@stircrazy Edmundson has contrived to give Sunderland three half chances with poor passing out from the back.
Werder, I think Edmundson is right footed, but can use his left a little. And as I write this Edmundson scores an own goal.
Our defence is all over the place and I would not bet on this result, other than at the moment Sunderland look likely to score more than us.
Conway for Forss, please.
And the new lad for the other new lad (Whittaker), who looks well off the pace.
Well a fairly open match but after a promising start and an excellent early goal we revert to type. Fail to capitalise on a few chances and then some weak defending allows them to score with the aid of a deflection by Edmundson.
We still do not look strong defensively and they look more likely to score and I suspect they will. 😎
Game could have been virtually over with chances spurned by Boro before Sunderland got a lucky equaliser via own goal with Travers having it covered. So far Travers looks the part. Morris is demonstrating why he is so crucial for the team.
Just hope Boro ensure no one on one’s Robert’s v Giles in the second half.
Hopefully Boro can start the second half as they started the first half.
Philip of Huddersfield 👍😂
Well every time Sunderland attack, my heart is in my mouth.
MFC have decided to invest their money on attacking players, whilst our defence leaves much to be desired and tonight is not getting a lot of protection from the midfield.
So can we score more goals than they do in the second half. How is Carrick going to get us back into the game. Azaz having one of his now normal games, and Forss having little effect up front and has not made the best of the chances that have fell to him.
Big crowd, looks like a good atmosphere, can Carrick and his team give what they deserve?
And it gets worse in the 51st minute: 1-2 (Isidor). Child's play - CJ:
Ayling puts Morris under pressure with a poor touch. Morris loses out and Isidor played through as Edmundson tries to play a really poor offside trap. Isidor rounds Travers and taps in.
@philip-of-huddersfield Sorry Philip, I think Morris has been poor tonight. He and Ayling at fault for their second gal and also both at fault again when Sunderland missed a glorious chance to finish the game.
And Hacknety scores from good work from Morris. You could not make it up.
And it gets worse in the 51st minute: 1-2 (Isidor). Child's play - CJ:
Ayling puts Morris under pressure with a poor touch. Morris loses out and Isidor played through as Edmundson tries to play a really poor offside trap. Isidor rounds Travers and taps in.
Boro's turn to equalise: HH 8 minutes laterm assisted by Morris.
Iling-Junior on for his debut in place of Azaz.
Len's prayer answered in the 69th minute. Let's hope it's not too late for Conway to make a difference...
Double bugger: Giles OG in the 88th minute! 🙁 Looks as though they're going to do the double. 🙁
2-3 and another own goal. I am getting the distinct feeling that this is beginning to take on the mantle of seasons gone by under numerous managers.
That being said we have been beaten by a better team and are way off being a promotion candidate. 😎
As much as it pains me, Sunderland the better side overall. Even without LL and Doak we can score goals. As has been well documented throughout the season, the defence is just sub standard. Edmundson and Ayling 🙈
Well, I predicted 3-2, o ly I had rather expected the opposite result.
I can't think of any successful team that has not been strong in defence. Unless and until we get ourselves sorted at the back, we are always going to struggle to get the right result.
What word sums up tonight? What about disaster.
This team , yet again, make it almost impossible to win a game. When Sunderland were on top , particularly in the early part of the second half, Boro looked all at sea and you could see the frustration in the players.
I said beware of Roberts v Giles - I should have added keep Giles away from defending. What was he doing to concede an own goal - hopeless. Ayling caught the eye as having a poor game plus others I’ll not mention.
what does the rest of the season look like? The only certainty is Boro will continue to make Sunday League basic mistakes.
Top 6 would be a real achievement- but don’t put money on it .
Fed up,
ps hope I don’t get comments of “ we played well for large parts of the game”. Football is all about winning.
Philip of Huddersfield
Yet another dismal defensive performance resulting in nil points, no bragging rights and no return to the play off positions. We deserved exactly what we got. In post-match interviews Carrick has been saying for a while that the the defensive mistakes costing us games have to be corrected and so I have two questions:-
1. Why, (with the exception of Travers who was recruited to cover for injuries anyway) was nothing done during the transfer window to strengthen the defensive resources?
2. Why is the defence coach still in his job?
KP is right in that we are way off being promotion contenders and it will stay that way until we stop shipping goals for fun.
@philip-of-huddersfield I thought we did play well for parts of the game. Unfortunately Sunderland played better!
1.Why, (with the exception of Travers who was recruited to cover for injuries anyway) was nothing done during the transfer window to strengthen the defensive resources?
2. Why is the defence coach still in his job?
In answer to your first question, I have simply no idea, unless Carrick has decided to go back to how it was two seasons ago by attempting to outscore the opposition? Unless, of course, he himself has no idea how to coach the team to defend, in which case, this makes your second question even more pertinent.
We have an amazing abundance of riches going forward and will surely score lots more goals this season. Unfortunately, it seems we’re going to have to score 3 in every game. We have no pace at the back and defenders seem to have precious little confidence in our ability to defend without making stupid and very costly errors. Ayling was murdered tonight by Sunland’s left winger. It beggars belief that Boro would have been prepared to offload Dijksteel;
And why wasn’t Dael Fry playing tonight? He’s far better than Edmondson.
I agree Boro played well for part of the game particularly until Sunderland equalised but games last 90 minutes and as long as Boro continue to make defensive mistakes it’s much more difficult to win games.
When I watch Boro and they are winning by one goal I’m left with the fear that if their opponents “ give it a go “ then Boro are likely to concede a goal - and then are likely to lose. This has happened too many times this season for it not to be a problem
Philip of Huddersfield ☹️☹️☹️
@philip-of-huddersfield I think it’s a bit harsh on Giles to ask what he was doing re the own goal. It hit him and went in - I’m not sure there was much he could do about it. At least he gave us an attacking threat down the left.
I do agree with your other comments though.
The defence did not play badly.
There is a knee-jerk reaction to always blame the defence - the back four - when we concede goals and, on the face of it, that seems like a reasonable position to take since it is their job to stop the other team scoring. However, the way that we play will always result in a relatively open game and so we have to accept that the other team will have some chances. What we have to do is to adopt a good shape in defence but also to take a higher proportion of our own chances and. to be fair, it would be nice to have a bit of good luck. We also need to improve our decision making around the penalty area.
Against Sunderland, the first goal conceded came from a vicious deflection. Who can you blame? Well, the only possible culprit is the combination of Bergzorg and A N Other who flopped about in a tackle and lost the ball just outside the penalty area. That gave them a free shot and bad luck took over. Forwards who are back defending need to just clear the ball and re-set
Their second goal came from a pass through the defence which caught us square. Why did it catch us square? Because Ayling tried a fancy touch off a dropping ball and didn't have the skill to pull it off. He laid it on a plate for the Sunderland player and the rapid turnover on the halfway line gave the central defence no chance to re-align themselves and the pass was good. The finish was classy - just like our first goal. The lesson here may be 'if losing the ball would be bad news, don't try what you may not be able to do'.
As for the third goal, hats off to Le Fee. A sublime touch got him to the goal line just ahead of Ayling. That happens. We've been applauding Doak for that all season. The cross was nowhere near any Sunderland player but, unfortunately, caught Giles unprepared. It could have gone anywhere but, sadly, he slammed it past Travers who, incidentally, had a pretty good game. He conceded three goals and didn't have a chance with any of them.
However, coming back to the way the game was played out, we were well on top after we scored and Forss (twice) and Bergzorg had great chances but didn't take them. That gives the opposition confidence that fortune is on their side and they play better. It's just like the Portsmouth game when Hackney missed a glorious chance to put us 2-0 up.
Luckily, we now have ten days to pull things together. I have to write the intro to the Sheffield United game and, for once, it can't be about the opposition. It has to be about us.
I'd better start thinking.
UTB
Ailing should never play for this team again, once again we sign a player some fans fall in love with because he as a few good games,
Too many players not up for a fight, that's the issue a lack of Character
I'm starting to wonder about Carrick and Scott, the recruitment,a couple of hits ,but seems more misses , fifteen games left, we need to win eleven or twelve.
It's past midnight. I don't have it in me to write a long piece about the Boro v Sunderland game. But just a few points:
Do we support the team that is supreme at getting into winning positions then throwng the game away?
Putting to one side the magnificent goal scored by Burgzorg after he latched on to Hackney's perfect through-ball, Forss had THREE good chances in the first half including a header that went straight to the keeper. His shot that went over the bar when he was unchallenged and the ball into the penalty box that he volleyed with his left foot past the post were the others. At least one should have gone in and on a good day one would have hoped for two goals there. And although Hackney scored a great goal to level the score at 2-2, he also hit Row Z with a first half chance. Boro had a spell in which they should have extended the lead to at least have had a half-time cushion but, as seems often the case, the people around me seemed to know that Boro would pay for those misses. And so it came to pass...
Both Boro's goals were excellent.
The crowd and atmosphere in the ground (until Sunderland went 3-2 up, at least) were both good.
It is unfortunate that one of the Sunderland goals was a deflection off Edmondson, and the final Sunderland goal was a shot past a startled debutant keeper (Travers). Napoleon wanted his Field Marshalls to be lucky. I suppose SOMEONE in the stadium must have been lucky for Boro as Sunderland totally messed up a late chance where it was easier to score than to miss (and that would have made it 2-4).
I suppose we could console ouselves with the fact that some of Boro's defending is like Manchester City or Manchester United's at present. We are as capable of throwing a game away as both of those teams.
Since Boro will now be 14 points behind our nearest neighbours to the North, the chance of catching the Mackems is almost a minus number.
A disappointing evening. The roads were so busy that I had thought that of turning around and going home to watch the match at home with a comforting bottle of wine. I might have enjoyed that more. The wine, that is!
At least we scored four goals last night. Unfortunately one was an own goal when Edmundson tried to chest the ball out for a corner. And another one was a deflected home by Giles - i THINK he tried to control the ball instead of hoofing it clear. So two definate own goals.
Being a defender myself - I still play regularly two to three times a week - these things happens in football. But it was unfortunate to happen twice in a derby match.
Anyway, we strenghtened the side - except in defence and centre forward. The other positive was that Conway is back after an injury. I don't think Conway and Kelechi Iheanacho - loan from Sevilla - are as good as Latte Lath. But it was not easy to replace him in January.
All in all, perhaps too many changes for one window again. Let's hope we can keep Hackney and Morris fit for the rest of the season. That said, I hope to see Howson fit soon, too.
And Leninhan must be back fit soon to replace sold Clarke.
Up the Boro!
Morning all.
Well, unpredictable Boro are now officially becoming totally predictable.
Opposition managers and coaches, whether we consider them poorer teams or whatever, know that even if Boro dominate play and still create nothing, or even score three we will give them them chances in our box or close to it. The opposition just have to be patient and wait because we always seem to make the same errors and mistakes. Teams we should beat, no disrespect to them, beat us so where oh where is the defensive coaching? Is there any?
Goodness I feel frustrated and I'm now convinced that we need a five or six goal cushion at half-time to have any chance of bagging three points.
Who is next at Fortress Riverside? Will there be a reaction in the next away match? Where is the on-pitch Sergeant Major, the leader? Questions and more questions but where are the answers?
Never mind Sunderland almost deserved to win.
ATB everyone and UTB,
John
Didn't post after the match last night too deflated, what topped it off was the sight of the Sunderland players at the end waving the corner flag and fans banners I know they don't think it's a Derby but they were acting like it was.
If the Riverside is a fortress it's definitely a sandcastle too easily breached.
We seem to have entered some kind of groundhog day where we do the same thing over and over even though the result doesn't change.
We played well for 30 minutes in first have scored couldn't press home our advantage an then reverted to type and disintegrated again.
So
We can't defend how is Edmunson an improvement over rest of the CB, once you get past Ayling we are done.
We insist on playing out from the back but regularly give the ball to opposition
No leaders on the pitch
Midfield is weak too many players easily brushed off the ball Azaz, Burgzog etc
One dimensional
What happens at halftime mogodon in the refreshments
We have been saying the same thing for 2 seasons now but nothing changes. Are the players listening to him, all he seems to do during the match is to wave them forward.
If any body still thinks we will win/be in the playoffs I have some magic beans they might want to purchase.
As an aside what's happened to Doak why the apparent news blackout? Is his season over.
Off to sit in a darkened room, if I had a cat I would have kicked it when I got back from the match last night.
PS
If it hadn't been Sunderland last night I think the atmosphere would have been a lot more toxic towards the team, Carrick says he knows what needs addressing, well it's been the same for 2 seasons and he appears to have done the square root of sweet FA. The well of goodwill towards him has run dry.
PPS gazette saying Doak injured in training, what do they do in training MMA.
I must say that Carrick’s wishy-washy statements as reported in the EG this morning really don’t fill me with confidence. I know he has to respond immediately after another chastening and bitterly disappointing defeat, but for him to claim that form is not a concern is just plain wrong. (I could have used a stronger adjective or six.) That’s just two wins in our last nine games now. Form may not be a concern for 20 or 30 minutes in a game, where we play well, but it definitely is for the remaining 60 + minutes!
I see him on the telly standing in his technical area with his worried look, gently motioning the players to get forward. I rarely see any emotion or fury when we cock up yet again. Neil Warnock he ain’t. I’m seriously starting to question whether we have any real leadership off the pitch.
Just read Paul’s comment above after I’d posted mine. I’m glad you’ve spotted MC’s ineffectual waving, mate. It rather confirms what I’ve been thinking.
Was up at 4:30am and have now managed to watch the game recorded on ITV4 - though felt sorry for the presenters at the ground who were barely audible over the Riverside PA turned up beyond 11 so that the good people of Sunderland could hear them back on Wearside!
Anyway, sadly another defeat or should I say another avoidable defeat that has become the norm - with all of Sunderland goals ultimately down to defensive mistakes. I was going to say Boro 4 but Jarkko beat me to it. Pity that 2 great goals from Burgzorg and Hackney left us with nothing from the game.
when watching the first half hour I was expecting a comfortable famous Boro victory after the goal but chances were spurned when Burgzorg and Forss also failed between them to show the urgency on the edge of our own box to prevent Neil collecting the clearance that saw his shot deflected into the net by Edmundson after he shaped his body to prevent a handball.
In truth Edmundson had a bad game and gave the ball away too easily - as did Ayling who despite having a good delivery going forward now looks too slow as a full-back - especially if you consider Boro tend to play with a pseudo back three when Morris drops in and then it means Ayling is playing high up but with no recovery pace. At least Giles has the pace and also show much more positivity going forward and put in a few dangerous crosses.
However, Forss still doesn't look match fit and why should he having hardly featured this season and you would imagine he'll not be playing centre-forward in the next game with Conway fit and Iheanacho unveiled before kick-off. The other two new attacking arrivals had low-key starts with Whittaker showing promise until the adrenaline wore off but Samuel Junior didn't look match fit and lacked sharpness to beat his man. Hopefully they'll get better as with Doak out with a thigh injury for likely most of February if not longer then there's an early chance for them to get more pitch time.
Still, it's not in the attacking areas where we should be worried as the defence and midfield also look capable of conceding - though having said that, Boro had only conceded 6 in their previous 6 games before Sunderland arrived and 2 own-goals in a game should be considered unfortunate.
Either way Boro must pick up points in February in the tough games coming up if they aren't to see the play-offs creep off into the distance - Carrick's side could be in 10th place before they play Sheff Utd and if they don't spring a surprise result at Bramall Lane then the next Riverside fixture against Watford is a high stakes one! I should add since I'm doing the Watford preview the omens of getting any points from that game with my record are not good (currently zero) - so apologies in advance!
As for the Doak injury, Carrick said after the game: "Ben just felt his thigh during the week in training. We'll see how it is. It won't be a few days, it will be longer. Probably weeks, not ages but yeah, it won't be days.
So what is 'weeks not ages' in the managerial measurement scale - probably more than 2 weeks but less than 2 months I'd guess - if he'd said a couple of weeks it would've been less than just weeks - but 'not ages' is a relative measure where Howson has probably been missing for ages and he's missed the last 8 games. You could say Smith and Lenihan have been out for ages but that is currently being measured in months or even years...
When do teams announce their squads for the rest of the season 🤔.
Come on BORO.
Not a good evening’s viewing was it? To make matters worse, Mrs B reports that last night’s Historical Society Meeting was the best and most entertaining one since we moved here!
I’m not despairing though. We continue to score goals and play football that is good to watch (in parts). We’ve got an owner who continues to invest his own money and who seems to have, once again, allowed the manager to acquire new players to improve the team. Whether they do or not is not clear at the moment, but time will tell.
Will we gain promotion? Almost certainly not, as things stand. Will we make the playoffs? Possibly not, but we’re still in with a shout.
It is what it is…