@stircrazy - The applause for the Police officers who died on duty (according to the news, their car was struck in Grangetown by a VW Passat which had been driving the wrong way along the A66 - on the wrong side) was very well received and a large majority in the crowd applauded loudly.
Great result by the team today. WBA played well so you've got to be happy to get three points. Lankshear is clearly a natural goalscorer. I had suspected that was an extinct breed of Boro footballer.
Well that was definitely a game of two halves with Boro slow, laborious and well below par whilst West Brom looked comfortable and always dangerous on the counter; fortunately they didn’t take the chances they created and Riley McGree missed two good opportunities for us.
The second half was much better with the introduction of two subs, Berhalter and Joseph improving the pace and urgency of the game; slightly disappointed that RM was substituted as he had looked our brightest player.
We were slightly fortuitous in that our first goal was off side and just before Jones added a third he appeared, to me, to handle the ball when defending a corner.
Overall we were deserving of the points but still needed to demonstrate we can perform over a full 90 minutes.
For me both Sarmiento and Whittaker are not at present deserving of a starting berth with better and more reliable options available.
Not convinced at this stage that Vitek is an upgrade on Brynn 😎
A LOSS, A DRAW, A WIN ??
Today’s game could have been all 3.
West Brom were the better team in the first have and should have been ahead. Both teams were a bit “tippy tappy” in their play.
Why is it when an ATTACKING Boro player has the ball in an advanced position he turns his back on the goal and plays it backwards or sideways ? ( Sermiento was the exception today ). They are not doing their job.
That puts the pressure on the receiving midfielder or defender to do something creative. Not their job.
Second half and Boro played better and deserved the win although WBA equaliser could have led to a draw. So far I’m not convinced we’ve got an improvement in the goalkeeper.
Thank goodness. Boro have Lankshear. An out and out natural goal scorer. Boro always have a chance of winning when he’s on the pitch. I’ll take his offside goal. There will be an occasion when the reverse will happen.
So overall a satisfying 3-1 win.
Philip of Huddersfield 👍😁👍
@simonfallaha - I also initially thought that Vitek could have done a bit better with their goal - he was nowhere near it and to my mind positioned wrongly. The various replays changed my mind a bit. That said, there were times when he should have caught the ball rather than parry it away (albeit with a fair bit of power).
I did see him being a bit verbal with the defence so maybe he will grow into the team and on me as well.
As an aside good to see Mark Swarzer getting his legends number - a great servant to the club and would be in my all time top Boro team.
@jarkko - The weather forecast has been grim all day so I was genuinely surprised to have been able to walk in the dry from my car to the match and back again. An alcohol free Saturday to bask in the glow of those three shiny points gained. And a weekend ahead, too!
@k-p-in-spain Re RM substitution perhaps keeping him fit and to avoid his propensity for getting injured?
The possible handball, I have seen them given although I think the ball hit his arm and he had no way to move it in the view of the ref.
For all we moan about the officials, we definitely got away with a few decisions in our favour today - Lankshear was offside possibly twice for our goal, on other days the handball would have been given and the commentators noted that Ayling got away with a foul on one of their players that would have probably been a yellow card.
@forever-dormo - Pleased to see a good use of the subs by KH and hopefully Sarmiento was a precaution because I think he has upped his game and gives us another dimension.
As Phillip says, Lankshear is making an impact and great to see we have a striker in the Bernie Slaven mould who is in the right place to put the ball in the back of the net.
Whilst early days, I am hopeful that our performances will continue although Burnley won’t be an easy game - just debating with myself whether to get one of the last tickets and have a little trip over the hill.
Southampton 5 Millwall 1
A surpricingly big win for the Sinners. When will we get help from the EFL with a ban for Eckert?
Up the Boro!
For those referees amongst us, if the ball rebounds of an opposition player (ie goalkeeper) the forward is not offside. How many times in the past have decisions gone against us, now people are looking to find fault with our goals. I just enjoyed the win against an inform team and I was there, as usual in the East Upper.
Come on BORO.
@exmil - I’m not complaining, far from it - I enjoyed the poetic justice of having a decision go in our favour for a change!
Lankshear was a tad offside when Whittaker first shot and whether the lino wouid have flagged it it had gone in…………doesn’t matter it’s 3 points against a good team!
Southampton 5 Millwall 1
A surpricingly big win for the Sinners. When will we get help from the EFL with a ban for Eckert?
Up the Boro!
And now up to 18th in the table on two points! Grrr...
@exmil I’m confused now. WL was definitely offside when MW took his shot.
Is the rule that you can stand offside, wait for an onside forward to have a shot and if the gk parries it you can score with impunity? Or is there a separate definition of “rebound”?.
@exmil. Not looking to find fault, just pointing out that it was offside. I would have said the same had the baggies scored from an offside position. 😎
So. I ended up missing the second half....typical!!!.
Great result though and bodes well that KH could change things/personnel to make a positive difference.
Waiting for the highlights to be available so I can catch up on what I missed.
@powmillnaemore You might be able to get it on ITV X.
@martin-bellamy thanks Martin. I looked thete alrwady and couldn't find it. Also tried STV app as very often we can't access content on ITVX because we are in Scotland. I'll find it on NowTV I am sure
@martin-bellamy thanks Martin. I looked thete alrwady and couldn't find it. Also tried STV app as very often we can't access content on ITVX because we are in Scotland. I'll find it on NowTV I am sure
It's available under "English Football League" on my ITVX, but I'm in London...