Author: Redcar Red

Middlesbrough		Wigan Athletic
Hugill	38′ (pen) 44′
Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	42% 19 4 4 16	Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	58% 13 1 4 12

Hugill brace Penalises Latic’s

Travel sick Wigan arrived at the Riverside buoyed by the hope that toothless Boro as Rotherham found out may be an easy ride and a way to end a streak of away defeats. At the back Tony Pulis had a headache with Ryan Shotton out mid to long term and Paddy McNair failing to impress in the RB role. Ironically that may have eased another selection conundrum with Danny Batth having earned all the plaudits last time out and with the other Dani now free from suspension. Would TP go with three at the back and play Fry and Friend out wide or will he pick two from four for a CB pairing? Wigan had a fair few missing in action with Captain Morsy suspended along with Dunkley both out and Will definitely wouldn’t be on fire this weekend after suffering an injury whilst away with Saville and McNair on International duty.

It was predicted that Wigan would probably come with an ultra-cautious approach after taking a few hammerings of late and who could blame them after a better than anticipated start to the season raised false hopes. Their Championship shine has tarnished somewhat of late and with new owners on board this week there was heightened awareness that too many defeats could start a chain of events that the Latic’s players and coaches alike may not enjoy. Their new owner’s moniker International Entertainment Corporation (IEC) would tend to indicate that drab and dreary negativity is not what they have in mind.

Wigan had let in eight goals in their last three games whilst Boro are chasing records having only conceded eight goals all season. The sharp end for Boro however has been the problem and somewhat blunt all season but more so recently with our Virgin Strikers failing to score at the Riverside since mid-September. Many Boro fans were wondering if TP might start with some adventurous youth to remedy that malaise or if he would stick with the much tried and by now very testing usual suspects in the desperate hope that the law of averages would intervene soon.

As it was TP went with Hugill up front supported by Braithwaite and Downing while Dael Fry continued at RB. Danny Batth retained his spot alongside Flint with Ayala having to be content with a place on the bench. Just before the game commenced there was an impeccably observed minutes silence from all four sides of the Riverside but the most poignant moment perhaps was when the game had actually kicked off and the veterans and flag bearers were still making their way off the sidelines towards the NW corner. The fans in the North and North West ignored the game, remained standing applauding the heroes until they reached the NW tunnel.

The game itself had got off to a fairly inauspicious start with both sides seemingly content to hold on to what they had which didn’t bode well for those who were about to sit through 90 minutes of magnolia football. The game did settle down after ten minutes or so as Boro started to enjoy some penetration down the flanks, putting in a few crosses in towards Hugill who managed to get his head to a most of them but none seriously troubled Walton in the Wigan goal.

Downing was now enjoying success down the right hand side with Dael getting up supporting and putting crosses in and George wearing the seemingly now obligatory Boro Captains mask doing the same down the left flank. Our Captain Marvel seems to be suffering the after effects of a forearm smash at Stoke but Ben Gibson’s former fashion accessory was discarded into Randolph’s net after just fifteen minutes.

A ball played over the top to Braithwaite saw the Danish International bring the ball down with aplomb, dart forward one on one with the keeper with the defender breathing over his shoulder but he hit his shot into the side netting in what should have been a goal but at least the intent was there as Boro now started to apply some serious pressure.

Probing balls and crosses started to pepper the Wigan 18 yard box and Hugill again had a chance just after the 20 minute mark but his header went wide across the face of the goal. Jordan’s next encounter was a clash with former Darlo player Dan Burns who caught the Boro striker full in the mouth leaving him on his backside but for good reason this time as he seemed to be spitting blood literally. Despite Boro having most of the possession now our play didn’t seemed very joined up and was more of a hopeful variety than cleverly worked moves. Indeed Wigan still had a few opportunities themselves that thankfully Dael Fry was alert to after George had marshalled a ball to safety but it somehow ricocheted off the turf and his heel to allow Windass to fire in a low cross but Dael nipped in clearing the danger with a perfectly timed tackle literally nicking the ball from the Strikers toes inside the six yard box.

Play then swung up the other end and a Boro corner saw chaos in the Wigan box as it somehow stayed out despite the best efforts of Fry and Batth. Boro should have been two up by now and the warning signs were there as Wigan’s best chance saw a glancing header invitingly sail across the face of the Boro goal with nobody in a blue shirt alert enough to knock it in. A few minutes later Friend went down the left flank beating two defenders in his gangly unconvincingly but effective stride with the luck of the ball running for him, cutting inside only to be upended by Kipre and Ref England blew for a Penalty. Downing and Hugill were engaged in a conversation with the West Ham loanee winning the opportunity to open his Championship account for Boro with the spot kick. He blasted the ball straight down the middle as Walton despairingly dived to his right to put Boro one nil up and ease nerves.

A few minutes later a 40 yard Besic ball picked out Braithwaite who again took the ball down with ease, darted towards the by line, cut it back across Walton’s goal forcing the Keeper to push the ball up and out where it fell to Hugill who calmly chested it down to hit a right footed volley to put us two nil up and you could feel the pressure lift around the Riverside to the extent that the pressure change was probably the reason for the torrential downpour which was to come in the second half.

The half time whistle went to cheers and applause especially for Hugill who looked like the real deal, holding up play, battling and now scoring as well as coming close by getting into position on a few occasions.

No changes from either manager at half time and the second half got under way with an immediate Wigan attack putting us on the back foot. Worryingly this was to be the trend for the rest of the game. Most of us were hoping for a goal-fest and a boost to our GD but we sat back, defended deep and invited Latic pressure. A rare breakout saw Hugill chasing a Clayton ball, charging in towards the Wigan goalmouth but caught in two minds he took a first touch and the ball was swept away to safety by the second defender coming across to cover and the chance was gone.

There wasn’t much from a Boro perspective to comment on proceedings on the pitch at this stage. The heavens had opened up, Besic had a mazy run through to the edge of the Wigan box and seemed to have run out of ideas and just gave up allowing Kipre to stick a leg in to clear. He repeated a similar behavioural pattern a bit later when he was again on the edge of the box running towards the by line and again just seemed to give up once a challenge was imminent. It was a shame because Mo did have some sublime moments in the game not forgetting his brilliant ball up to Braithwaite for our second.

Aden Flint managed to get himself booked for kicking the ball away much to the annoyance of the Scouse Sean Dyche, Paul Cook who was apoplectic with rage as his side sought to get back in the game. Flint had been commanding in the air but had a few wobbles playing the ball on the ground including a pass back to Randolph in the first half putting him under pressure needlessly. I’m sure those weaknesses will not have gone unnoticed by the coaching staff and Dani Ayala.

Danny Batth then took one for the team as he blocked a free kick and somehow remained upright. It was noticeable during the game that Batth’s headed clearances seemed to have a degree of precision in finding a Boro player on quite a few occasions instead of just a random cleared header. He also seemed to have a velvet gauntlet in dealing with opponents instead of blatantly manhandling them, a complete contrast in style to both Ayala and Flint.

With just over twenty minutes remaining Hugill tried to block a clearance by closing down Kipre but came off worse as the two collided and although hobbled on was soon replaced by Britt. Callum McManaman of in your face (or rather TP’s face) Sunderland celebration fame came on for the Latics and livened up proceedings by starting to turn the screw. He made a difference for the Latics by putting in some dangerous balls and kept both Downing and Fry on their mettle as we sat back in the trenches of our own making.

Lewis Wing entered the fray with fifteen minutes remaining for Braithwaite who was less imposing than he had been in the first half but in all honesty it could equally have been Howson or Besic to make way. We were sitting too deep and although defending well we didn’t have an outlet and the lack of a bit of pace on the bench and the futility of Gestede and Assombalonga sat there crossed my mind. To me Tavernier would have been the ideal sub to stretch the opposition and give our under siege defence some relief.

Wing injected some additional fight and made a few decent tackles and supported Britt on a break receiving the ball on the edge of the box and got off a shot much to Britt’s annoyance who wanted a return ball for himself. Saville came on for Besic with six minutes of normal time left and had a daisy cutter shot himself which was the most work Walton had to do all second half. News was filtering through of other results where Norwich in particular were losing, then drawing, then winning, then drawing, then losing again as the North stand tempted fate by a “we are top of the League chant” and as the final result from Carrow Road filtered through after our game had ended it was indeed a premature chant.

We won two nil; it was an unconvincing start, a decent bit of pressure followed and two welcome goals and all in all a happy ending to the first half. The second half is best forgotten about and was worryingly similar to the Rotherham game. Despite winning it still didn’t feel like any corners have been turned and yet incredibly we are second in the division. MOM is a difficult one as there were no stand outs, Clayts was his usual influential self, Fry was excellent in saving our blushes twice early on and put in a solid display at RB, Friend was flying down the wing without the safety of his mask and Downing was taking on defenders. All OK but nothing great or outstanding so for his two goals and all round efforts it goes to Jordan Hugill and let’s hope it’s the start of things to come and his injury isn’t too serious.

Stoke City		Boro
Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	62% 13 1 7 8	Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	38% 11 4 2 10

Goalless in the Potteries

Boro’s tea-time trip to the Potteries had a bit of extra edge with the return of Tony Pulis to the club where he spent nearly ten years as the Manager who last guided them to the Premiership. Boro’s resolute defiance against Palace mid-week I’m sure will have resonated with Gary Rowett on what his side have to do to try and get one over TP. Creativity and the lack of it seems to be something that his Stoke side have been criticised for lately. It’s also something that has been levelled at TP’s Boro side this season as blank sheets became the norm for his strike force in October.

Stoke had conceded just two goals in their last five games so low scoring Boro on paper were unlikely to cause much consternation for Jack Butland. Like Boro their defence is the foundation that Rowett is building his side upon and again like Boro they have been in for some stick for being too slow in getting the ball out from the back to attack with any tempo. On Wednesday night it has been much debated on social media that perhaps TP’s solution to the lack of goals and creativity was staring at him out on the pitch. After such a strong case it will be interesting to see who makes the starting eleven and who makes the bench considering that Ayala is suspended for this one and both McQueen and Shotton are out injured so there should be at least two spare seats on the subs bench and with it a feasible reasoning for inclusion of our young talent.

As we had hoped there were indeed two seats reserved on the bench for Tav and Wing. Batth was filling in for Ayala and Fry covered the RB slot with McNair on the Bench. TP received a warm welcome from the home fans as expected as the two sides assembled for the minutes silence just before Kick Off on a very windy (is it ever not windy at the Bet365?) evening.

The game started at a “testing” tempo with both sides resolute, keeping their powder dry in the opening ten minutes with nothing of any major note happening. Maybe it was the timing of the match or it simply being selected for TV but the ground seemed sparsely populated despite the claimed 24,500 crowd and if it wasn’t for the wind cutting in from the exposed corners there wouldn’t have been any atmosphere at all. On fifteen minutes Afobe had a chance but was superbly marshalled by Batth and his effort didn’t trouble Randolph. At the other end Hugill was battling alone and making things difficult for Shawcross which the duel saw plenty of pushing and shoving but more of which I’ll come to later.

Stoke had most of the possession and were pushing Boro but we didn’t look seriously troubled. The back line of Friend, Flint, Batth and Fry dealt with everything hurled into the box from a few Stoke free kicks and corners. Being honest at this stage it was so predictable I think I could have written the match report last week as both sides didn’t look like scoring and as a contest it must have been pretty dry to watch for any neutrals. The Hugill/Shawcross battle saw Hugill get the better of him on a break only to be fouled which meant Shawcross entered the Ref’s book. Up until this point challenges on Hugill seemed to be fair in the eyes of the officials despite one high attempt, yet if a Boro player so much as breathed on Afobe or Berahino the Ref Rob Jones immediately blew. My bias is obvious but I did get a feeling that tonight’s Ref wasn’t as even-handed as he perhaps could and should have been when it came to Strikers being manhandled. Perhaps Hugill’s recent history had caught up with him like the boy who cried Wolf.

Four minutes after booking Shawcross, Rob Jones then blew for a foul in Boro’s favour after a scrappy battle which continued in the heat of the moment with Clayts sliding in on Etebo. Despite play already stopped for the earlier infringement, Jones decided to book Clayts for his lunging challenge for which the ante had been upped in the earlier scrap for the free kick. Arguably Clayts should have kept a cooler head but the Ref should have been stronger and quicker in my mind in blowing for the original foul. So the yellow card count was now 1-1 and things were back level again. That spark however fired a bit of life into Boro with Braithwaite hitting a dipping shot over Butland but it was directly at him and was easily collected out of the air. Downing then cut inside and fired a shot from outside the box which again required Butland to be alert in dealing with it.

Shawcross was then guilty of a “svelte” block on Howson as he ran into the Stoke box but the Ref bottled the decision as it was either a foul and a sending off for Shawcross for a second yellow or a booking for Howson for simulation. Had it been at the other end, I think we would have seen a second yellow and it occurred to me that Ayala wasn’t playing tonight and maybe that was a disguised blessing of sorts. For the silly yellow card, Clayts then made amends of sorts with the most entertaining bit of skill on the night, he dummied a ball cleared out of the Stoke defence, made a faux attempt to play the ball, let it drop, shielded it, spun around leaving his opponent dizzy and chasing his shadow putting Boro back on the attack.

Two minutes after Boro’s purple patch, Berahino was put through, fired a shot that fortunately was anticipated with a wonderful reflex reaction again from Batth in blocking the attempt to keep Randolph safe. Next up was Dael Fry to head away an Edwards cross destined to find Afobe as the half was closing in on the forty-five minute mark. One minute of added time drained away as the sides went in for the break with both Managers probably comfortable with their defences.

There was a lot of passing and grafting in the first half but little real quality on show. Besic had a few moments but nothing spectacular except for an over-hit ball, which rankled the away fans huddled in the opposite corner. Braithwaite also saw plenty of the ball but never really looked like he knew what he was going to do next with it.

The sides recommenced the second half with the same individuals as had finished the first half. A moment of genius or madness depending upon your half-full or half-empty perspective came from Mo when he played a 30 yard ball back to Randolph who unable to handle it had the presence of mind to head it clear for a throw in. Moments later Batth again saved the day to the point where TP will be hard pushed to find a reason to drop him after Ayala has sat this one out serving his one game suspension.

The game went into a slightly more entertaining phase as both sides attacked and left some openings at the other end but in truth it was looking very unlikely that either would score any time soon. Afobe was irked at the linesman on the far side as he flagged him offside when he felt he had sprung the trap. That was as about as riveting as the game had become as it entered the last thirty minutes. TP clearly thought the same and hooked the disappointing Dane for Tavernier.

A cutting incisive ball through to Hugill saw him charge past Shawcross, who couldn’t foul him for fear of a sending off, for a one-on-one with Butland. Jordan went for the keepers near post and the tightest angle to which the spreading Butland was equal to it and with it went the best chance of the night.

Tav was covering the left side but his pace was now a different challenge for Stoke to deal with. Five minutes after Tav had come on it was Lewis Wing’s turn to take to the Championship stage after almost a two month absence. Surprisingly it was Downing who came off with Howson going wide right and Wing playing just behind Hugill. A hustle in the Stoke box saw Wing scrapping and although he lost his tussle the ball broke from the hassled Stoke defender to Howson who was Jonny on the spot (well edge on the six yard box anyway) but Butland made his second close range save this time courtesy of his outstretched legs. Those two opportunities could have won it for Boro and were the best chances of the night but it wasn’t to be.

The most interesting aspect of the game for me came when we were repelling Stokes late desperation to clinch a winner. A cleared ball out found Hugill who held the ball up then laid it off for Wing who played a ball out to Tav to run onto, which was the move of the night in terms of no slow predictable passing, just a series of quick intuitive gut instincts which would have been perfect for those of us to yell from the rooftops to TP “see we told you” but excitement got the better of Tav and he lashed his shot high, wide and handsome. Whilst it didn’t come off, allied to the Palace game, there does seem to be an understanding, awareness and appreciation between the trinity.

That breakaway may have factored into Rowett’s thinking so much so that he made a triple last ditch substitution with boo-boy McLean, Crouch and Bojan coming on for the last ten minutes. Almost immediately Stoke hoofed balls towards Crouch but Batth, Randolph and Flint were unfazed and cleared everything thrown at them. A bloody and battered George was planned to make an exit after being on the receiving end of a forearm smash with Saville and then McNair stripped to replace him but our Captain wasn’t giving up any time soon and indicated his determination to carry on right until the end.

The final few minutes saw a Corner for Boro from which we failed to capitalise on with a poorly hit lofted ball easily dealt with by Butland. It ended 0-0, which wasn’t exactly the surprise result of the weekend and kept Boro in third spot at least until Leeds play on Sunday. MOM was between Friend, Clayts and Batth for me but it has to be Batth who was making his first Boro Championship appearance. He was cool as a cucumber all evening and can rightly consider himself harshly treated if Ayala reclaims his place on the basis of this evening’s performance.

If only we can sort out the sharp end of this side but how many times have we said that. I do feel however that there is something between Hugill, Wing and Tavernier if given the chance and persevered with. Fast, crisp and different qualities between the three of them, Hugill may not be the 25 goal a season Striker we want but his bustling disruptive style seems a good foil for the other two.

 

Middlesbrough		Crystal Palace
Wing	45’+3
Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	43% 9 1 1 8	Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	57% 8 3 9 13

Wing Wizard’s Magic stakes a claim

Tonight brought a reunion for TP with one of his former clubs whose parting of the ways wasn’t particularly amicable. By now the acrimony I’m sure has long since faded away almost like home goals at the Riverside, a distant memory.

Both clubs at present have an aversion to scoring goals it would seem. Only 5 clubs have scored fewer goals than Boro in the Championship and 4 of them are in the bottom 6 the other being QPR. Palace have not won since they beat WBA in the last round of the Caribou Cup losing three and drawing against Arsenal 2-2 at the Weekend but with both their goals coming from the Penalty spot which may be a deciding factor again tonight should it end equal on the night.

The last time these two sides met in the League Cup was in 2011 at Selhurst Park when Palace won 2-1 but there have been many changes with both clubs since then so no store can be put on that night. Likewise the last time we met which was in the Premiership the season before last and we had a “Friendless” AK tactical meltdown that day when Patrick van Aanholt scored the day’s solitary goal to lift the Eagles out of the relegation zone.

Onto tonight’s fixture and significant changes were expected by both managers pre kick off and the Boro side was a bit of a hybrid with seven changes containing the likes of Leadbitter, Batth and of course Wing and Tavernier but also saw the inclusion of Ayala, Braithwaite and Hugill. Ayala is facing a suspension for the trip to Stoke so it probably made sense giving him a run out. Allegedly a spell had been cast which had spread through the bowels of Rockliffe and prevented TP utilising some players who may otherwise have got a game or a place on the bench at least. Roy Hodgson meanwhile went one better and made eight changes to his Eagles side which included the likes of Townsend, Ayew, Souare, Schlupp and ex-Boro target Puncheon.

A solemn minutes silence was impeccably held in remembrance of the weekend’s Leicester City tragedy heralded by the whistle of tonight’s Ref Paul Tierney.

Dark mist encircling from the Tees shrouded the chilly Riverside on Hallows eve as Boro kicked off with a 433 line up at the unusual hour of 8.00pm. We started on the front foot with George Fiend charging up towards the Palace goal and we actually recorded a shot at the end of a Boo-tiful move. McNair then fizzed a ball into Braithwaite at the far post, chested it down but his touch was just too much to finish off the move. Lewis Wing was keen not to be outdone as he then signalled his intent in setting up another Boro attack. Tavernier then broke and played it into Braithwaite who fired a shot across the face of the Palace goal causing consternation for Keeper Guaita dressed all in slime green.

A Townsend corner was headed clear, Braithwaite cleverly held the ball up on the half way line allowing his team-mates a chance to break out and he picking out Wing on the right flank with a spellbound cross field ball. Lewis fired a shot in at Guaita from outside the box which was spilled out to George Fiend, who took on two defenders but the move eventually went out for a goal kick. Three minutes later George broke into the box again this time taking on four defenders but fell literally at the last hurdle courtesy of a Palace body check.

The opening quarter of an hour saw some of the best Boro football that the Riverside had graced all season. The pace dipped a little as Palace tried a little bit of possession football in and around their own half.

A blood-curdling challenge involving McQueen and Schlupp saw the Boro player howl in agony as his leg seemingly got stuck and his knee gave way. It didn’t look good as he was stretchered off with Saville replacing him. With Shotton seemingly out for a while it now looks like McQueen could be out for some time leaving Boro well short of two wing backs. The game restarted with Boro giving the ball away allowing Schlupp to get a half shot away which was easily smothered by Dimi.

A period of patient Boro possession saw the ball lose out to Palace but with Boro regaining possession immediately, McNair lobbed a high ball up to Hugill who shielded the ball from several yellow shirts with Wing nipping in to collect and play a through ball to Tav who ran into the Palace box but his shot was unfortunately blocked. A minute later a long ball hoofed up field by the Eagles was headed down to Schlupp central on the edge of the 18 yard box but again Dimi was equal to the threat.

A brilliant cleared ball up from Dimi found Hugill who held the ball up again then laid it off to Saville who fed George flying down the left who then fired it into the Palace cauldron which just eluded Tav’s head but Hugill was waiting behind who volleyed just wide. With five minutes remaining Tav and Hugill harried and chased down the Palace defence with Hugill forcing Guaita into giving away a sloppy throw in from which Braithwaite received the cross but headed wide with what was at best a half chance.

Palace seemed very slow in their build up play and looked half-hearted compared to Boro. As they dwelled on the ball again Saville intercepted a poor pass releasing Hugill, charging through on the right but as he closed down on goal his shot went well wayward. Another Boro break quickly followed this time with Tav bursting forward leaving three players for dead and a cheeky toe poke pass out to Hugill saw the Marsked magician fire a shot across Guaita’s goal. Just as the game entered time added on for McQueen’s injury a desperate double tackle by Batth and Ayala came off I think Townsend’s shin for a Boro Goal kick.

Dimi hit the ball downfield which was battled for by Hugill and Braithwaite who found Tav on the right side of midfield who played it into the path of the marauding Lewis Wing charging through like a banshee 25 yards out and unleashed an Adam Reach style thunderbolt leaving Guaita no chance to make it 1-0 to Boro in front of the Red Faction. The whistle went shortly after the restart and what a difference tonight’s performance was from the last few weeks. McNair looked confident and comfortable, Hugill scared the living daylights out of the Palace CB’s and Tav was full of spirit along with George Fiend terrorising on the left and Lewis Wing who just had to do the inevitable ending a fang-tastic first half!

The sides came out for the second half just as they went in as Palace started the second half proceedings. The first shot in anger was from Meyer who was set up by Ayew in the Boro box who played it back out from the penalty spot to the German but his shot was very Claytonesque fortunately. A low cross into the box was then cleared out by Batth as Boro looked resolute at the back. A free kick won by Hugill in the middle of the park was played out to McNair who floated in a troubling ball that bounced as if possessed creating a mischievous few seconds of panic for Guaita. A Palace corner was cleared by Boro and went aimlessly up to Guaita who panicked again along with Souare as Hugill and Tavernier closed them down winning another forfeited throw in 18 yards out.

That signalled the end of Jordan’s evening as Rudy Gestede was sent on to replace him on 55 minutes presumably to keep him fresh for Saturday after an impressive showing tonight. Palace were desperately pushing for the equaliser but Boro were defending in numbers and crucially having an outlet in Tavernier. A Championship-style tackle from Saville on 60 minutes set Wing up who rushed his shot but the Ref brought play back for a free kick in any case deeming the Northern Irish Internationals tackle too devilish for his liking.

The best chance for the Eagles so far in the game was cleared by Ayala and as Townsend returned the ball back into the Boro box once again Ayala cleared it for a Corner to the away side. Fletcher then came on for Braithwaite with an eye on Saturday presumably and Milivojevic on for Ayew. Almost immediately after the restart George Fiend scored after a hair-raising melee in the Palace box which Tierney somehow saw a free kick in the middle of it to rule it out.

A suspect corner was then awarded to Palace with McNair adjudged to have let the ball cross the byline by a hairs-breadth. Palace were now seriously upping their intensity in the search for an equaliser with twenty minutes to go. As much as Palace probed and passed Dimi hadn’t had an awful lot to do as we looked very organised defensively.

Tavernier ghosted the ball down his touchline straight out of defence to set up a series of bagatelle shots involving Wing, Gestede and in the end Saville who blasted over. McNair was then forearm smashed by Puncheon but fortunately Paddy got back on his feet as Palace were now becoming more physical. Palace were now playing trick or treat, knocking on Dimi’s goal. Meyer had a chance but badly scuffed his shot. Another swinging cross came in but this time was cleared for a corner by Fletcher arriving back into his own box just in time. A Tavernier cross well worked between himself and Lewis Wing saw Fletcher head a looping ball over the Palace crossbar onto the roof of the net in front of the North Stand.

Pape Souare then limped off as Sam Woods came on for the Left Back with 12 minutes of normal time remaining. Hodgson shuffled things with Woods going into a CB role and Palace were now throwing everything at Boro as they upped the pressure for a spell after the substitution. Ayala made one of his strong (or reckless) challenged from behind which had hearts in Boro mouths but then as if by magic George cleared, phew! A shot was then fired in from Meyer hit the side netting as Boro were now effectively camped in their own half hanging on to that solitary Lewis Wing goal.

Roy Hodgson threw his last sub on in an effort to try and prise open the Boro rear guard. Five minutes were left and Boro were now clinging on and Fletcher finding himself deployed as a defender. A frightening Townsend long-range shot was dealt with by Dimi diving across his goal to palm away to safety. A Boro break saw Tav fly down the left flank with Wing and Gestede screaming for it but he held onto it not fancying his chances of a clean cross and drew the inevitable foul taking the sting out of the game momentarily.

A great block saw a claim for a penalty from the yellow shirts for handball in a packed Boro box. Palace still kept passing the ball around relentlessly trying to unpick a Boro wall of Red Shirts determined not to give them the key to the gates and yet another ball spun in to go just wide of Dimi’s upright. Injury time and yet another uninvited wicked ball came in dealt with this time by George Fiend who was there to put it out for a corner which when it arrived was headed clear by Gestede and then relief, Tierney blew his whistle to put us into the quarter finals of the Cup as spellbound applause instead of boos broke out around the Riverside.

The game was one of two halves; the first half saw us get at the opposition with pace and tenacity. The second saw us sit tight and defend in numbers defiantly. Statistically we had nine shots to Palaces eight with only one of ours on target but it counted and showed the value of Lewis Wing in breaking deadlocks.

MOM is difficult as there were many in Red who merited it. Wing is the obvious one as he scored the winner but for me Tav was the threat, the one wizard that worried Palace when he got on the ball, and the one who provided an outlet. Ayala was great, George Fiend was immense and arguably equally deserves MOM, Batth was solid and dependable and McNair looked a different player to the one of late so fair play to him. Hugill was a real handful and caused problems and when he came on Fletcher showed a new side to his game in getting back defending as did Saville and Gestede in the closing stages to add height at the corners. Braithwaite looked class in the first half and Dimi rolled back the years near the end and I suspect wickedly enjoyed himself. The only negative was the injury to McQueen which looked like a long term one sadly.

As we all hoped for TP now has a massive selection headache for Stoke but perhaps the best news was saved until last when we were drawn at home to Burton in the next round of the Cup. I suspect that the Riverside may be less of a mausoleum that night and that there may be just a little more than 12,000 for that one!

 

Middlesbrough		Derby County
Bogle	84′ (og)	Friend	19′ (og)
Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	41% 10 0 9 12	Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	59% 18 7 4 10

Randolph rescues outclassed Boro

This match pitched joint top Boro with the media darlings “Frank Lampard’s Derby”. Boro have been spluttering lately and look anything but a coherent Promotion chasing side yet somehow they have clung to an automatic promotion spot mainly due to the ineptness of the others rather than their own form and belief. Belief was the key word for today’s clash and Derby had it by the bucketful after resounding successes over the Baggies and the Blades and came to the Riverside looking to make it a treble of “B” scalps in a little over a week.

Boro had won nine out of their previous eleven home games against the Rams but last year’s 3-0 loss is still fresh in Boro supporter’s memory. This time around Derby seem to be in fine free flowing goal scoring form while Boro in contrast couldn’t score if their lives depended on it at the Riverside. The painful display against Rotherham on Tuesday night just topped a series of confused insipid displays with the Manager’s tactics being called into question for the first time since his arrival. TP was yet again uttering how his side need to be more clinical in the final third, well with nigh on £40M worth of striking “talent” at his disposal the fans were a little more direct on Tuesday night signing off with a chorus of boos. TP’s tenure is now at a questionable hurdle for the first time since taking over the reins from Garry Monk and Derby are either the worst side to face under such circumstances or the best depending upon your outlook.

Shotton would definitely be missing for Boro as would Bryson for the Rams along with George Evans and Joe Ledley. Boro fans were mostly interested in how many CB’s would be playing and how many benched as oppose to the final selected eleven. TP restored Dael Fry at the expense of Braithwaite who swapped seats on the bench with the youngster which was just as well as Fry made two crucial clearance headers in the opening five minutes to prevent Derby taking an early lead. Maybe it was the weather but Boro started in slow motion, almost frozen as they chased the shadows of the Derby youngsters. McNair had continued as he had for Northern Ireland recently and against Rotherham on Tuesday night looking completely ill at ease in the RB role. He stood off his man, giving them time and space repeatedly and it was only going to be a matter of time before the totally dominant Rams punished us down that flank.

Another foray down our weak right flank saw another cross fired into Marriott who fortunately headed wide just after those two Fry headers and with less than ten minutes gone we could and perhaps should have been three nil down as we were clinging on rather than defending doggedly. Derby are notoriously quick and precise on the offensive but equally notorious for being edgy, nervous, desperate and porous at the back. Considering that this is both well known and often debated it was a surprise to see TP’s tactics completely implode in the opening spell. We were so far off the pace that had it not been for Randolph we could have been four of five goals behind in the opening quarter hour.

Boro’s opening spell was as tactically impoverished as I can remember for a very long time. It seemed as though no pre-planning or scouting had taken place and Derby’s game plan was a complete surprise to the Boro dug out. After Tuesday night the home fans were starting to boo and jeer, negative, jittery back passes borne out of the hopelessness of the way the side had been set up and the glaring repeated weakness of shoehorning McNair into a role that he has shown he isn’t comfortable with. Everything about Boro was wrong, the nervous Derby defence were under no pressure from the isolated slow and lumbering Assombalonga. Apart from Randolph, Boro were very poor in every department.

The positive was that at least we were being entertained by the Derby kids who simply tortured us over every blade of grass by quick, incisive, slick passing movements. It was like watching a squash ball ping around the Easter Island giant statues. After Wilson had an effort palmed over by Randolph and a free kick that went just over the inevitable and long overdue the opening goal came on 19 minutes after McNair made a hash of escorting the ball out harmlessly and pinged the ball back to Downing who couldn’t control it and the cross came in from Malone evading all three CB’s to find Waghorn who with the help of Friend’s close attentions somehow managed to get the ball over the line.

At this point had the contest been in a boxing ring the towel would have been thrown in to save the pugilist from a pulverising. Undeservedly and against the run of play a misjudged back pass at the Derby defence allowed Besic throw who slipped the ball across to Britt who seemed to be wearing clown shoes instead of football boots as he delayed deploying a shot past Carson. The chance was gone and with it any hope we may have had to avoid a total humiliation. The only other effort of merit was a Downing ball played into Flint who seemed to get under the ball which is now his default heading position and Carson was never worried.

Derby had enjoyed something like 80% of the possession at this stage and the only surprise in that stats was that Boro then by default must have had 20 per cent possession at some point unless that included the absent ball boys taking an eternity to retrieve the ball apart from the lad in the NW corner who showed more reflexes than TP’s “Men”. The brief moments when we had the ball we looked shocked and frightened made worse by Besic trying the most ridiculous back heel just outside his own box gifting Derby another opportunity as if they needed it. It will be interesting to see if the same rule of being dropped applies to the big money stars as it does to the Boro lads?

Belatedly TP realised that if he didn’t change something and quickly then the afternoon could turn out to be his Waterloo. Home Boos had resurfaced as the fans saw a disjointed team lacking any belief or the wherewithal to clear their heads. Fry was shuffled out to RB and McNair pushed further forward to form the right side of the midfield as we switched to a back four. Derby weren’t finished as they hit the post after more heroics from Randolph saved our blushes. Almost immediately we looked better balanced, more stable and McNair looked more comfortable removed from the firing line of playing RB.

In an effort to make up for his aberration moments earlier Besic was now trying to drive his team-mates forward but his dazzling dribbles tended to be in isolation and on his own unique wavelength. In the dying moments of the half a scrambled clearance from a Boro corner almost netted an equaliser just before the break.

The half time was going to be an interesting one because the reality is that whatever game plan and tactics that had been scouted and worked on needed ripping up and set on fire to ensure they could never be accidentally uncovered and redeployed in the future. The policy of picking the big signings and loanees rather than abilities and variety meant that TP had little in his locker to change things other than the same old same old.

The second half restarted with no changes from either manager which wasn’t surprising from a Derby perspective but borderline hilarious from a Boro one given the total failure of the first half at every level. Boro looked a little less distressed and exposed with Fry behind McNair but our “style” of football was to hump it high which meant that things inevitably came straight back at us as Britt could neither jump nor control or hold onto the ball. Indeed it was a comical attempt to control a wide ball near the corner flag where his left leg seemingly tackled his right leg to conspire to turn a rare attack into a goal kick. This was rightly just about the last contribution from Britt as he was hooked at the next opportunity for Rudy Gestede along with Besic for Saville. The Besic switch was a bizarre one, a player who could be unpredictable but maybe unlock the Derby defence for a steady defensive Championship midfielder who quickly attracted the attention of the fans for passing backwards, not spotting opening and generally slowing things down, losing possession and putting us under pressure.

Just a few minutes previous to all this in fact after only five minutes of the half, the hapless Paddy McNair had been replaced by Braithwaite. Downing was now switched to the right in front of Fry with Braithwaite operating on the left and big Rudy up front. Derby looked to be entering a control and containment mode while Boro just looked desperate and lacking any game plan other than hoof clearances up field. Hoof passes up field in the hope that Rudy wins something and at least in bypassed the Derby youngsters in the middle of the park who put simply had been impossible to live with from a Boro perspective.

George Friend had a one two moment and found himself in nosebleed territory and unfortunately as is usually the case with George the chance came to nothing. With 25 minutes left Nugent came on for the Rams to a warm generous applause from the Home support as Boro were looking a little more composed but still had yet to register a single shot at Carson. What wouldn’t we have given for a Nugent type Striker to come on in place of those we find ourselves at the club!

It didn’t take long for Nugent to register a shot or for Wilson to test the effervescent Randolph again with a free kick for a foul on the ex Boro Striker. In stark contrast Friend fired a low ball across the box for Gestede to have a carbon copy of Britt’s miss against Rotherham in the same spot in the same goalmouth. A minute later a pin perfect cross to Gestede’s head saw him glance his header wide of an open goal. An earlier challenge with Waghorn had left Rudy limping for the rest of the game which may have hindered his agility.

The contest should have been wrapped up again by Nugent who fortunately must have been wearing his Typical Boro boots as Randolph somehow managed to smother the danger yet again. Another hoofed ball saw Ayala flick on his header to Flint who once again failed to get any accuracy on his header. As the clock was running down and most of us had resigned ourselves to another defeat along with yet another Riverside game without a Boro goal another high ball came in which was headed on to loop into the Derby box beyond the hampered Gestede and Bogle could have left it but somehow got a shin or at least some part of his lower leg to send it past the sprawling Carson to level it at 1-1. Embarrassed smiles and laughter momentarily broke out in the North Stand before the celebrations. The remaining few minutes including injury time saw the game more open than it had been all afternoon with Boro even having the temerity to nick another while Derby cleared their heads. It finished with the Boro somehow avoiding a hammering and fluking a draw in the end.

Any relief from today’s draw must be short-lived. A pattern is developing and Boro despite the best efforts of others not to leave them behind are slipping. We are 17th in the form table for the last 6 home games, for the last 4 home games the reading is even worse seeing us in 22nd spot.

There was an obvious MOM, Darren Randolph was incredible and single-handedly saved TP and half a dozen of his team mates from a deserved savage outpouring on the final whistle. Excuses about missed chances and so many crosses wear very thin when it is blindingly obvious what the problem is or at least in part. Recruitment have brought in players that are no better than what was already at the club and indeed poorer in many instances. The fact that they are getting a place in the starting line-up and on the bench does nobody any favours. Where we are in the table has much to be admired but where we could be had our buying/loaning and selling and selection been more astute could be a legacy that we rue for decades to come if not admitted and addressed.

Today the youth of Derby tore us apart and humiliated static, staid footballers who could not live with them let alone cope. We have endured four games now without a Riverside Boro goal apart from Bogle getting TP out of a hole of his own making today. Three points from a possible twelve; this isn’t survival form let alone promotion.

Middlesbrough		Rotherham
Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	65% 20 5 13 6	Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	35% 8 2 7 11

Blank Boro ground down

The Millers travelled up to Teesside more through hope than expectation today. Rotherham had amassed the grand total of null points from their travels this season to date so whatever their selection was going to be it was considered unlikely to trouble Boro who were dauntingly at the opposite end of the table. Their Manager Paul Warne pre game had described tonight’s match as a “free hit” in a nothing to lose mind-set presumably intended to reduce fears and remove any unrealistic expectations. Boro fans of course had the “Typical Boro” fear for a game that should be a nailed on three points but could typically end up a banana skin.

The most recent connections between the two sides was Dael Fry having spent some time on loan down there as had Grant apparently earlier on in his career and Ledesma who now plies his trade in real New York Stadiums across the pond. The Boro team news was eagerly awaited as we wondered whether TP would rest a few, stick with five or switch to four at the back and who would be making way for Braithwaite? As it turned out TP switched to a back four again, meaning Dael Fry missed out again. The same ineffective set up that was disastrous against Forest then reversed against Sheffield Wednesday after an admission of getting things wrong previously had been reintroduced.

The absence of Shotton saw McNair at RB and Braithwaite introduced at the expense of a CB. The opening moments of the game saw a few forays from the Millers especially down McNair’s side which may have been coincidence or a deliberate ploy to exploit the reshuffle at the back. Paddy looked uncomfortable and far from assured and struggled to make any impact in an attacking sense. Ayala and Flint were solid but there was nothing else in terms of building from the back without Fry being there. George and Stewy were Boro’s main attacking threat or in reality only attacking threat in a very poor and disjointed first half.

We didn’t sign Bolasie or Adomah, we sold Adama and Tav doesn’t even get a sniff of the bench so unless we play with three centre-backs and two wing-backs we have no width, outlets or creativity. Tonight was as predictable as it was horrendous to watch once the team had been announced. I’m not sure what position is McNair’s best but it certainly isn’t as a Right Back let alone a Wing Back even allowing for one good run into the box in the second half. I was at times thinking George was the third CB and we were playing with three at the back after all but George spent most of his time linking up with Stewy on runs down the touchline so that couldn’t have been the case or maybe it was and he just forgot himself. Whatever was supposed to be happening clearly wasn’t as the entire team just looked a totally dysfunctional unit.

Besic who had excelled against Wednesday held onto the ball too long on numerous occasions and missed the killer pass and besides the movement was slow and ponderous at best. Britt was scrapping and Braithwaite provided a few moments including a great spurned chance which was easily saved by Rodak just after Randolph had pulled off a double reflex save seconds earlier at the other end to spare Tony’s blushes. Considering this was top versus bottom there was no indication to the neutral observer who was who, indeed a flurry of successive first half corners from the Millers had us hanging on desperately failing to clear our lines.

We were so poor in the first half that the only consolation was that Rotherham hadn’t earned any points on their travels this season so surely we couldn’t let this one slip? We sent corners and free kicks in from Stewy but they were either too close to Rodak in the Rotherham goal or Flint was underneath them and in the wrong part of the goalmouth to make them count. There was nothing else of note in the first half such was the paucity of the non-event, heaven help anyone who tuned in on the Red Button looking for entertainment. In truth Rotherham looked calm and unruffled controlling large parts of the game with relative ease from a very poor Boro side that lacked any belief or conviction.

The second half didn’t see any personnel changes which was a surprise considering the abysmal first half torture but then again not really as there was nothing on the bench that could really alter what was happening out on the pitch. No pace, no craft and no tempo or speed, just a defensive midfielder, two non-scoring Strikers, two centre-backs and a left-back. The second half started with a Boro attack which we hoped was a sign of things to come but like our hopes for the evening were dashed when Braithwaite was clattered and went down with a head injury. The sight of Hugill warming up had us hoping that the Dane would stagger to his feet but as one wag to my left extolled that even if Braithwaite was left prostrate on the grass and we played on it would be just like playing with Hugill anyway.

As if a warning was needed the first real ooh aah moment was when Manning fired a shot which had Randolph scrambling to see the effort just past his post. Boro did respond by entering a little purple patch which wasn’t exactly convincing but it was the best we were going to get and a low Downing cross into the feet of Assombalonga had poor Britt trying to remember the steps to the hokey cokey but he got them all wrong. As Rodak spilled the ball at his feet six inches from the goal line, Britt was putting his left foot out his right foot out, out, out, out and shake them all about as the ball was cleared. Once again Britt’s requirement to have five or six stonewall chances to convert just one bit us on the backside. That said it would have been rough justice on the Millers who were well deserving of their point and indeed as an away team perhaps felt unlucky not to have nicked all three.

A volley from Downing as the ball was cleared out to him inside the box was hit with his left foot which signalled it was going to miss the target as soon as it left his left boot when his right one would have sent it goalwards. That was the signal for TP to make big changes to radically alter the game and to take control except he took off the struggling McNair (who had actually looked a little better in the second half) and Braithwaite who was dribbling and twisting but most of it was going sideways for the creative pairing of McQueen and Gestede. Downing was now on the right side with McQueen on the left and we then just humped long and high balls up to big Rudy. It was a joy to watch a Managerial masterstroke against such limited opposition. What had been pure dross and dire all night had now just become desperate.

In fairness to Gestede he put himself about and tried to add something but the reality is there were no tactics, shape or strategy and Boro were a busted flush by this point. If anything Rotherham looked the more likely to score with Manning once again testing Randolph from range and Smith then coming closest as TP’s changes had bombed. If it hadn’t been so predictable it may actually have been disappointing but by now we had resigned ourselves to another game with pure sterility in front of (or indeed anywhere near) the opposition goal. With just under ten minutes remaining TP took off Britt and put on Hugill who battled and scrapped and did actually stay on his feet much to our relief. Nothing changed of course as the die had been well cast even before a ball was kicked with TP’s selections and tactics. And so the game petered out to a well deserved draw enabling the visitors to pick up their first point on the road all season as Boro left the pitch to a chorus of boos and jeers.

As regards the Man of the Match award it was probably Lewis Wing or Tav who were sorely missed and didn’t put a foot wrong all evening but seeing as it traditionally goes to someone who played then the only one is Randolph who kept a clean sheet with a brilliant save but whose kicking left a lot to be desired all night.

On the drive home I heard a debate on Tees about playing with three supposedly at the back well if that was the tactic it certainly didn’t look remotely like anything close to it to me and if so then why would you move Fry out to displace Friend across one when Shotton was already an enforced disruption on the opposite flank? Tony tinkered far too much and the failings of the night rest upon his shoulders and his decisions alone despite Britt’s glaring miss. The continual failure to score at home and the poor tactical shuffle which screwed us on the night will be punished on Saturday against much better opponents than tonight. Strange how we can be top of the league yet upon leaving the Stadium feel almost as bad as when Trashcan was here. Patience wore thin tonight and the fans let their feelings be known. You can fool some of the people some of the time but tonight just stunk the Riverside out and left a bitter taste to boot.

Middlesbrough		Nottm Forest
		Lolley Grabban ▮ Robinson	49′ 77′ 80′
Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	53% 17 4 11 15	Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	47% 16 5 4 16

Boro Bottlers Stumped

Today welcomed the return (again) of Aitor Karanka, to some a harshly treated under-appreciated Boro Manager to others one who had simply ran out of ideas and tactical nous to take us any further. Whatever the colour of your views on him he did get us promoted and without that promotion financially we would not be one of the strongest clubs in the Championship which considering where the Club was financially when he first arrived his tenure has to be marked down as a success after being stuck in the second tier for seven years.

His Forest side arrived in a steady run of form, gradually improving as the season has progressed in typical AK style, nothing spectacular, steady, dependable, well organised and disciplined. The word from the Trent was that AK no longer tries to win 0-0 and endeavours nowadays to have some attacking intent rather than relying on binary results in his favour.

The big Boro selection question was if Clayts would come back into the side after serving his one match suspension or would TP stick with the same midfield from Tuesday night. Considering the two Boro goals came from midfielders it would be interesting to see if our player of the season to date would be benched. AK had doubts over Joe Lolley and had slim hopes for Striker Hillal Soudani. Winger Diogo Goncalves was definitely missing serving the last of a three game ban.

The stats showed that Forest were without an away win in their last eleven league games so a Typical Boro occasion for the return of Aitor had crossed minds pre Kick Off. The anticipated main threat for Boro would be Lewis Grabban who is a top Striker at this level and a handful for any defender to keep quiet. The teams when officially announced had a few surprises, Lolley was deemed fit which was to be bad news for Ryan Shotton and Grabban was benched in favour of Daryl Murphy who presumably was selected as being deemed more suited to counter Boro’s back line of giants especially when getting back defending set pieces. For Boro TP went with the same side that destroyed one of the Championship’s worst teams for 20 minutes on Tuesday night and then sat back and clung on for the last 70 minutes. I wasn’t comfortable at Clayton being excluded but my anxieties before the start were soon to be multiplied a thousand fold soon after.

Boro kicked off which was about the most possession they had for the opening twenty minutes. Actually after two minutes it was clear that AK has had a born again renaissance and played cavalier swashbuckling, aggressive attacking football with tempo. Who would have thought it possible? Perhaps he has reflected on his time here and also witnessed the fall from grace of his former mentor. As his Forest side got going quickly Boro were being ripped apart down the flanks. Friend was left exposed and destroyed by being left in a 2v1 scenario repeatedly while Braithwaite seemingly felt his role was to be that of a mere spectator for the opening thirty minutes leaving George to get on with it on his own.

As embarrassing as it was to see George tortured he was doing pretty well compared to his opposite compatriot who started half asleep and then spent the rest of the game being ripped apart in a woeful performance that left us exposed defensively every time Lolley went on a run. Shotton quite simply had no answer to him and was routinely skinned all afternoon consequently left chasing shadows and usually five yards behind them at that.

Centrally Ayala looked a bit nervy alongside Flint and no wonder as their one man defensive shield was sat on the bench. I didn’t think George Saville was worth one million let alone eight at the time of his arrival but if his performance today is anything to go by I hope his “loan” is of the Sean St Ledger variety. Maybe playing in front of the centre backs isn’t his game but if it isn’t it was astonishing that TP didn’t see how outplayed, outclassed and totally lost he was. “Astonishing” may be too strong a word under normal circumstances but five minutes into the game it was clear that the team selection and tactics were wrong and not by just a little bit.

Besic seemingly thought that his Ipswich goal meant that he now had a free pass to stroll through the game. Braithwaite was wasted and lost at out wide left, Howson seemed to pop up in desperate situations trying to save blushes but overall our midfield was a dysfunctional, out-battled and confused mess.

Our RB and LB were having a torrid time and up front Hugill may be a footballer but based on today it was hard to tell as he was diving before the ball was even being played up to him. Football is a difficult enough game but trying to play it sprawled on the floor or sat on your backside must make it far more difficult than is normally required. Like Saville I hope his tenure has the contractual detail of the Sean St. Ledger variety.

That leaves us with two players, Downing and Randolph. Randolph wasn’t to blame for his defenders and midfielders looking like Virgins at one of Caligula’s New Year’s Eve parties so I am happy to absolve him of what unfolded before him. Downing was immense, another nine Stewart Downing’s and we might have nicked a draw but despite his solitary efforts he couldn’t play eleven opponents on his own.

On thirty minutes something bizarre happened, someone must have had a remote “on switch” for Martin Braithwaite as he suddenly awoke from his previous comatose state and started playing, dancing in and out of the Forest defence, rattling them and even having a shot deflected off the cross bar. Hallelujah, finally it looked like we could maybe, just maybe might make a game of it after all. Earlier in the day Leeds had managed a late goal to grab a draw against Brentford which presented Boro with the opportunity to top the Championship tonight and over the International break. That pressure was clearly too much for the playing staff and the Manager as they completely bottled it and were fortunate to reach half time at 0-0.

Phew! Was the general feeling as the half time whistle thankfully went with another poor Refereeing display only topped by an atrocious tactical car crash by TP. No doubt he will bemoan the Officials again but it was he who selected the same side as against Ipswich requiring them to play two games in five days which must have been exhausting for them or it certainly looked like it. There was no way he could send his charges back out organised in the same manner and with the same personnel.

The first half was the worst ever witnessed under his tenure and surely he could see and accept that he screwed it up and got the entire thing wrong. Nope! Out came the same eleven at the start of the second half, the varied utterances of disbelief around me in the North Stand are not suitable to be put into print but they were more colourful and passionate than that which we witnessed in the opening 45 minutes from those in Red Shirts.

Forest kicked off and it was a case of as you were. We were struggling, our defence was under pressure exposed without the protection of Clayts and the inevitable happened when the cumbersome but effective Murphy fed Lolley who launched a cracking volley that sailed across the Riverside in almost dramatic slow motion and nestled beautifully in Randolph’s top corner. Sometimes as sickening as it is you just have to sit back and appreciate an artist at work. It was almost Adam Reach good that’s how good it was, Ronaldo himself would have been proud of it, almost Beckhamesque in fact! It was a fitting goal to be the first scored by an away side this season.

0-1 and TP would now have to respond to belatedly repair his defensive frailties and midfield morass and the perennially prostrate Hugill. It took another ten minutes after the goal for Pulis to react, why it took ten minutes I have no idea because it was blatantly obvious after the opening ten minutes of the first half that changes and drastic ones at that needed to be made. At this point in time Downing was still magnificent as he had been all afternoon but Brathwaite was now supporting, asking questions, looking lively and the one most obvious to tip things back in our favour. Besic seemed a little livelier but Saville was still poor and that is being polite, “off the boil” or “the game passed him by” are other tactful euphemisms for the Northern Irishman’s struggles.

With thirty minutes remaining TP made what was possibly the most disconcerting, baffling, confusing and dysfunctional substitutions all at one time I have witnessed by a Boro Manager in a long time and I include Trashcan in that. Braithwaite went off with a chorus of boos directed at the decision to be replaced by Gestede. At that time apart from Downing the Dane was the only other player actually playing and not panicking and actually looked like he just might unlock the Forest defence who had lost Dawson through injury in the first half after an ankle injury and Friend running through him like a quarterback a short while later.

Just as a reincarnation of one of Redcar Beach’s finest rides had ran onto the pitch we lost another as Hugill managed to stay on his feet long enough to coordinate his lower limbs far longer than he had manged all afternoon to depart the pitch. In what seemed more like a desperate “old player” haunting his ex-employers wish than a cleverly thought through tactical piece of ingenuity on TP’s part Assombalonga entered the fray as the West Ham loanee’s replacement. Besic was the final part of the tripe sorry triple TP conundrum being replaced by the greatly missed Clayton. How Saville remained on the pitch was a mystery wrapped up within in that very conundrum.

Balls were launched up field but invariably more at Britt than Rudy (scratches head) which came to nothing but when the balls were in the general area of Gestede it either bounced off his head in an untoward direction or he managed to foul his opponent in an ungainly manner conceding a free kick in the process. Britt was put through by Howson in a well worked move setting him up only to hit a low shot from ten yards out too close to Pantilimon who dived and collected all too easily. Minutes later Britt had another great chance as he managed to direct a header wide of the goal from a few yards out. We did hope that if another three clear chances came his way he may actually get close to troubling the giant keeper but it wasn’t to be.

Meanwhile before all that Boro excitement Lolley nearly added a second which was blocked by Randolph with Murphy charging in to try and seal the deal for Forest. Karanka then sent on Grabban to give the ageing Striker a deserved break and the tortured minds of the Boro defence another nightmare scenario to deal with. Aden Flint was playing up front more than in defence as the ploy to send Gestede on to win high balls just wasn’t working despite his enthusiastic jumping. It’s a shame that we had to rely on that tactic considering that any players who could create something had now either been subbed or worse, deemed not required for the bench thanks to all these shiny new TP recruits.

Five minutes from coming on Grabban had grabbed his goal after a ball played across the Boro box was tapped in by the clinical striker. The build up to the goal is best glossed over but suffice to say Saville was involved and not in a good way. We did have a similar and probably easier opportunity minutes earlier but the reactions of our fresh shiny new Strike force were somewhat delayed (read non-existent). Fears of being reported to the RSPCA by the stewards for abuse of Muffin (those under sixty may struggle with that one) curtailed responses in the North Stand!

To rub salt in the wound Forest even gifted us the chance to redeem something in the final few moments by going down to ten men as Robinson received his marching orders for a second yellow in trying to emulate Jordan Hugill but he just hasn’t mastered the artistic, twist, turn, grimace, angst and look of arm spread unfairness as he spread-eagled himself. Near the end we did have a series of headers in the Forest box that reminded me of beach holidays in speedos on the Costa’s from a few decades back but there was far more competitiveness in those drunken head tennis games from memory. Gestede did actually score but he was adjudged to have fouled Pantilimon. I’m not so sure that he did but the Ref probably figured if he managed to get the ball into the net it must have been through foul play and erred on the side of probability. It made little difference anyway and was far more than we deserved as if ever there was a game where Boro were lucky to get zero it was this one.

A crescendo of boos greeted the final whistle which in my opinion was far too complimentary. MOM was Downing whose nearest competitor was a young lass who served me in the concourse who without a single days training at Rockliffe was managing to serve burgers, pints and operate a till simultaneously. Today wasn’t just a bad day at the office, to say that would be to sweep evidence under the carpet. Signs were there at Ipswich despite the scoreline on the night that we can’t dominate and impose ourselves on teams. The eulogy of Wing and Tavernier just grew by several volumes today (and I haven’t commented on the heated “Bamford out and Hugill in” debate a few rows behind me that was in overdrive mode in the dying minutes). There was an unhealthy series of mumbled agreements of a Manager desperately justifying his own buys on the walk back down the Riverside Road. Something has changed recently and not for the better, what that something is will be up to TP to identify or perhaps admit to.

Hull		Boro
Bowen	69′ (pen)	Assombalonga	51′
Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	52% 10 3 2 9	Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	40% 12 4 4 17

Limited kit suits limited Boro

As good a start as Boro have experienced in this seasons championship Hull’s has been nothing short of a nightmare. A club ravaged by an ongoing clash between the Fans and the Clubs Owners has not subsided and the drip away of talent plus low key replacements hasn’t improved the mood and as things stand they are tipped to follow Sunderland’s drop this season into League 1. Ever the optimist poor Nigel Adkins is charged with turning around the fortunes of the Tigers for which mere survival would be a success after a run of one win in their last five games and being thumped by fellow strugglers Reading 3-0 last time out.

It’s a cautionary tale to fans of Clubs who want new Foreign Owners in the belief that their millions will transform their club into the Chelsea of the North. During his press conference under fire Adkins confirmed that Mazuch, Dan Batty and injury prone Evandro, will all be missing for the visit of Boro. Amazingly Adkins can still call on attitudinal bad boy and Boro nemesis Kamil Grosicki who despite many efforts to the contrary still remains at the KCOM Stadium.

There have been quite a few Players to have worn both shirts in recent history, Parlour, Barmby, Ayala, Windass and Boateng but going further back Wilf Mannion also turned out for City after his time at Boro came to an end during Press allegations (or more accurately his revelations) about shady dealing in Players wages and Transfers in the game. He only managed 17 appearances for Hull before being barred from League Football by the FA.

Both Managers would have been privileged and delighted to be able to field a Player even remotely approaching Wilf’s ability today but as it stood TP’s selection had a surprise in that both Braithwaite and Downing were on the bench but with two CB’s for company and no Wing and Tav it was a brave choice. Adkins included Grosicki in his starting line up which perhaps indicated both the pressure and desperation of the Hull Manager. The game kicked off with Boro playing in a new White kit in a sparsely populated half empty KCOM Stadium as the Travelling army provided the little atmosphere that was being generated filling the East Stand corner bathed in sunshine.

Jarrod Bowen nearly opened proceedings on three minutes after Friend made a hash of defending despite his complaints of being fouled to Ref Darren England. The game was surprisingly open with both sides having a go and both sides also having Penalty claims in the opening ten minutes. There was very little in terms of quality on show and the game looked messy without either side taking control.

The first corner went to Boro after thirteen, labouring, wearisome minutes. It was delivered in by McQueen, low and at the near post in what looked like an error rather than a deliberate plan. The corner was reflective of how dire the game was at that point. Boro seemed to be playing with Friend as part of three at the back and McQueen and Shotton operating as Wing Backs.

Boro’s first real attempt came on twenty one minutes from Saville playing a ball up field to Hugill who controlled it, played it across the box into Britt’s path who disappointingly hit his shot back across the box and well wide of the exposed Hull goal leaving Marshall unruffled. Despite that miss Assombalonga and Hugill were linking up OK but there was a gap between defence and attack yet again with nothing knitting the two ends of the Boro side together. As the game approached the half hour mark Boro looked to be starting to get the upper hand of sorts in a game that thus far was remarkable only for its forgetability.

Hull’s Jordi de Wijs went down and had to go off on the half hour mark with Kingsley coming on and Lichaj going across to CB. On the restart Hugill chased Marshall down after the ball had been deliberately put out for treatment to de Wijs which finally stirred up the few Tiger fans still awake and bothered enough to boo. Despite those two changes made by TP there wasn’t much evidence that those on the field had responded in any way to the implied threat that positions were at risk. After the substitution the next excitement was when Rees Burke had to change his shirt for a large rip. When he re-joined the game he almost immediately gave the ball away to Hugill who was then scythed down by Irvine to compensate for Burke’s momentary aberration.

Hugill was again scythed down just after he re-joined the game after receiving treatment for Irvine’s previous attention but Darren England saw nothing in the challenge. With Hull now starting to look a little ragged Henricksen was next to go into England’s book for a rash challenge on Saville. Despite Hull’s obvious lack of class Boro just weren’t doing enough of whatever it was their game plan was and indeed a cross into the box from Grosicki required Saville to chest the ball out for a corner to Hull to spare Boro blushes.

Looking at the Boro bench Batth, Braithwaite, McNair, Downing, Fry and Mo Besic didn’t look to be able to give TP the options he now needed to change things radically from what had gone before. A last minute First Half chance in the form of a Clayton launched Free Kick from the half way line was wasted as Ayala couldn’t resist the opportunity to give away a stupid foul and with it the chance to maybe nick a half time lead.

No creativity, no pace zeal or zest and absolutely dire set pieces yet again and the worst 45 minutes witnessed under Pulis which worryingly is now becoming more commonplace. The questions being asked from fans during the interval was how on Earth can Wing and Tav not get in ahead of that load of dross? Boro came out for the second half surprisingly with all starting personnel still intact, for how long though was the question on everyone’s lips?

Hull kicked off the second period with a statement of intent that the dross was likely to continue by hitting the ball straight out of play. McQueen and Saville then contrived to feed Friend who burst through towards the Hull box but his shot flew well over in keeping with the predictable accuracy of Boro’s shooting. In a game that on paper Boro should be bossing with ease it was a Grosicki sloppy ball conceding a throw in that provided the break through. From the quickly taken Shotton throw the ball was launched in by Howson to drop on Britt’s toe in the six yard box to tap in putting Boro fortunately one up. A minute later Britt nearly added a second as Hull had now started to push up and some space at the back opening up.

Hull were now applying some pressure, constantly seeking to find Bowen in the hope of him getting them back into the game. Another throw in was launched in from Shotton and this time Flint’s header went just over Marshall’s goal centrally as he outjumped the attentions of two Hull defenders. The obligatory Clayton booking came next after a clash with Bowen arguing that it was just a coming together.

From the resulting Free Kick Randolph collected it and was kicking the ball out as Martin got in the way of it bizarrely and earned himself a yellow card. A few moments later a Hull penalty claim was waived away but seconds after Ayala clashed with Martin for a clear penalty given away cheaply for a push in the back. Martin was just inside the box facing away from goal and there were three Boro defenders behind Ayala. It has been mentioned on a few occasions that Ayala’s discipline could cost us and this was a game that we looked to have been grinding out a result and frustratingly and unnecessarily threw it away. Bowen calmly stepped up and sent Randolph the wrong way to bring the sides level.

Pulis responded by preparing a change as Hull buoyed by their equaliser had now found a little inspiration and Bowen came close yet again. Downing came on for the ineffective McQueen and Clayton came off for Besic and Braithwaite went on for Hugill. Meanwhile Grosicki had been simultaneously brought off by Adkins for Frazier Campbell with 15 minutes remaining. The game had slumped back into the mire again and as frustrations were building Aden Flint was booked for presumably offering Darren England a view on his earlier penalty decision. Hull now looked the livelier despite the triple Boro substitution who had struggled to make an influence on the game. Another silly foul this time from Besic had Boro defending in numbers from which Boro broke but the attempt ran out of steam. Formation wise it now looked to be four at the back with Saville in for Clayts, Braithwaite and Downing out wide with Howson and Besic central.

A nervy moment from Shotton as he let the ball bounce had us with hearts in our mouths as we feared the Typical Boro moment. Downing set Howson up in the final minute but Marshall put it round for a corner. Besic hit a low corner which considering the height of the Boro players in the box was a complete mystery to me as the clock ticked down. The game ended in frantic mayhem and chaos with Shotton almost allowing Bowen in to nick it. There was a feeble Boro penalty claim in the last minute in front of the travelling army as the ball went out for a corner. The corner was sent in by Downing and Braithwaite connected but sent it over the bar. That was the final piece of play in what was a very poor Boro performance and an even worse Hull one.

I can’t award a MOM because Boro were almost as bad as when Strachan was here with the players looking as disjointed and confused as under Monk. From the kick off they lacked the confident swagger of a team about to go top of their league. The cold truth is poor selection, poor tactics and even poorer execution has been a continued story of late and as a consequence we threw points away yet again. The one common theme in all this is TP clinging to some very overrated and overpriced Men at the expense of Boys who can actually make a difference.

That performance was nowhere remotely near good enough from anyone in a White shirt which was a good colour choice based on the display. As a third kit I can’t see many sales ensuing based on the memories it created today. I’m guessing we will have Hummel working on a Yellow kit as we speak. The form table is showing that we are now in an undeniable decline from the early season threadbare squad optimism. There was no evidence today that Pulis recognises or perhaps accepts the glaring deficiencies that are staring most of us in the face. If he does then his diagnosis and cure is worse than the disease.

Preston		Boro
Robsinson Barkhuizen	27′ 66′	Fletcher Tavernier	34′ 69′
Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	60% 21 8 6 7	Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	40% 17 6 4 13

Boro spot on at Deepdale

As anticipated a much changed Boro side arrived at Deepdale tonight to face a club that hasn’t kept a clean sheet since the opening day of the season and was unexpectedly struggling in the Championship. The Lilywhites Manager Alex Neil may be tempted to play a strong Preston team to try and regain confidence or like Boro could rest his preferred starting eleven where possible to conserve energy for the Championship survival battle ahead with his side left propping up the division after the weekend.

Oliver Langford is the Official in charge for tonight’s game. The last time we met was down at Ashton Gate earlier in the season when we ran out 2-0 winners so perhaps his officiating will be a refreshing break from the poor displays of Hooper and Coote in our last two games and we may get a few breaks or even a fair crack of the whip or whistle in his case. The Boro team news was pretty much as we all anticipated whilst Neil made only three changes clearly desperately wanting a win from somewhere in an effort to reverse their season.

The game got under way with Preston attacking and a clearance from Batth via Grant saw Ashley Fletcher almost have the perfect start but fluffed his lines in the opening seconds. TP went with three CB’s Wood, McNair and Fry and McNair and McQueen playing the Wing back roles. A few minutes into the game and Tavernier took the ball upfield and passed to McNair who saw his effort saved by Maxwell in the Preston goal. Nathan Wood came to the rescue to concede a corner on ten minutes from which a header nearly found its way into Dimi’s net only for Batth to clear again.

The game was being played in front of a very sparse crowd as the Players could be heard shouting to one another. Preston started to apply a bit of pressure and had a few opportunities including a header that just went wide. Boro replied with Fletcher winning a corner at the opposite end which but after Tav lost control of his attempted volley it allowed the Lilywhites to break and fortunately that phase of action ended with a wide shot past Dimi’s post.

Sam McQueen on the opposite flank was set up by Grant but he lashed at his shot and it went wide. Grant was then caught as he turned and had his pocket picked requiring Batth to put in a challenge which could have seen yellow with other Officials. The retaken free kick was cleared by a Wing header out for a corner which was cleared again by Wing. Ben Pearson then took Fletcher down cynically but perhaps remembering Batth’s challenge a minute earlier the Ref evened things out and kept his card in his pockets. Just before the half-hour mark Preston counter attacked with a long ball and Robinson swivelled in the middle of the six yard box turning Wood to hit a shot into the top of the net past Dimi to put Preston one up.

The offside flag came to Boro’s rescue just after the restart which in fairness to Dimi he had already pulled off two quick reactive saves. The atmosphere hadn’t improved much despite the home side taking the lead. Then a ball played by Wing was brought down by Gestede, which was played beautifully back through by Wing to Fletcher who rounded the keeper to roll it home for an equaliser that didn’t improve the level of echoes. Marcus Tavernier carelessly gave the ball away and allowed the energetic Barkhuizen to pick up the under hit back pass and both Batth and Fry engineered a rescue mission to prevent Preston getting their noses in front again.

A series of quick turns and passes started by Wing ending up with McNair putting his foot through the ball and cleared the upper levels of the stand. Preston had Boro hearts in mouths a minute before the half time whistle when Robinson was again involved and cut it back to Barkhuizen, who cut inside before shooting but Dimi was alert and saved to keep the score line all square. McNair then got down the flank, fizzed in a ball which Gestede met but went past the post to end the half. Gestede was a force to be reckoned with winning balls, Fletcher was lively and full of running; Wing was pulling strings, Grant snarling with Batth martialling at the back looking really strong. Batth, Fletcher and Wing were my pick of the first half for Boro. In fairness Gestede didn’t look as rusty as he should have done after the length of his lay-off.

The second half kicked off with Boro, both sides came out as they were in the first half with no changes. Grant blasted the ball out of play almost immediately as the Lilywhites started with the words of Alex veil ringing or perhaps stinging in their ears. A series of balls into the Boro box led to Barkhuizen hitting the post as Preston pushed for an early goal. A Robinson shot was blocked by Wing as Grant set Fletcher free but Pearson clattered into him with only a throw in given to Boro as we tried to clear our heads. A Barker shot was again blocked by Wing as Boro had to dig deep as we struggled to impose in the opening ten minutes. Hughes dumped McNair into the post in a challenge that required some treatment for the Boro wide man and with it some time to ease the pressure and try and take the sting out of the game.

A Sam McQueen cross was blocked for a corner to Boro, which was the first time we threatened in the Preston half and then an ensuing throw-in ended with Boro getting two opportunities, with Fletcher heading it goalwards only for Maxwell to acrobatically claw it back into the path of Gestede who spurned the chance with the Benin International hitting the crossbar with a header. Such was the nature of the game Preston immediately went down the other end and won a corner which required Dimi’s intervention. A collision between Barkhuizen and Gestede saw an anxious moment as Rudy seemed to have taken a hit on his ankle. Alex Neil then blinked and brought on Striker Harrop for Browne to try and make their possession stats in the opening minutes count.

Alex Neil didn’t have long to wait and inevitably it was Tom Barkhuizen who hit a long 25 yard shot and Dimi’s reaction looked somewhat age related as Preston now took a 2-1 lead with that well taken shot but poor from a Boro perspective. Gestede was fed by Lewis Wing to the back post, managed to get his header in forcing Maxwell into a good save. The corner was cleared and then Wing and Fletcher linked up to regain the momentum, Grant went flying into a tackle and the ball flew to Gestede who fed Tavernier who then audaciously replicated Barkhuizen’s temerity to hit a 25-yarder of his own to pull back the deficit making it 2-2.

Robinson then had a point blank header, which Dimi sharply responded to make amends for his earlier faux pas. Chapman then came on for Wood as TP shuffled his pack with a formation change to 433 that showed more attacking intent. Chapman and Fletcher were feeding off Gestede and Wing, Grant and Tav were the middle three. A move with Barkhuizen and Calum Robinson was challenged by Fry and then blocked by Batth to keep the Lilywhites at bay.

Barker then went off with another forward Burke coming on for Preston as they decided to go for it. McNair fouled Barkhuizen who launched the free kick forward which was cut out by Batth for Boro. Dael Fry played the ball out to Harry Chapman who tried his luck with a long range attempt of his own which he never really caught cleanly. Lewis Wing then sublimely brought the ball down and hit a long range effort from even further out than Barkhuizen’s and Tavernier’s efforts. A break from Preston was then broken up by Grant as the game started to get a bit scrappy from a Boro perspective with Preston pushing desperately. Surprisingly with five minute remaining Preston’s MOM Barkhuizen was taken off with Moult coming on. A Calum Robinson corner was defended by Fletcher and the ball spun out to Chapman who ran forward and was assaulted by two successive 50/50’s which he didn’t shirk. Harrop then forced Dimi into a great save but again the offside flag went up as the Preston pressure was hitting a crescendo.

Three minutes added time went up as Batth and Grant combined to clear yet another Preston assault. Chapman then broke free again and took on his defender, winning a free kick near the Preston 18-yard box. McQueen sent it over and Batth connected with it but his header couldn’t hit the target. Batth was then quickly back defending and clearing his lines again as the ball had ebbed back down the other end and the final whistle went and Boro were facing penalties once again.

PENALTY SHOOT-OUT

Presumably Boro won the toss and the Penalties were taken in front of the Travelling Army.

➊ Preston were first to go and Ledson faced Dimi to send the big Greek the wrong way, 1-0.
➊ Grant was up next and Mr Dependable despatched his with commensurate ease, still 1-1.

➋ Robinson was next and it landed near Barrow-in Furness, 1-1.
➋ Gestede was next up for Boro and sent Maxwell the wrong way to calmly put Boro 2-1 up.

➌ Moult next scored for Preston, 2-2.
➌ McNair stepped up and sent the ball into the top corner in a perfect text book execution, 3-2.

➍ Pearson was next who quickly ran up and scored, 3-3.
➍ Tavernier then was next and confidently stroked it into the net past Maxwell, 4-3.

➎ Burke then repeated Robinson’s effort and hit a Gas Rig in Morecombe Bay to send Boro through to the next round.

The game ended 2-2 and 4-3 on Penalties in front of a credible Boro Army following. On the night Wing was consistent and influential all game. Gestede good in the first half, and McQueen had a very good second half but MOM was Danny Batth who was impressive.

Middlesbrough		Swansea
Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	42% 16 5 10 13	Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	58% 5 2 3 11

Swan break evens

Today saw some more familiar old faces returning in the form of Conor Roberts and Kyle Naughton as Graham Potter brought his injury ravaged reality checked Swans up to the Riverside for this afternoon’s game. As is often the case a confidence busting Premiership season can be followed up by a sensory shock in the Championship. As we know only too well psychologically, bouncing back isn’t always easy for a club who have spent the previous season being constantly battered. In mitigation to the new Swans boss his squad of players presently wouldn’t look out of place at the accident and emergency department at James Cook on a Friday night.

Potter was expected to have to continue patching up as his depleted charges are likely to be without Jefferson Montero, Bersant Celina, Luciano Narsingh, and Leroy Fer. Striker Courtney Baker-Richardson was serving the last of a three game suspension today after being sent off just five minutes into his appearance at Millwall for a “reckless” challenge. Star Striker Wilfred Bony has been out long term with a serious injury suffered last February.

On a positive for Potter, Nathan Dyer and Wayne Routledge both returned from layoffs in their defeat at Stoke in midweek where he had made seven changes while Tom Carroll and Jay Fulton were also reported to be close to being back in contention. Oli McBurnie was expected to be named despite reportedly playing with a cracked bone in his foot and a knee problem. His seeming disregard for the health and safety of his shins certainly won’t calm any anxieties amongst the South Wales medical team. With such upheaval plus a relegation hangover it’s little wonder that the Swans haven’t been among the front runners so far although they do possess the Championship’s third best defence after Boro and Leeds so a free scoring game was unlikely.

Boro on the other hand had a clean bill of health apart from Howson who was struggling by the end of Wednesday, even long term absentee Rudy Gestede is now back in contention. That old “Crockliffe” tag is now becoming a distant memory. Unbeaten at home this season with a 100% Riverside record the big challenge today for Tony Pulis was to refine and improve on our effectiveness and efficiency in the final third of the pitch. The key selection dilemma for him was in midfield and up front. Britt burst his way back with a goal on Wednesday and with Hugill not exactly doing anything spectacular to keep a starting role it would be interesting to see who started. The only likely definite at that end of the pitch would likely be the creative Braithwaite whilst Besic, Saville, Downing and Howson if fit would all be fighting for the remaining shirts with McNair and Leadbitter waiting in the wings with Lewis.

The last time Boro lost at home to Swansea was in 2011 after being 3-1 up and incredibly losing to Brendan Rogers’s side 4-3. TP’s Boro haven’t conceded three goals all season so it was unlikely that this afternoon would repeat anything remotely approaching that score line. The team he placed his trust in today saw one change from Tuesday with Britt back in for Hugill whilst Potter made three changes with Rodon. McKay and Burnie all recalled.

Swansea took the field in bright sunshine and remarkably were actually playing in the white kit which we associate with them instead of some absurd mixed day-glow palette from a Dulux colour chart. They got the game under way and almost immediately it was clear they were going to play football with crisp sweet interplay and fast movements off the ball dragging Boro’s midfield and defence with them as they went. Strangely Downing was playing on the right and we had set up with a back four. Braithwaite was on the Left with Howson in the middle and Clayts protecting the back four. After five minutes or so it became very clear that Swansea’s game plan was far more effective than the logic behind TP’s. The opening quarter of an hour was very edgy with Boro having very little possession and indeed looking very much second best. Despite the Swans impressive possession stats they couldn’t break through the wall of Red shirts and a stand-off ensued with Boro sneaking opportunity on the break and it was one such break that had Downing crack a good shot on target that forced a save from Mulder on ten minutes.

Swansea responded with McBurnie heading straight at Randolph a few minutes later but the turning point in terms of the first half came when Olsson sneaked past Downing at the post forcing Randolph into a reaction save. That passage of play seemed to have made up TP’s mind that something needed to be changed. Downing was switched over to the left and Braithwaite looked to be pushed up to support Britt and seemed to have a freer role and almost immediately it nearly paid off as a sweet back heel from Britt teed up Saville who hit a cracker which unfortunately glanced off the top of the Swansea Crossbar. Boro were now in the ascendency as the switch-around destabilised Swansea momentum with both Ayala and Assombalonga coming close for the resurgent Reds.

The next talking point involved Saville again, this time he went down in the box with shouts from the South Stand for a penalty that were waved away from Simon Hooper who seemed up until that point to have a slight bias against the home side with the Riverside experiencing another eccentric display from the Officials. In fairness the challenge did look fairly innocuous from the North Stand so he may have called it correct but at this stage he had already firmly established that he was going to be an irritating annoyance all afternoon for the Boro as Saville entered his book. Boro continued their run of pressure and looked to be good value for their endeavours against a side that was without doubt the best opponents to visit the Riverside this season made all the better for actually attempting to play football.

The main talking point of the first half was the Ref who not only gave 50/50’s in favour to the Swans but also 60/40’s and 70/30’s come to that. When the half time whistle sounded the home support saved their frustrations for when the gentleman with the whistle was approaching the Tunnel to be met with a cacophony of boos, jeers and whistles all blocked out by a disconnected announcer who couldn’t wait to maximise his 15 minutes of control by announcing scores elsewhere over the sound of the crowd. Maybe it was an attempt to be neutral and fair play and all that but it annoyed the heck out of me as the Officials had had a real stinker and deserved to hear the opinions of 21,000 or so disgruntled spectators as they endeavoured to provide their side with the benefit of home advantage and sowing seeds of doubt. It appears that MMP either doesn’t watch the game or understand it as his intervention was ill timed and in stark conflict to the emotions of the supporters.

The second half saw a switch for Swansea as Carroll came on for Byers with TP sticking with the same eleven. The half saw Swansea get more of a foothold once more as Boro seemed a little more cautionary in their approach and build up play. Shotton had been the player most likely to offer something for Boro and he sent in a good cross to Britt which teased the frustrated striker as he just couldn’t connect and nor could Braithwaite following in behind. On sixty minutes Besic came on for Saville who had come the closest in terms of either scoring or winning an advantage. The Northern Irish International had been much more influential than on Tuesday and looks to be settling in and finding his feet nicely. Braithwaite had also been alert and willing to take the game to Swansea with a series of dribbles and drives all throughout the game. The arrival of Besic hopefully would have added another dimension but it seemed to slow things down and put us on the back foot as he dithered too long on the ball and attracted close attention but failed to release it quickly enough. Full marks for his endeavour but his effectiveness was questionable. As soon as Besic came on Routledge was hooked by Potter bringing on James.

The game had now entered a staid spell with neither side looking remotely close to scoring summed up by Besic hitting a ball that ended up in the North Stand upper. The inevitable Hugill for Assombalonga swap came with twenty minutes remaining as the fourth official managed to mix up Howson’s number for Britt’s to cause some consternation and confusion that was eventually corrected much to Britt’s disappointment but he had looked to be flagging and becoming increasingly ineffective at that point. Clayts managed to get himself booked yet again for a sliding challenge which upended his opponent and in the process collected Boro’s second yellow of the game and his fourth of the season as the two sides simply continued to nullify and frustrate one another.

As on Tuesday night Downing then made way for McQueen as the Southampton loanee took up his slot in front of Friend. I’m not sure if the logic was to tighten up or to add an injection of pace on the left, the lad added graft and willing but there was nothing that was going to tip the balance or change the outcome of the game. I pondered at that point why Tav or Chapman were not on the bench as in games like this an alternate option was required that may just stretch the opponents with a different conundrum instead of the same old same old. The true cost of failure to land pace in the transfer window was highlighted this afternoon.

With the minutes ticking down Boro applied some last intent urged on by the fans and TP but apart from an overstretched Flint header from a McQueen cross there wasn’t really anything to cheer or get excited about. After an entire afternoon of time-wasting by the Swans keeper Mulder which was disregarded by the Ref there were only four minutes of added time during which Hugill after bustling and barging since coming on got himself booked in the last minute for a forearm smash poorly disguised as an Alan Shearer type outstretched arm for elevation. It was probably the only decision that Hooper got correct when he produced Boro’s third yellow card and the game ended on that note.

Apart from a cross come shot that hit Randolph’s crossbar in the second half and the Olsson effort Swansea showed why they haven’t scored many this season, in fact both sides showed their inability in the final third allied to their credible defensive statistics and so 0-0 probably wasn’t such a huge surprise. Considering the amount of first-teamers out of action I think Swansea will progress this season and looking back this may be seen as a point gained rather than two dropped.

MOM was again the usual contenders, Clayts was simply Clayts, Braithwaite gave reason for optimism and Howson was involved all game but Shotton just edged it with his defending and tireless running.

 

Middlesbrough		Bolton
Saville Assombalonga	34′ 90’+5
Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	61% 19 4 10 7	Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls	39% 7 2 1 13

Britt sucker punch breaks Bolton

The opportunity to wipe away the turgid display down at Carrow Road came around quickly for Tony Pulis and his Middlesbrough squad which was probably the best remedy after the struggling Canaries beat the fancied but toothless Lions from the North. Bolton have had a turbulent few weeks in that they were heading for Administration and then rescued after a deal was struck late last week but the footballing side of things apparently felt the impact of all the off field drama surrounding the club’s future. After an optimistic start to their season they were surprisingly beaten 2-1 at home by Steve McLaren’s struggling QPR on Saturday.

With both clubs suffering unexpected setbacks tonight was going to be a chance to get things back on track. Phil Parkinson would probably see an away point as a good return whilst TP would want to see a reaction after a rather insipid midfield display lead to our first defeat of the season. The hope from many Boro fans was that there would be repercussions and some of the “names” dropped with the peripheral players given a chance to prove their worth, the likelihood of such drastic action from the Boro manager however would be remote.

The visit of our Carling Cup opponents all those years ago in Cardiff would see the return of the Redcar Rock and current Trotters club captain David Wheater. In fact there are quite a few ex-Boro connections plying their trade for the Whites nowadays. In addition to Wheats there are Andrew Taylor, Gary O’Neil, Jonathan Grounds and Yanic Wildschut however an ankle injury would preclude the appearance of former Boro loanee Sammy Ameobi who managed a solitary goal for us in his nine outings during the dark days of 2013 along with Taylor who had joined him on the injured list. Finally not forgetting that on the Academy staff at Bolton there is Jimmy Phillips who graced Ayresome Park for three seasons in the early 90’s.

As bad as last week’s tribulations were the hardest part for Bolton fans will have been the sudden death of former Chairman Eddie Davies who pumped money into the club paying off their debt previously and gave them arguably their most successful period since the late 1950’s. As if all that wasn’t bad enough after only five games since his move from Bradford following manager Phil Parkinson, Stephen Darby yesterday just announced his early retirement from the game at only twenty nine years old due to motor neurone disease.

Boro desperately needed a win to reclaim their promotion credentials but if ever a team was due even the merest sliver of luck it surely couldn’t be more deserving then Bolton tonight. Team news on a very blustery evening at the Riverside saw that Fry, Assombalonga and Besic had dropped to the bench with Saville, Hugill and Braithwaite getting starts. The game commenced with Bolton momentarily having a foray and then it was all Boro on the front foot eager to press and in the opening few minutes there were several questionable Refereeing decisions that were to set the tone for the evening.

Matters of officialdom were not made any easier by the Assistant running the West Stand touchline who like Referee David Coote seemed to have a strange interpretation of the rules of the game. Of course I may have had some bias towards the Ref but the assistant who ran the line on the East Stand seemed to have a very good game in contrast, keeping up with play and recognising strong challenges from fouls.

Back to the game itself and a few unpunished whacks later including Shotton mysteriously managing to kick both his legs away from under himself there was plenty of intent on show. Howson was buzzing and Stewy put a brilliant early cross in to let Bolton know they were in for a tough evening which Shotton nearly got on the end of. We then had a penalty shout which was ignored and a few other stonewall free kicks that were waved away much to the relief of the “Whites” who had opted to play in an “Azure sea green blue” kit, clearly to avoid White clashing with Red in more blatant commercial greed although given the state of their finances it was perhaps forgivable.

As games go it was the proverbial game of two halves. In the first half Boro dictated the pace dominated possession and had Randolph almost as isolated as Britt was on Saturday. Howson got a cross in, Shotton one of his long throws but after ten minutes you had the feeling that it was going to be a very long night. Our efforts were well built up, almost artistic at times but the final balls were like those at half time you see from goalkeeping coaches, floating endless beautiful soft crosses in for the Keeper to leap gracefully and with ease to pluck the ball out of the air. Whilst Ben Alnwick was by far the busier of the two Keepers he must have thought he had auditioned for the Bing Crosby part in a Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court singing “busy doing nothing”.

Howson was light years better than Saturday, Stewy had started well and clearly looked like he had a point to prove but the quality of our final balls were appalling. George Friend looked far livelier and alert and he and Stewy were comfortably bossing the left flank. On the Opposite side Shotton and Howson were in control whilst Clayton swept up (showing no ill effects from his stitches) centrally with Saville and Braithwaite buzzing. Bolton were so far entrenched the few hundred hardy fools risking life and limb who ventured over the Pennines tonight must have wondered why they bothered. At least the wind had died down by the end of the game to make the return journey less stressful.

With the clock showing twenty five minutes gone Howson unleashed a shot that was our first serious effort that had the until then quiet home support oohing and aahhing as it sailed over, close but not close enough but it offered hope against a rear-guard, holding out, defensive display from the visitors. Almost ten minutes later and with lots of passing and wasted final balls Gary O’Neil started to pay back the Kings ransom we forked out on him when he inexplicably passed back to cause mayhem in his own box. The chaos was partly cleared but fell to Saville who hit it and the ball flew through a gap and into the back of ex Makem Ben Alnwick’s net to put Boro deservedly 1-0 up.

Being a goal up was no more than we deserved but the manner of it was fortuitous beyond belief. We didn’t create it but happily settled for the Northern Irish International to open his Riverside account. It was such a relief to see a Boro midfielder who could hit a ball that was not only reasonably on target but one that didn’t trigger any alarms at Fylingdales. The Trotters looked to be rocking a little and next up was the lively Shotton to try his luck after being set up by Hugill.

Just before the half time break Braithwaite fizzed a shot that was going wide but had Alnwick panicking for a moment. Bolton had lost Hobbs with a bad gash earlier and although his replacement (ex Pulis defender Wilson) settled in and had a good game they were still a little disorganised at this stage as the half drew to a close with a Shotton cross in for Hugill to head over.

There were some good aspects in that first half in that with only four at the back instead of five we looked more intent on attacking and creating chances. Reality was that Bolton’s first half performance was really poor, they showed zero intent and I am less than convinced that it was down to our superiority and class but more down to them keeping things tight and hoping that Magennis would maybe get a break and nick something against the odds. It was the sort of performance reminiscent of an FA Cup third Round tie when a non-League side would try and hold out against a top Premiership side.

A solitary goal didn’t feel comfortable and as the sides entered the pitch for the second half to a fanfare of MMP’s making that crashed and burned like a juggling Latvian impressionist on X Factor we were hoping that Boro would now turn the screw against what was a very poor showing from the Redcar Rocks charges. The opening five minutes saw Bolton look a little livelier but we still came close with another Saville effort that this time was more consistent with a Boro midfielder and had the North Stand taking the default cover position.

That was as good as it got for a while for Boro as one of our former youngsters Grounds then hit a shot that had us all sitting up, taking notice and thinking “Typical Boro” ten minutes into the second half. Five minutes later Magennis tried an overhead shot that looked the part but was always well wide. Moments later and Vela had a weak effort well controlled by Randolph as it went straight at him.

Boro clearly stinging responded by George firing in a cross that Flint despatched but was ruled out for Offside (what did I say about the East Stand Lino making good accurate calls?). The game was getting a little tasty now as Bolton awake from their first half slumber decided to fight for a point and a few cards were now being flashed by the Coote in the middle. As McQueen was warming up the decision to take Downing off was pretty much confirmed when he clattered into a reckless and slightly late challenge picking up a yellow in the process. Lowe was booked for Bolton as things got a little heated and the game now descended into a scrappy, disconnected affair which suited Bolton more than Boro.

With fifteen minutes remaining Boro were looking edgy and had started dropping deep, clinging on especially after a Turkish version of wee Jimmy Krankie came on in the form of Oztumer who had the temerity of starting to run at the Boro defence. A panicky slice from Hugill back defending was gratefully caught by Randolph, and seconds later a well worked movement saw Oztumer quickly set up Grounds and Magennis who was clean through only for Saville to appear from nowhere and block the shot from his fellow Northern Irish International. Boro were rocking and Pulis brought McQueen on for Downing and a minute later Assombalonga for the bruised, bloodied and battered Braithwaite.

Two minutes later still and Besic was now introduced for the tiring Saville, Wildschut entered the fray for Grounds so one ex Boro lad off and another on except we knew this one had pace to burn. A low Britt shot on the byline won Boro a corner giving vaguehope that we could nick a second and put those jitters to bed but Flint headed it wide and the agony continued. Hugill was through and jinked to throw his marker off the scent and hit a shot with only Alnwick to beat except the shot was weaker than a Vaux Shandy. It wasn’t easy viewing and the sight of Howson now stretching out a tight muscle, hobbling around didn’t help but he stoically remained on the pitch, actively contributing by passing the ball around although sprints and tackles were now totally out of the question for him.

Five minutes of added time went up and then Yanic cut in and unleashed a shot which Randolph was equal to and sighs of relief went around the Riverside. We were digging in and clinging to that clean sheet counting the seconds and then unexpectedly a poor back header to Alnwick was latched onto by the lively Britt who took it to his left and calmly slotted the ball past Alnwick to celebrate with his arms crossed defiantly across his chest as the North Stand couldn’t believe what had just happened with twenty seconds remaining.

Two nil and back up to second place, one point behind the Dirties with Swansea up next. The League maybe doesn’t lie but that tonight was less than impressive. Should Bolton make the Play offs we may over time be a little less dismissive of the performance but the truth is that two unforced errors handed us three points on a plate. We can’t rely on other sides being so generous.

MOM is a difficult one as there weren’t many outstanding displays. In the first half Howson and Braithwaite looked good but overall I thought Shotton did well, Saville showed some fight and a goal but it has to be Clayts again who rarely put a foot wrong despite his wounds.