@exmil saw that myself. Unfortunately thinking about the wedding I am going to, and not the game. ☹
Finally a match day but I will miss the match. So good and bad.
I hope Boro will win this brothers in arms derby. Up the Boro!
Well, gentlemen (and any ladies looking in!), it is Matchday! It has finally arrived after what seems like a month rather than 2 weeks. We may now loosen the straps attached in anticipation of Storm Babet. Outside although the sky is grey it is becoming lighter, and although the paths are damp it isn't raining. There is a fairly gentle breeze. Weather of possible Biblical proportions seems to have improved massively since yesterday and any fear the match might be at risk seems to have receded.
No need for the Alpine gear today (though it would be sensible to have a rainproof jacket - it is Teesside, after all). Temperatures of 10 or 11C will make Jarkko jealous.
I admit that I'm not the fastest typist. But the sun is now shining as I get to my third paragraph. This is looking positively tropical for late October.
Let's climb that mountain, Boro! The view from the top may well be breathtaking.
Mrs Powmill and me are half way to France just now, on a short break visiting Mrs P's sister and family. So hoping to catch up on the results later to see we will have indeed atteint le sommet de la montagne...
Trois buts à zero 😉
Boro are back and so are Mrs OFB and myself sat outside in the fanzone.
The weather, well its dry and whilst not warm it’s not too bad with a nice warm winter coat scarfs and hat on.
Just listened to Maddo on the mike in the fanzone and he’s predicting a close 2-1 win fir Boro.
David Wheater stood nearby looking very old these days I remember him being a young lad.
Fans very quiet, some Brum fans also it reminds me of the days when fans of both clubs used to stand side by side on the terraces with good natured banter.
Ah the sixties stopped all that !
OFB
It will be interesting to see how the team lines up today - though it sounds like Riley McGree is borderline so Greenwood may start again in his place. Apparently, van den Berg is fit again and may well get the nod at right-back over Smith with most likely Lukas Engel on the other side. I'm sure Lenihan will start if fit but Boro's defence has kept a few clean sheets without him so it could well be Fry and McNair keeping their places.
The midfield duo of Barlaser and Hackney have looked good together so Howson may well have to sit on the bench - though up front is where Carrick will need to decide on who to play. Jones should get one place given his form and probably Crooks and Greenwood if McGree is not fully fit. The big question will be Coburn or Latte Lathe and I suspect Coburn is better suited to starting to provide the focal point but Latte Lathe should get some more pitch time.
Anyway, we shall soon find out as the teams will be announced shortly!
Team News...
Almost right with my earlier team prediction with Smith keeping his place at right back!
Interesting to see a female referee supervising the warm up with her two linesmen.
Shes from near Newcastle so hope she’s a north east supporter and was a fan of Michael Carrick in her youth.
No adverse comments from me about female refs!
Well not yet !!
OFB
Announcer has new toy turned up to 11 reminds me of a Megadeth concert
CJ:
Jones goal ruled out
Boro turnover [sic] possession in the middle and break well with the ball into Coburn, who spins and gets away. Jones is looking for the ball in behind, but he just goes a little too early. The flag is up early as he puts it past Ruddy. No goal. Looked the right call.
Yellow cards beginning to pile up: Crooks (surprise surprise!) in the 26th minute, Engel in the 30th.
Penalty appeal turned down in the 16th minute (Sanderson on Crooks), Coburn guilty of a couple of misses.
0 0 Boro very impressive greenwood looking good Barlaser getting better each game. Coburn should have scored twice
OFB
Well an open game against a disjointed Brum side where we have had plenty of opportunities but poor final balls/shots has left us goal less.
Coburn guilty of a couple of missed clear cut chances and Jones final balls have been poor at times. Barlaser and Hackney combining well again but poor corners and free kicks from Barlaser.
Defence largely untroubled apart from Dieng having to make one vital save.
Need to up the quality in the final third and guard against being caught on the break if we are to take three points. 😎
We should be ahead. Boro were really on top for the last twenty minutes or so. Coburn has missed two glorious chances and been offside when he should do better. He doesn't look quite right today and with the Birmingham defenders looking a bit flat-footed maybe it's a game for Latte Lath.
We can definitely win it from here.
UTB
CJ's assessment of the first half:
Boro so unlucky not to be ahead at the break. They really deserve to be. They've controlled this game, with Hackney and Barlaser superb in the middle and Jones so lively on the right. Coburn will be disappointed not to have at least one today. Two good chances and one where he was so close to getting a toe on a low cross. Have to just keep their foot on the gas.
ELL on for Coburn in the 66th minute, HH booked eight minutes earlier.
Double substitution in the 76th minute: Howson for Barlaser & Rogers for Greenwood.
Double substitution in the 76th minute: Howson for Barlaser & Rogers for Greenwood.
Forss on for Smith in the 81st minute.
And Rogers it is who finally breaks Boro's duck in the 89th minute, aided & abetted by Crooks. 🙂
And Rogers it is who finally breaks Boro's duck in the 89th minute, aided & abetted by Crooks. 🙂
Up to 13th as it stands & a GD of 0! Eight minutes of injury time!
A great result. I’m sitting in Rockpool House Apartment , looking out over Loch Sunart in the sunshine, with a huge grin on my face.
A good game where Boro created plenty of chances but couldn't get the final pass or shot on goal quite right. Still they eventually found a way to score with good play from Rogers and Crooks but still made the chance harder than it should have been.
I thought Barlaser was the standout player today and was surprised to see him substituted for Jonny Howson midway in the second half. Coburn not quite on it today and Jones did well but lacked a final ball.
Still, another good win and Boro continue their move up the table (just 2 points off the play-offs now) and once again a clean sheet. Boro one of ten clubs from 6th to 15th separated by just three points and we can probably say back in the promotion picture after their terrible start.
Didn't think Birmingham looked like a promotion side and didn't offer much threat and looked dodgy in defence - it would have been a much more comfortable game without Ruddy, who was probably MoM.
Yes a deserved win in the end which should have been more comfortable had Boro managed to find that final pass or get a clean shot on goal.
Pleased that we again managed a clean sheet and kept the winning run going.
Brum were not the side I imagined they would be and they are flattered by their current league position; not sure if this is due to WR changing their playing style but I am sure all will be revealed as the season progresses.
Disappointing to see Smith injured again as I thought he had one of his best games both defensively and offensively.
Another tough game coming up on Tuesday, I think the Canaries will be even harder to crack than Brum. 😎
Really enjoyed the game, played some nice football. HH very good
We enjoyed the game and deserved the win. Should have scored 2 more with clinical finishing.
Never thought I would say this …
Crooks MOM
OFB
Crooks and Jones play well together down that right hand side. Hackney is getting better every week
OFB
Right - that was a 1-0 win and I'll take that every time. Another clean sheet!
England Cricket STUFFED in the World Cup by South Africa.
But the big game still to play this evening is the Rugby WC - Eng v SA.
Tight call, with the odds against England but I have this sort-of-feeling that England could do this, Let's see. Tomorrow I can return to the pleasure of Boro 1-0 Birmingham. Whoopppeee!
I really enjoyed that - good game, open play, and a good referee.
A last minute win is always enjoyable - after the final whistle!!
A well deserved win against Brum who had their keeper to thank for staying in it for so long. Totally agree Hackney is just getting better and better with the partnership with Barlaser really blossoming. Lacked a cutting edge today but a really good game with a late winner just the ticket. Happy days UTB.
Good to wake up to that result. Looks like we should have scored a few more, looking forwards to the highlights later today. Whoscored had Crooks as our man of the match. Suprisingly that was Crooks' first league yellow card this season. Hayden Hackney now has 4 yellows so only one away from a ban. I think the cut off is 19 games so he is unlikely he will avoid one. Greenwood and Jones are on three yellows. The team as a whole have only picked up 18 yellows so far compared to Southampton who are top of that category with 36 followed by Stoke with 35 who we play next Saturday. Also according to Whoscored we are in the top 5 teams in both shots per game and passing accuracy.
Why is it so enjoyable to win by scoring a goal in the last few minutes. Perhaps it’s the fact that even if you are on top of the game there’s always the possibility of your opponents scoring from a breakaway to win the game. Or, you’re thinking at 0-0 that you’ve missed lots of chances and all you’re going to get is one point. But then to score so late in the game makes up for all the missed chances and the players leave the pitch elated and the fans go home happy. Such was yesterday when , by all accounts Boro should have had more goals. But I’ll settle for 1-0 every time.
So that’s 5 consecutive wins and Boro, from having an awful start to the season making some of us thinking that it’s going to be a disappointing season, are starting to think this group of players under MC and co. might just have a successful season. Still a long way to go.
So, it’s Norwich next who were cruising at 2-0 , only to give away an own goal after which Leeds’ went for it’ and Norwich crumbled.
The downside yesterday was the announcement that Bobby Charlton had died. What a player. One of few deserving to be called ‘ great’, in the same breath as other great players such as eg George Best and Bryan Robson. Nowadays commentators call lots of players ‘ great’, But which players in the Premiership deserve to be called great. Mo Salah- yes. Probably Harry Kane ( although now in Germany). Harland- not yet until he’s performed at his current level( scoring goals) for another couple of seasons.After that I’m struggling.
Back to Bobby. We’ve all got many memories of how he played and some of the goals he scored. The one which I instinctively think of ,is the 1966 world cup. England had struggled to a draw in the first game and weren’t much better until Bobby got the ball about 40 yards from goal and set off swerving past two opponents before hitting an absolute screamer. It seemed from that moment that England became the force which resulted in winning the World Cup. And could you ever meet such a modest man. I doubt it. So another one of the 1966 team leaves us. Only 2 or 3 left I think.
Philip of Huddersfield
As a very young lad - late sixties or early seventees - I was playing football with my two brothers in the back garden in Finland. Even we wanted to be Bobby Charlton! We had seen him just a couple of times on TV, but he was already someone we all wanted to be.
I remember my elder brother calling me Giraffe, too. I hated that as I didn't knew he meant Big Jack. We all wanted to be the goal-scoring hero called Bobby.
Later on I was proud to be called Giraffe. I was talled than my brothers and I am now 6 feet 3 inches. As a child, I was always taller than others.
I am a big fan of Big Jack, but I must add that Bobby Charlton was more famous of the two. A real legend World wide. Up the Boro!