynical challenge near the end of the half but considering the earlier Abraham penalty appeal when George clattered him perhaps we got the rub of the green overall. The half ended with Boro looking a bit livelier than they had been in the opening half hour thanks mainly to Tav, Hugill and Downing. Besic and Howson were working but there was no magic, no creative spark or that extra dimension from the midfield that Boro desperately needed. It was as bad a half as we have witnessed all season from Boro.

TP had a tough task during the interval in figuring out how to get us back into the game because up until now Villa looked far sharper, organised and in total control of the game. The problem for TP was that his options from the bench were limited in terms of adding some potency and zest with probably only Lewis Wing capable of a wonder moment. Dean Smith had totally out thought and out planned TP during the first 45 minutes and we could consider ourselves fortunate to be only one goal down.

The teams came out for the second half with no changes from either Manager. A false start saw Boro kick off again and Tav and Friend took the ball down the left flank at least showing some intent from the half time team talk. Tav weaved some magic and set up Howson on the edge of the box but he was closed down quickly. A series of headers was contested by Hugill who eventually won possession but it was played out wide and after a few meaningless balls it ended up in the middle of the pitch with Besic who slowed things down and the tempo was killed along with possession in the next phase.

Moments later it was Besic again causing frustration as he dawdled on the ball before eventually playing in Downing to cross after the momentum had gone and Villa had time to reorganise their defenders. His next touch was to give the ball away cheaply setting up a Villa attack which was cleared out by Clayton to Besic who again dawdled and was very fortunate to get a decision from the Ref for a free kick in his favour just two yards outside of his own box.

A 50/50 header just in the Villa half saw Fry and Bolasie sickeningly clash heads from which Bolasie walked away after some brief treatment but Fry was laid out, face down. He fortunately was able to walk off the pitch under his own steam with Paddy McNair hurriedly brought on. The resultant free kick was lifted in by Downing and was headed back across the Villa box which Downing connected with but hit aimlessly towards the flag on the NW corner.

Tavernier was surprisingly brought off to muffled boo’s along with Besic unsurprisingly, for Braithwaite and Assombalonga to enter the fray. Britt went up front with Hugill playing behind and Downing and Braithwaite filling the wide positions. Almost immediately Villa scored their second as Boro went completely AWOL from a corner leaving Downing to take on three players on his own whilst Boro had an entire team inside their own 6 yard box leaving Bolasie free to swipe the ball through the packed Red shirted box with three Villa players lining up at the far post to slide in totally unopposed.

Hearts were in mouths as McNair stood strong against Bolasie as he went down in the box but the Ref felt it was a fair challenge as a Villa penalty at that stage would have killed the game as a contest if it hadn’t already been killed off. The game had the distinct whiff of a hangover from Preston. The lack of organisation, tactics and belief was missing from Boro as they looked well beaten with 15 minutes remaining. A chance for Britt as he swivelled and turned in the Villa box was hit into the North Stand upper.

George Friend took a yellow for his side as he flew into a challenge on Abraham. Whether it was the second goal coming so quickly after the substitutions or the disruption caused by the substitutions themselves who knows but Boro looked totally bereft of ideas for the second game in a row. To rub salt into the wounds Kodjia then came on for Bolasie as Boro hoofed balls everywhere and anywhere and repeatedly lost it again. To put in a tactical calamitous performance against Preston and then expect to suddenly turn it back on against Villa was questionable on Tuesday night but the foolhardiness of it was laid bare for all to see this evening.

Braithwaite had a tame shot on seventy seven minutes which was the first his presence was felt since his arrival on the pitch. Two minutes later and Hugill had a shot that crashed off the underside of the crossbar as Boro’s best chance of the match was eventually headed over by Friend. For us to take eighty minutes before the home fans had an oooh aaaah moment defined the entire evening. Then just to cap it all off veteran Glenn Whelan had been on the pitch for mere seconds when he found the Boro defence parting easier than the Red Sea to fire in a daisy cutter which Randolph somehow managed to divert into his own net via his toe cap which arrived milliseconds before his gloves to put Villa three up.

Far too many things were wrong tonight starting no doubt with the failure to land Bolasie back in August but that debacle at Deepdale carried on and was evident from the off. The most likely, in fact the only Boro player to create something was Tavernier who was brought off only to see two players come on who done absolutely nothing at all. Had Assombalonga and Braithwaite been English, MI5 would be on the blower to TP to sign them up because to be totally anonymous on a football pitch with millions watching globally takes some effort, neither showed any heart, fight or desire.

Tavernier, Downing and Hugill came out of things with some credit or at least showed a modicum of intent and willingness. The rest were like total strangers and never ever looked like inspiring a fightback against a Villa side that simply tore them apart, teased with them and done it all by playing entertaining football. Mono paced Boro were not second best, they weren’t good enough to be classed as second best so disjointed was their collective efforts. Bringing off our liveliest player to leave a thirty four year old as our quickest and most skilful outlet was asking for it and we duly got what we deserved seconds later.

Fair play to Villa, the style, class and tactics shown by them and Dean Smith tonight was an embarrassment to the rudimentary, predictable, agricultural, archaic looking Boro. Things haven’t been convincing for a while now probably coinciding with Shotton’s injury but the cause is far more deep rooted than that. That crack covering eight game unbeaten run was papered over by too many draws against opposition that we should have been blowing out of sight. We struggled against Swansea, were fortunate against Rotherham, were ripped to shreds for half an hour against Derby and outfought by Forest. Brentford was a bit of a ground out result and three points are three points but Randolph was exposed and had to be in top form last Saturday. Any momentum from that was destroyed by the farcical tactics at Preston.

This Villa team scores goals under Smith but they also concede and have a Keeper who has a trick in him but somehow the normally dependable Randolph picked up that bug tonight (which was about the only thing he did pick up cleanly). How many dives did Orjan Nyland make? How may saves? How often did we come remotely close to troubling him apart from Hugill’s solitary effort when the game was gone?

Prior to the game I had been reading about how great the team spirit is and how the camaraderie is top notch with the players turning up for training in fancy dress. I would like to suggest that the pantomime tactics stop and next week they turn up dressed as footballers because it looked distinctly like familiarity breeding contempt or abject confusion. In fairness to TP he wanted Bolasie here and for whatever reason it didn’t come off but what was abundantly clear from tonight is that a few need to be shipped out to a donkey sanctuary to work on their pace and energy levels and that Gill, Bausor and Co. need to find some energy and speed from somewhere out there in January.

Preston		Middlesbrough
Browne	43′	Tavernier	46′
Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	64% 13 4 7 15	Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	36% 11 3 5 14

Tav trumps Tony’s tactical torpidity

This game seemed to come around almost too quickly after the vacuum created by the International Football break, two empty weeks then suddenly two games in four days. We barely had time to enjoy the away win at Brentford on Saturday evening when in-form Preston were next up on our travels. Still it’s better to be going into games in such a congested manner on a high than on a downer. The same equally applied to Preston who had put together an impressive run of results themselves of late to claw their way back up the Championship table after a disappointing start to their season.

Boro didn’t have any fresh injury concerns after Brentford whilst Preston had lost their player of the season to date Callum Robinson with a long-term Hamstring injury against Mogga’s Blackburn. The loss of Robinson meant that the Lillywhites had a serious shortage in attack with Harrop, Bodin, Johnson and Sean Maguire all out. Ironically tonight’s game would see the return of former Deepdale striking hero Jordan Hugill to hopefully rub salt into their wounds. Despite their injury woes (and that solitary Alex Neil victory over Boro) on the back of an eight-game unbeaten run the Lillywhites would be a tough nut to crack tonight.

When the Boro side was announced there must have been a flurry of frantic phone calls to Cuadrilla HQ across the North West as the word “fracking” was repeated so many times in the away end a seismic event was a distinct possibility. In came Gestede, Saville, Wing and Ayala and out went Besic, Downing, Howson and Tavernier. Tav and Howson were on the bench alongside Braithwaite but Besic and Downing were both out of the squad. In the beginning it looked like two up top with three CB’s and Friend and Fry providing some width. I use the word “looked” loosely as it was difficult at times to see who was supposed to be doing what with a completely new look midfield of Wing, Saville and Clayts. It was at times pure guesswork as to who was where, when and why. The early hope was that Wing may grab a goal but all semblance hope expired very quickly. On paper it certainly looked like a forward thinking side but given the calibre of some it certainly didn’t feel that way.

Preston started proceedings but as quickly as Boro had an early set piece they were nearly immediately undone by Barker who ripped down the left-hand side and but for Lewis Wing getting back we would have been one down with mere seconds on the clock. Preston continued in the same vein from that point on with Boro happy to concede possession but at times it felt that we were sitting too deep. After 15 minutes the pressure was starting to build on the disconnected Boro defence and once again Wing had to intervene to prevent a gilt-edged Preston opportunity with consequential remonstrations between the three CB’s and midfield. Preston’s second corner of the game led to claims of a goal by the Preston bench and players as Flint cleared off the line after the ball had cannoned off the post. Boro were under the cosh and whatever TP’s logic and tactical plan was it clearly had less hope and support than Theresa May’s.

Considering all the injuries Alex Neil had to deal with you wouldn’t have guessed which squad was decimated with injuries as Boro were struggling to not only break out of their own half but to get any semblance of a credible attacking movement. Before twenty minutes were on the clock TP had shuffled his pack and had square pegged players all over the park. We were all wondering what on earth was the point of all those pre kick-off changes? We ended up with Hugill shunted out wide operating in a Stuani/McDonald type role perhaps with Rudy Gestede now functioning (used loosely) as a lone Striker?

Given that the prize before kick-off tonight was to maybe go top of the League if Norwich faltered it looked very unlikely in the opening twenty minutes that Boro would be going anywhere in a northerly direction. The opening stats must have been embarrassing as Preston were totally dominant; Boro unsurprisingly looked like a team full of strangers with alien tactics topping things off. The old adage of “if it isn’t broke don’t fix it” was clearly lost on Tony Pulis when it came to selecting his team tonight. That urgent, white flagged re-shuffle of the Pulis Pack was as a direct response to Preston’s possession dominance. It at least started to take the sting out of the game as the match approached the half hour mark.

Poor Rudy Gestede didn’t last until that half hour mark as he suddenly went down unopposed and played no further part. I find it bizarre that Players who have long-standing suspect injuries don’t experience a relapse over weeks of rehab and training but as soon as they play in a competitive game that weakness returns? Something has to be very flawed behind the scenes with either training or the physio’s regime in claiming players are back to full fitness.

Anyway Tav came on and immediately forced a corner and Boro suddenly looked a different proposition, more alert, energetic and lively. The Pulis pack had been forcibly shuffled again on Tav’s arrival with Ayala looking to be playing on the right side of defence and Fry central in the Clayton role shielding Batth and Flint, bizarre doesn’t begin to describe it. How we got to this state is a story in itself but as soon as Tav came on we were lifted and confidence levels looked rejuvenated. It’s a harsh judgement but at kick-off it looked like either the players were totally confused or simply didn’t believe in the tactics.

A fantastic corner in from Wing should have resulted in a goal but it somehow went out for another Boro corner. The contrast between this stage and the opening twenty five minutes was now unrecognisable. Seconds later Wing had a dipping shot which was just too high and went over as we seemed to finally settle into the game. Preston then came back into the game mainly via Barkhuizen and Barker who were there most lively players. A free kick for Boro just before half-time was taken by Saville but it was poor and a weak claim for an infringement of Tav was about the best hope we had with the set piece. In fairness both Wing’s and Saville’s set piece plays had been delivered to a higher standard than usual which is perhaps more than could be said for Saville’s general open play, which has probably opened more questions about the sanity of that ludicrous forthcoming fee.

Two minutes before the interval the inevitable happened as Randolph was beaten by a wicked shot from Browne who left the Boro defence for dead and gave the ROI keeper no chance as Preston deservedly went one up. Moult started the move in the middle of the pitch, passing to Browne, who laid it off to Barker wide left. Driving forward Barker played the ball across to Browne who side-stepping Batth despatched it past Randolph into the left-hand corner.

Our failure to make that little bit of pressure count came back to haunt us as Preston now went into the break one goal up and it has to be said deservedly so. TP was going to have to unravel the mess of his own making during his half-time team talk to hopefully repeat his feat of last season at Deepdale.

Why TP deemed it necessary to change a settled and wining side so much seemed naive in isolation for such an experienced manager and didn’t make sense. My guess is that he woefully underestimated Preston and had one eye on Saturday’s fixture against Villa -hence the extreme tinkering. The first half was very poor and in no way did we remotely look like a side capable of automatic promotion, in fact we looked more like a mid to lower table side, which considering the starting eleven and then Ayala playing out right was perhaps no surprise. That Preston goal epitomised the messed up Boro midfield and disastrous mixed up defence.

It appeared that TP held his hand up and realised the sheer madness of whatever was scribbled on his note pad as Ayala didn’t come out for the second half with Braithwaite on in his place. Fry was now restored to right-back and immediately the link-up between Fry and Tavernier led to Tav screaming through towards the Preston goal with Hugill lining himself up to receive it centrally in the box. Tav instead took it himself, levelling the scores by calmly slotting the ball between the keeper and a defender when squaring it to Hugill seemed the better option. Before those jubilations were complete Lewis Wing went down looking very groggy and had to be replaced by Howson and all before the half was two minutes old.

Howson was in the action immediately defending a corner and then as we looked to get out he gave the ball away and as Preston played it around patiently, a shot saw Randolph sparing our blushes to send it wide for a second Preston corner in five minutes. Whilst we were extremely grateful for Tav’s goal it asked even more questions of what the coaching staff see at Rockliffe week in, week out because it appears that what Gestede does and what Marcus Tavernier does would confound the intellect of Einstein because it clearly baffles Pulis, Woodgate and Fleming.

Since the equaliser Preston were pushing back hard and we had to defend for our lives. The restored back line of Fry, Batth, Flint and Friend with Clayts in front proved its worth asking more questions of whose idea it was to set the side up the way they did in the first half. Another nervy gaffe by Howson set Preston away again as he was struggling to get up to the pace of the game, clearly being dropped to the bench didn’t have the desired effect. A Friend cross then saw a Tav header that just didn’t have enough on it but at least the lad was getting in the right places. It has to be said that as rusty as Howson looked Braithwaite by comparison had been entirely absent since his arrival, in fact at this stage he had been completely anonymous.

Suddenly Braithwaite came to life at last, found Tavernier with a well weighted ball who once again proved a handful for the Preston defence who were looking very nervous every time the young lad got anywhere near the ball. A Howson ball over the top to Tavernier saw another break involving Clayton and ended with Saville just missing in a lovely quick and slick break. Without the outlet Tavernier provides that move wouldn’t have been thought off let alone acted upon.

It was now Tav’s turn to pick out Braithwaite who was blocked unceremoniously as Preston gave away a free kick. Giving a set-piece opportunity to a side that under Pulis is supposedly our strong point but of late these had flattered to deceive. Howson rolled the free kick to Braithwaite who fired it into the box but it was defended and went out to Fry, who sent it in to Batth who missed the target. In the next phase of play George Friend put Randolph under pressure with a silly back pass and nearly allowed Preston back in front. Moult then went off for Preston with Nmecha coming on to replace him.

A mix up between Saville and Hugill led to a break down the Preston left with Barkhuizen and Barker once again stretching Boro, who needed another young lad Fry to come to the rescue. An injury to Clarke enabled Preston to run the clock down as the Preston physio attended to him, then changed his shirt and attended to him some more, before finally leaving the pitch. As soon as he came back on he was prevented from scoring by a Braithwaite clearance.

Another slick Howson, Clayton, Saville move saw Tavernier run through on Declan Rudd in the Preston goal and going down a little too easily earned him the wrath of Rudd, followed by some verbal’s in his defence from Clayts, for which all three received a yellow card in a no nonsense triple booking. Some desperate defending now from Boro cheated Clarke and after failing to fully clear their lines the ball came back in to Storey, who as centre-backs do, emulated Aden Flint’s effort against Brentford on Saturday and thankfully blasted it over with two minutes remaining.

A Preston free kick in the centre circle saw a long speculatively taken ball come to nothing to ease the pressure on Boro. Four minutes was displayed by the fourth official as the game hung in the balance. A dubious free kick given away by Flint saw another long Preston free kick hoofed into the Boro box with Flint himself clearing the danger and earning an equally dubious free kick in the process. Two minutes left and this time a Boro free kick on the half-way line was glanced out for a goal kick by Hugill. A short game of head tennis between Gallagher and Flint ended with Tavernier and Howson breaking and another opportunity for Hugill who reverted to type going down feebly earning a yellow card and with it ended the contest.

Before kick-off tonight a point away from home against a side that hadn’t lost in eight games would have to be considered a decent result by most of us. Overall the evening left us with a taste of what could have been had TP not had a tactical meltdown and in doing so surrendering a chance of all three points. The MOM can only be one player (it did momentarily cross my mind to award it to Gestede the grim humour probably isn’t appropriate given that it seems that he may have a serious career threatening problem) it undeniably has to go to Marcus Tavernier who had the sort of impact that we used to hope that Adama Traore would have on many occasions last season except that Tav actually has an end product.

Seeing the positives, two away games in quick succession yielding an average of two points a game is good form but the worry is that had Gestede not picked up an injury we would have likely lost that game and perhaps by a damaging margin so poor were the tactics, organisation, set-up and selection. Let’s hope lessons have been learned and we get back to basics against Villa. Despite the four points from two away games our defence has been uncomfortably overly reliant on Randolph of late and looks far from the lock-out kings of the EFL. The midfield didn’t function tonight but it’s hard to pin the blame solely with them given the shuffling both there and at the back, over-thinking nearly cost us a point that could prove crucial come May.

 

Brentford		Middlesbrough
Judge	75′	Hugill Tavernier	56′ 61′
Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	69% 17 9 9 6	Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	31% 11 4 4 11

Tavernier stings Bee Keeper

Marvin Johnson had ensured that the Blades stayed beneath Boro thanks to his late slip up in the early kick off but after that the rest of the afternoon went pear shaped results wise. The other runners in the Championship promotion race had all won with Norwich destroying Swansea in South Wales and Leeds getting a late upper hand against a ten man Bristol side. Derby had edged out Wednesday and Forest beat Hull away.

There was an understandable heavy air at Griffin Park and proceedings had a sombre start as a minutes applause was held for Robert Rowan the Bee’s Technical Director who sadly passed away last week of heart failure at the untimely age of 28.

During the week Bees Manager Thomas Frank believed that his side had enough quality to cause Boro a few problems. That claim would have come as good news to the understandably sceptical Brentford fans who haven’t enjoyed their football lately with four defeats and one win in their last five games and in fact they had only won one game in their last ten Championship outings. Those stats weren’t helped no doubt by the recent departure of former Bees Boss Dean Smith to Villa.

Brentford hadn’t beaten Boro in the League since before World War Two which for Boro fans is the sort of stat we don’t like hearing in fear of the inevitable Typical Boro curse. December 1938 was the last time Bees fans last celebrated a league victory over Boro. The team speculation around Boro this afternoon centred around would TP play with three big lads at the back with Dael and George out wide or would he stick with a back four and if so would it be Ayala or Batth starting? For Brentford both Said Benrahma and Ollie Watkins were on the treatment table and Romaine Sawyers suspended after collecting a fifth yellow of the season. Kamohelo Mokotjo was also a big doubt and due to have a late fitness test ahead of the game.

Team news came out around half past four and our answer was four at the back with Ayala benched but the big surprise was that Tavernier was starting in place of Braithwaite with the Dane not even making the bench . Top scorer Neal Maupay made the Brentford starting eleven and as expected Mokotjo was deemed unfit. The omission of Braithwaite seemed a strange one given his good form lately on International duty but TP had at least been true to his word in “hitting the ground running” with Tav’s inclusion.

An “enthusiastic” Friend throw in in the opening seconds and a resulting mix up nearly allowed Brentford an early break. A minute later Tav was involved in our first foray as he fizzed a fierce cross across the Brentford goal which just evaded Downing on the far side of the box as Boro built up pressure. Besic then collected a sloppy ball in the Brentford defence and advanced getting off his shot which was deflected wide for a corner from which Flint had a great chance but his shot went well over never troubling Bentley in goal. In a mad moment Friend cleared out Canos with a gentle forearm, brought the ball into the middle of the pitch, calm and collected then bizarrely passed it back to Flint but in doing so inadvertently set up Maupay. That comedy of errors was returned by Bentley seconds later when pressured by the charging Hugill into conceding a throw.

As the game drifted towards the quarter hour mark the tempo slowed a bit, Boro retreated and allowed Brentford a bit of possession. Brentford were passing the ball around slickly but couldn’t unpick the Boro back line. The white shirts of Boro built an attack but disappointingly petered out when Clayts over hit a long ball that went straight out near the corner flag. Things got a bit scrappy now and Brentford were looking as though they might just cause a few problems but then a cleared ball out from the back from Tav to Besic saw him play a slide rule pass for Hugill to run onto and bring a strong save out of Bentley as he ran in one on one on the Bees keeper. A good passage of build-up play then saw Tav play Besic in again on the edge of the box but he fluffed his lines and was lucky to avoid a booking as he chased back and tackled Canos just over the half way line to retrieve the situation. Friend then also came close to be the first to enter Ref John Brook’s book as he pulled back an opponent after being skinned. Jordan Hugill however was to become the first to that “honour” just a minute later as his outstretched arm caught Mepham in the face. As Brentford kept possession and probed Moses Odubajo came closest to opening the scoring with a long range effort forcing Randolph to tip over comfortably.

A Downing Corner just after the half hour mark saw Flint fly in with Batth right behind him just failing to get his head to it. Eight minutes later and a free kick for a foul on Tav saw a Downing ball again evade Flint but this time Batth connected but his header went wide despite Fry straining his neck muscles to redirect it. A Brentford counter attack was tracked all the way by Clayts who never gave up on his man and was immediately on top of him preventing a cut back cross. From the corner Downing played a ridiculous ball back to Fry when defending under pressure which set up Brentford as it failed to reach Dael. The resultant corner was fortunately cleared again and the half ended as it had begun 0-0.

No changes at half time and the game started the way the first half had ended with both sides passing the ball around and not making much progress until a glancing looping header from Hugill restated Boro’s intentions. Flint was then adjudged to have wrestled Maupay to the floor as the ball was hoofed up field this time by Brentford and the French Striker went down in a very theatrical face holding fashion ensuring Aden received a yellow card.

Eight minutes after Flint’s card, advantageous attacking play from Besic collecting the ball thirty yards out saw a peach of a ball played into Howson in the middle of the Bees box, chesting it down he poked it through to Hugill poaching on the corner of the six yard box to silence Griffin Park with a goal. Jordan’s “industrious” display (or agricultural to some) paid dividends two games running to put Boro one up. Brentford were then fired up and suddenly Randolph was back in focus, required to replicate his heroics of the last fortnight with the Republic of Ireland as Judge and then Canos forced Darren into saves and then Maupay fired into the side netting as the Bees were not going to give up on this.

Confidence brimming Hugill had another chance but this time the nervy Bentley was equal to it preventing the loanee Hammer from doubling his tally. A well worked piece of tight interplay between Downing and Fry saw Dael float in a precision cross which had Hugill coming across from the far post receiving the Brentford defenders attention only for Tav to time a run to microsecond perfection arriving as though it was a Hollywood computer generated image nodding home and putting Boro two up. Considering all the reasons TP had put him in the side his heading ability probably wasn’t one but I’m sure it won’t be a problem plus Dael Fry’s crossing ability won’t have gone unnoticed either!

The Bees nest was well and truly poked and they were now swarming all over Boro and our hitherto defensive composure was looking susceptible. Randolph half dealt with an effort then spilled it then recovered his error but spilled it again as the home side were now throwing the proverbial kitchen sink at us. We were looking really rattled for the first time in the game and I’m sure the Brentford fans were asking why did they have to go two down before they stared to play?

Maupay got a header in which was directed straight at Randolph to keep our goal intact. It was all getting a bit frantic from a Boro perspective and a Tavernier break and cross to Hugill came to nothing. Then it was our turn to sweat again as Canos shot straight at Randolph at the other end. Boro were creaking, being exposed and two minutes later a short, one two corner presented Judge with a shooting opportunity on the edge of the Boro box. He wasn’t closed down quickly enough by Besic and his shot literally flew past four White Boro shirts as it found its way in the corner of Randolph’s goal. Two one now and it was game back on with a quarter of an hour remaining. Canos then fired another shot straight at Randolph with ten minutes still to tick down.

In an effort to bolster things and add a bit of fresh legs into the flagging midfield TP sent Saville on for Besic. Brentford were now desperately pushing for the elusive equaliser and Boro hearts were in mouths. DaSilva let fly and in what seemed like slow motion, Randolph to all intents and purposes was well beaten but somehow stretched an arm out to get a strong palm against all odds to push the fiercely hit shot behind the post. That signalled another pair of fresh legs as Lewis Wing came on for Downing with three minutes of normal time remaining.

The Shildon sensation was nearly on the score sheet after Saville scrapped for a lost ball and winning out against the odds cut back in from the touchline and crossed to Wing who connected but the ball spun to the right of Bentley’s upright and the opportunity to put the game to bed was spurned. Thankfully it wasn’t to prove costly as the whistle went shortly afterwards and despite the late Brentford onslaught Boro held on for all three points and jump back into second spot again two points behind Norwich.

Job done even if it was a bit of a rollercoaster at times, MOM had a few contenders, Randolph for his save, Tavernier for his goal and overall game, George Friend for his endeavours in the first half but once again it has to be Clayts for fighting, battling, never giving up and never giving in.