At this level of play Boro could play all night and not score. Short passing up to the penalty area is fine but there’s no spark where a player goes past an opponent to create real danger. The penalty area is too crammed to keep passing in the hope of creating a chance. Again possession, 73%, counts for nothing without an end product .
Charlton could even be winning and their tactic is more of the same of defending deep and hoping for a breakaway.
It’s clear that Boro play better against teams who play a more open , not defensive, game.
Here’s hoping the second half is better and not a repeat of Oxford,
Philip of Huddersfield 👎🤔
Bugger! Charlton takes the lead in the 59th minute!
Castledine & Sarmiento on for Whittaker & Strelec in the 58th minute.
Castledine & Sarmiento on for Whittaker & Strelec in the 58th minute.
Sène on for McGree in the 74th minute.
Oh for a Josh Coburn to give us a different approach to breaking down a well organised defensive 11
This may sound over critical but the style of play from start to end was all wrong. Short passing, build up play too slow, keeping possession, 77%, not ruthless in front of goal etc, etc.
Didn’t create enough. Didn’t deserve to win.
philip
We had the chances but nobody who could take them.
No margin of error now.
Yet more points dropped at home and once again Boro frustratingly fail to find a way through a low block as they passed the ball for most of the game but couldn't create any clear cut chances. A lack of a true centre-forward as a target and nothing to show from the 34 shots and 11 corners means there little room left for any more slip-ups.
Well. Every team is going to come and set up like Oxford and now Charlton. KH and his team have to find a way to play and win against this.
Casteldine looks like he might be the best thing we have as a target man. Mostly I wish we would go behind the defence and play low fast balls back in from the line instead of preferring to recycle it back to the middle and then back into the same place wide and back in the middle.
KH talked about needing to go slow to choose the right time to speed up. Unlike me, he knows what he is talking about, but for me there is far too little urgency until it is too late.
I would have preferred Brown to start rather than Whittaker who is too lightweight to boss that kind of defensive set up.
We really could have played till midnight and not scored tonight.
So so so frustrating
We just passed and passed and passed in front of them with no penetration. A real lack of composure and we played into their hands with too many intricate passes through the middle rather than sharp passing to drag defenders out of position. In hindsight (a wonderful thing), should have gone 3 at the back with Browne providing some nous. Still in a good position but oh what a massive missed opportunity.
If we don’t make the top two this season it will be because the management haven’t addressed the Achilles heel of this team which is an inability to beat the low block. Not many teams will come to The Riverside and play an expansive game so the team management need to fix the problem and quickly. Before Bristol City turn up on Saturday would be good…..
We are so poor at set pieces. We had 11 corners, and still nobody got a head on the ball to nod it goalwards. Where are Matt Clarke and Daniel Ayala when you need them? Mind, it doesn’t help that the great majority of our corners were played short and back into the recycled passing game, with players waiting eagerly in the middle for a cross that never came.
Someone above mentioned the lack of a long throw - yet ironically it was from just such a situation that Charlton scored. We clearly need to develop this as a weapon.
Oxford and Charlton have clearly set the template now for how to stop us playing at The Riverside. My guess is that 4 of the remaining 5 visitors will employ the same tactics. Depending on their points accumulation from now on, Millwall may well need to come out and attack, but their defence is generally very strong, so they may still stop us scoring.
I think I’ll go to the local nail parlour tomorrow: at this rate, I’m going to need some falsies.
Sorry, Gents, for the prediction I made in a recent post. Far too optimistic compared with what I saw on the pitch at The Riverside.
I won't go on. I have just got home and it is already late and I might write something intemperate. Maybe tomorrow. Perhaps...
Very frustrating and once again so predictable. We have picked up 2 points from the past three home games and scored one goal. We do seem to play better away, where our speed of movement seems much better. Looking at the stats as well as 34 shots we also had 46 crosses and 86 touches in their box, they had 7 and won the game! I can see a repeat happening on Saturday, unless KH can come up with a way to counter the low block in 24 hours.
@clive-hurren It now appears that when we were looking forward a month ago at our run in, it looked to be in our favour. How wrong could one be.
Leicester, Oxford and now Charlton. It is a good bet that the remaining teams coming to the Riverside with play like that. Why not, because KH, his assistants and the players have just no idea how to defeat it.
Once more another inept performance. Strelec has been a poor buy, and despite his goals so has Whittaker for his overall contribution. Not to mention the other failures provided by Scott this last three windows.
As Eb posted, once again it was pass, pass, pass until we lost it or a speculative shot was blocked.
Powmill said we should have had more crosses in from the byline. I think we had plenty, however when your build up is snails pace, any crosses have to beat a packed defence to reach a red shirt.
if we miss this opportunity to finish second, then it maybe a long time before we get another chance like this. OK, some will say we still have the playoffs, but what of winning those?
GUTTED.
@mw-in-darwin I just do not think we have the players or a system to suit what we have.
We three at the back be worth a go once again.
Well…
How can one be so unhappy about a home defeat by a solitary goal, especially when the team seemed to do everything right but score?
Well, as it turns out, you can, if Typical Boro come along to burst your bubble after two delightful doses of the Untypical.
I will also say - note that my views on the game may be limited given I was at the Lyric tonight - that an apparent reversion to 4-2-2-2 did concern me. As has often been said, great against teams who need to come out and play, not so great when you don’t get that lucky break, the opposition grow in confidence, possibly nick a goal and then realise that, with a lead to protect and no need to push out, that keeping their shape, stifling our rhythm and denying us room has a great chance of winning the day.
It’s not a KH thing either. Many Boro sides have fallen short for similar reasons.
And on the bright side - it could just have been one of those days where the lucky break we needed didn’t come, and we are still brilliantly placed.
I do believe we will bounce back and convincingly so but I share the frustration of those who may well be wondering how many more proverbial kicks or warnings we’ll need to take to hit top form again.
We haven’t “blown” anything. We have so, so much going for us. But I get how it may seem otherwise right now.
Have only got time for a quick post as I was late home last night after getting back from seeing the game late and up early to head out for a day of invigilating at a school! Followed by a few tea time drinks with a friend who is a Liverpool season ticket holder.
The one word about last night was frustrating, no actually three frustrating typical Boro!
Happy with selection and their goal was so soft coming straight after the subs. My cousin, said just before the throw in that he hoped the new players knew who to mark!
They should have been down to 10 men, the tackle was right in front of us and it was two footed, studs up.
We just couldn’t fund a way through a packed box and I think we had over 30 shots although the 7 on target did not stretch their keeper enough. On another day it would have been 3 0!
Anyway, still 2nd, (just) and let’s see what happens when Saturday comes.
UTB
I was a believer but now I am not so sure. Our same old failings have come back to haunt us.
We have yet to show that we can overcome teams who are disciplined and defend in numbers allied to our ability to make school by errors when defending.
Our big signings, DS and MW, are not delivering when we need them to and I have not seen anyone come off the bench and make a difference, AB apart, and who for me should have been on from the start rather than unused.
Unless we can overcome our twin arch nemesis of Bristol City and Blackburn in the next two games, then we could find ourselves down in a play off spot.
I hope my fears are wrong but I wouldn’t bet on it nor us to win the play off.
Typical Boro rearing its head just at the wrong time as always. 😎