😂Looks like a strong team on paper.
As they say, shame it's played on grass.
Look at that rain. That, friends, is why we moved back to Yorkshire.
Awful heavy pitch - looks like there could be a risk of a few injuries tonight!
The lads already on the slippery slope: 1-0 to PNE after 23 minutes. 🙁
The lads already on the slippery slope: 1-0 to PNE after 23 minutes. 🙁
CJ:
Boro behind. Positive start undone. Van den Berg initially with a poor ball out. Clarke cuts out the resulting cross, but it drops to Millar outside the area who beats Howson too easily and then hits one low, beating Glover at his near post too easily.
Anybody believe we can score 2
CJ's assessment of the first half:
Boro have had more of the ball and were looking bright before conceding another sloppy goal. That killed their momentum, though, and they've ultimately just lacked a cutting edge in the final third yet again.
What did I say about our keeper putting his laces through it? We’re definitely going long more often tonight.
Not sure how we’re behind here. Preston have barely been anywhere near our box but dodgy keeping has them in front. Sigh.
The lack of a striker is more evident with every passing minute.
Looked a clear pen for us as well but was down the other end tbf.
That first half has been the story of Boro's season of late - looking the better side with plenty of possession but lacking the final ball or shot. Then the opposition make a rare attack and Boro concede a poor goal that shouldn't really have found its way into the net after a missed clearance attempt and Glover beaten at his near post again.
Boro's problems up front are obvious - we don't have a striker so nobody attacking the box to get on the end of crosses - it means too many passes around the box and then a less than adequate attempt at a shot from outside the box.
McGree looks easily the best attacking player but nobody around him to take advantage of his passes and flicks - Forss should have had a penalty as it was a foul - he was held back.
Anyway, Preston don't look a great side but Boro not clicking in the last third - could be another frustrating game unless somebody produces something - we can only hope!
Boro the better team in the first half passing the ball about convincingly but little end product with clear cut chances.
Preston with their only effort on goal, score - goalie should have saved it. That’s the second recent time beaten at the near post.
Boro need an early goal to get back into the game. The way they are playing it might happen but I can’t see them scoring two goals.
Philip of Huddersfield
@original-fat-bob Poor Howson also.
Azaz equalises in the 57th minute, assisted by Jonny H. Azaz's maiden goal for Boro. There's one of the two, Paul - assuming they don't concede a second...
Spoke too soon: Riis gets a second for PNE three minutes later...
CJ:
Pick that out! We knew he [Azaz] had that in his locker and his first for Boro is special. Gets it on the edge, creates a half-yard with a feint and then bends one high across goal and into the far top corner. You beauty!
Boro back on level terms just three minutes. Boro give it away cheaply in the middle of the park and Will Keane's effort takes a massive deflection. With Glover on the floor, Riis runs in unopposed and has a tap-in.
68th minute substitution - CJ:
Silvera on for Greenwood. Silvera going up top, as opposed to the right to allow Forss to go up top.
@andy-r Not a penalty for me Andy. It would of been a soft one.
Dijksteel on for Ayling in the 73rd minute.
No Centre forward at this level is a disgrace! simple....
Don't suppose MC's head has been turned by all the talk about Moyes at West Ham anyone?
Wave after wave of Boro attacks in the second half but defeat highlighted , yet again, by the lack of a striker. Greenwood certainly isn’t the answer. Nor is Silvera.
In a way the defeat came down to Glover making another mistake and Preston goalkeeper making an excellent save.
Preston didn’t play well but have the knack of knowing how to win a game of football. Boro don’t. This team is going nowhere.
The rest of the season is a test of character for the management and the players.
Philip of Huddersfield
@powmillnaemore Given some of the team selections and tactics recently, I think MC still has lots to learn.
Oh. That was just so frustrating. We were hugely the better side and just couldn't score. When Azaz equalised you would have sworn that we would go on and win. Then a misplaced pass, an unlucky deflection and we're down again.
I hate to say this but now an away game at Leicester is suddenly a 'must-win' or else we will just be set for mid-table this year as we plan for the future. We needed 7 or 8 points from this run of four games and we have 1 from the first two.
Sigh!
UTB
Until we start scoring this team is going nowhere, we couldnt carry out a transaction in a house of ill repute with currency hanging out of our strides. No points for pretty passing around midfield
Usual story - Boro easily the better side but gift the opposition two poor soft goals and then fail to take advantage of countless attacking opportunities. A game Boro should have won but once again lost and it's become an unfortunate habit that barring miracles won't see them make the play-offs this season. With four teams now seven points ahead on 48 it means defeat at Leicester will see Boro ten points off the play-offs.
McGree easily the standout player but lacking equally talented players around him - just imagine if we'd kept Rogers, Jones was fit and we had a striker then you could see a dangerous attack. Instead it's makeshift projects out of position trying to breakdown defences with nearly all of them guilty of wanting to do it on their own rather than pass at the right time - especially Silvera and Greenwood.
Probably at least the tenth missed opportunity this season to take 3 points so we shouldn't really expect anything else - the annoying thing is that they played well for large chunks of the game but just lacked quality when needed.
Poor again, but I'm not blaming MC. He has been left like a carpet store with remnants. Keiran Scott and his hangers-on have let him down.
MC looked and sounded really down in his post-match interview for the official club website so maybe he thinks he has been left with remnants as Malcolm puts it in his post above. We are struggling to win games because we can’t keep a clean sheet (only one in the last fifteen league games) and we can’t score enough goals. With a porous defence and a feeble attack we are going to struggle for even a mid-table position unless we can get the injured players back soon. As for the playoffs you can forget it. A very disappointing season looms.
@malcolm Yes he has been let down, badly. However, as I said earlier, he has to take a large slice of the blame himself.
As the PNE commentator remarked, Boro play nice to watch football, BUT, it is very risky also.
Our defenders and midfield players continue to make passes to closely marked colleagues, with very little room for error and an opposition player on their shoulder. They are not good enough to play this way week in week out and so it has proven this season especially.
As much as I have sympathy for MC and the squad he has been handed this season, he chooses the system and tactics. Play to your squads abilities and not as though you are Man City. I must admit though, that not having a decent striker leaves him with a big issue.
Home at last after another disappointing evening with the Boro.
Disappointing only for the result really, as we played PNE off their own park for most of the game.
It was noticeable how we played it long from the back for the first 10-15 minutes, clearly a plan to settle any early defensive nerves. The result was that neither side created anything of note.
Thereafter, we reverted to our usual game and started to dominate. Of course, typical Boro struck with a goal conceded out of nowhere, totally against the run of play with PNE’s first attempt of the game. Clarke cleared a nothing cross tamely, Howson let his man go past him without much effort and then Glover, who didn’t appear to be unsighted, somehow failed to get down to his near post for what should have been a routine save. Three quickfire mistakes and we were behind.
The game resumed as it was before, with Boro by far the slicker side, especially early in the second half. The brilliantly taken equaliser from Azaz was the least we deserved and for a brief moment I thought we might go on to win it.
However, parity lasted a matter of minutes as a deflected shot left Glover on the deck and cruelly fell right into the path of Riis for a barely deserved winner.
Obvious points really but without a striker Boro’s midfield control largely comes to nothing, the dominance looking great for the stats and the neat passages of play but without a sharp end to make it count.
I’ve no issue with the tactics or effort tonight but we just don’t have the cutting edge at the moment and were a little unfortunate.
The back to back defeats with Leicester looming probably does now kill the season for us unfortunately. That being said, you can see that there’s a good side and setup in there. If or when it comes together, there’ll be some good times ahead. It won’t be this season though.