Seven Minute Mauling
After the midweek humbling by the Lambs of Preston the Lions of London entered the Riverside arena to face a Boro side bereft of confidence. A once rock-solid Warnock defence had suddenly sprung more leaks than a watering can. Gary Rowett must have been fancying his chances against a side that only three games ago looked to be in the ascendency with genuine Play-Off potential and now looking lost.
Talismanic Skipper in all but name, Jonny Howson was missing for this one with Anfernee Dijksteel still touch and go. Nathan Wood was still missing, having to isolate due to a friend having tested positive for Covid. Millwall like Preston and Stoke before them were beset with serious injury problems and hadn’t won in their last nine outings. With that backdrop, the scene was set for Boro to make it ten games without a win or another generous “Typical Boro” no show.
Three changes were announced for Boro with Dijksteel passing a fitness test and coming in for Spence. Tav was in for Howson, and Akpom rotating with Britt. NW went with eight subs again making a point about the strength in depth of his squad. There was still no starting opportunity for Roberts who once again had to make do with a place on the bench. Gary Rowett had made just one change with Ryan Leonard coming into midfield in place of Shaun Williams who had dropped to the bench.
Paddy McNair along with Darren Pearce led the teams out onto the Riverside pitch with Darren Bond today’s man in the middle. The game got underway with Boro kicking off. Millwall for some reason decided that Boro’s Red Shirts clashed with their traditional Dark Blue ones so instead they opted for a Blackburn-inspired green and white halves outfit. Boro looked to have set up in a 442 with Watmore up front with Akpom whilst Millwall lined up in an unconventional and very defensive 523.
The opening five minutes were non-eventful apart from a few harmless throw-ins but then Akpom spotted Watmore and tried to play him in, forcing Bialkowski to come out quickly in the sixth minute. Captain for the day McNair took a recklessly optimistic free-kick from thirty-five yards out, blasting it well wide instead of sending it into the Lions box. A minute later Bialkowski had to react to push away a Bola inspired Boro attack as we were starting to get a handle on things and dictate the pattern of the game.
A free-kick to Boro in the twelfth minute saw Tav get it over the Millwall defensive wall but also over the crossbar. Frustrating, another poor set-piece wasted by Tav whose accuracy has been questionable all season. Putting that disappointment aside It didn’t take long for Boro to get back at their opponents with Akpom knocking it sideways on the edge of the box to Saville, switching it back out wide to Johnson who crossed to Watmore, stabbing it home, unmarked from the middle of the six-yard box. One-nil to Boro and deservedly so based on the previous five minutes of the game. Unlucky thirteen (minutes) for the visitors.
Hungry for more and sensing that Millwall were still clearing their heads, just seconds after the restart Johnson broke with Watmore down our left-hand side. Marvin then switched it to the opposite flank, to the right-wing, finding Dijksteel. Driving forwards. Anfernee with the support of Saville (again) played in Tav (he who couldn’t finish seconds earlier) to curl a peach of a ball into the far side of Bialkowksi’s goal courtesy of the far post. Two-nil, fifteen mi nutes gone and Boro were in nose bleed territory!
Just as my notes and typing were starting to catch up with all this unheard of Boro activity, Johnson put in yet another cross to Saville (those two again) whose mishit shot either hit a divot or perhaps deflected fortuitously into the path of the onrushing Watmore in the middle of the Millwall box to make it three goals in seven minutes for Boro. The Lions were looking more like Pussycats, in fact, Pussycat Dolls came to that.
Bola then picked up a yellow card for a blatant extended leg challenge on Romeo. He struggled to get onto his feet after the block which hopefully was more to soften the Ref’s view of his assault than a serious injury. Millwall wasted the free-kick, floating it straight into the arms of Bettinelli. Rowett then promptly took off his Captain Pearce as he attempted to rescue some pride for his Lions with only twenty-three minutes gone. Bodvarsson came on in place of the defender with an understandable reshuffle and the five at the back was now history
As exciting as it was to be three up with less than half an hour gone, Millwall had nothing to lose now and Boro consequently had a different tactical proposition to deal with. Morsy got in a typical strong tackle to prevent Parrot from collecting an opportunity. Evidently, NW had instructed his midfielders to stay alert.
A break from Johnson saw him earn a throw-in near the corner flag on the twenty-eight minute. Bola took it but Marvinho then spoiled his previous good work, attempting a flamboyant back flick to Saville. Ryan Leonard upended Morsy twenty yards out and another Boro free-kick allowed McNair to have a second set-piece effort. This time he drove it around the wall and Bialkowski tipped it over for a corner. A great free-kick but an even better save, unfortunately.
The Corner was taken short in a routine that got muddled in the box, necessitating Johnson to get back into the Right Back spot to deal with a dangerous break out with ten minutes of the half now remaining. Akpom then came close for Boro with a glanced header from a well-weighted Bola free-kick. He was ten yards out but it was a poor connection and just didn’t have enough height in his stretching neck. Akpom came close again after Woods had slipped, losing possession, allowing Tav to intercept and send Chuba to bear down on goal but his shot went wide with a defender leaning in on him with less than five of the first forty-five minutes remaining.
Millwall’s tactical reshuffle had stemmed the Boro flood to a degree but we still looked by far the better side, itching to take advantage of the visitors being a defender lighter. A Hutchinson foul on Akpom saw Tav curl a free-kick towards the far side of the Lions eighteen-yard box but there was too much curl on it with the ball coming back out allowing the Lions defence to head clear.
Three nil at halftime with Boro never really looking under threat and most importantly looking like they would add to the three they had already netted. Four, four two may not be the most modern set up in the play game but it had suited us so far. Tav looked more of a threat, Johnson was getting balls into the box with two Strikers to pick out and Watmore was calm and collected with no sign of anxiety whilst Akpom was linking up play.
No further changes at half time with Millwall kicking off the second half. The visitors had certainly started with more intent but in the opening five minutes, their only move of note was when Wallace had less than a half-chance which his former teammate Saville read and cut out. An opportunity was presented to Akpom who should have hit his gift the first time but he delayed and ended up with a corner. Played short once more it ended up with Darren Bond’s whistle going for offside against Johnson. That chance for Akpom should have really made it four.
Half-hearted Penalty appeals for a Hutchinson challenge on Akpom after a poor Tav ball were waved away as Boro continued to threaten. Watmore forced a mistake from Cooper due to his constant chasing and harrying which signaled his intent to try and work an opportunity for his hat trick. Akpom then lost Hutchinson and as the ball broke for Tav the whistle went for an earlier foul on Akpom twenty yards out. Rowett was readying three changes as Tav chatted to McNair over the taker. Paddy won the discussion, blasted it, coming off the wall and out for a Boro corner.
That triple change now took place for Millwall, Parrott went off for Burey, Thompson came on for Bennet and Romeo had gone off for Smith. The corner was in turn turned out for another Boro corner. Aimed at the front post this time it was cleared out, collected by Morsy and passed back to the isolated Bettinelli.
The two subs combining, Matt Smith nearly pulled one back for Millwall as Burey played him in, putting the ball past Bettinelli’s upright. Bola was meanwhile sat on the turf looking for some attention but it looked suspiciously more like gamesmanship taking the sting out of the momentary Millwall resurgence.
Wallace then crossed with Bettinelli blocking with the help of Fry to prevent Thompson from pulling a goal back. Dangerous moments here for Boro. Morsy then counter-attacked with the former Wigan maestro finding Watmore on the right increasing the Boro corner count. Johnson’s corner was poor, hit straight out for a Millwall goal kick as the game approached seventy minutes. Johnson made amends and put in a near post cross into the Millwall box which worked Bialkowksi with Akpom closing in. Millwall were making a game of it now, Dijksteel was having to keep the lively Burey at bay as he ventured down the flank, earning a goal kick for Boro. That permitted a double change for Boro with Watmore going off for Spence and Akpom making way for Britt as energy levels were now dipping at the top end of the pitch for Boro.
Seventy-three minutes in and Bola had to be alert to cut out a dangerous set piece from the Lions to preserve the important morale-boosting clean sheet. Assombalonga then tussled with Cooper and kept possession but couldn’t find the net with his shot blocked with Spence conceding a free kick in the follow-up. Saville then found Spence whose choice was screaming to play in Tav but instead he took it himself with his shot going out for a corner. Another short one, driven in hard by Morsy, coming back out, played back in and out for Bialkowski to hurriedly collect it for a goal kick.
Burey and Thompson linked up again for the visitors but they couldn’t find a way through the Boro midfield and the visitors move ended with a frustrated wild shot way past Bettinelli’s goal. Johnson then went off for Coulson and Wing on Tav for Boro whilst Rowett brought Wallace off for Ferguson with twelve minutes now remaining of the ninety.
A Ferguson cross saw Smith and Bola both challenge with Smith coming in behind the Boro defender catching him with a high boot. Eight minutes to go as Boro took their time with the resulting free-kick. Millwall were trying to get a consolation but Boro had looked solid and comfortable, keeping them at bay. Fry and McNair had been superb with Dijksteel looking like he never moved out of second gear all afternoon, Bola was back to his best after that terrible evening in Preston.
Lewis Wing won a free kick with three minutes ticking down. From it Coulson went down the left, finding Saville but in a myriad of passes, any threat was gone. Dijksteel then went off for Roberts to come on for the briefest of cameos, Spence dropping back with Roberts in front. An immediate Boro corner was won off Malone, again taken short. This time by Roberts but Millwall cleared their lines up to Bodvarsson but Coulson was alert, tidying up, setting up a counter-attack which required a despairing Hutchinson tackle doing just enough for Bialkowski to collect the ball.
Four minutes came up on the fourth official's board as Boro looked for a fourth. A late Millwall cross was collected by Bettinelli with Smith closing in. A minute later the game ended, three-nil to Boro. MOM was Paddy McNair who had stepped up as Captain today. Fry was excellent alongside him as were Watmore and Johnson who both had a great first half. Morsy was solid and Saville, pulling strings. Tav was looking much better, Dijksteel and Bola untroubled. A perfect response to the disappointment of the last two games.
Thanks RR for another great report.
A great performance from the team.
The disappointing thing for me though is that Patrick Roberts will be back at Man City in January.That after today is guaranteed. To bring him on so late in the game was proof that NW doesn't rate him at all. I am mystified why he brought him back to be a bench warmer.
I have total respect for NW. He has done a fantastic job with the players he has got. I like him and he will do very well for us.
But unfortunately for Patrick Roberts, the game is now over.
Excellent report, RR. Many thanks
I suspect that as the Roberts deal stretches back to Woodgate's time the basis of the original agreement as I seem to recall Woodgate indicating at the time was that he would be coming back here this season. Maybe Warnock had no strong opinion of him either way come the end of last season and the original agreement carried over once City finalised their squad.
My view of Roberts is that he is an entertainer with ball skills but who I suspect struggles in a rigid team set up along with the positioning and tactics required to make it work for the greater good. In that respect he becomes a luxury item, not a necessity, just a nice to have. A bit like a midlife Motorbike or Convertible two seater sat in the garage. Nice to look at and for a warm summer evening but useless for, shopping , taking the family or grand kids out then throw in the insurance, servicing and additional fuel costs which would probably pay for a few good holidays at least.
Does he rip teams apart, score goals and set up our strikers? Not based on the evidence we have seen, he instead tends to dribble until he loses possession, doesn't look up and/or isn't aware of movement around him. Maybe I have him all wrong but pound for a penny he is exactly the same in training. Then there is the reason why he has been passed from pillar to post and of course Farke at Norwich is on record about him:
"We'll see how it develops in a few weeks but in general I am pleased with Patrick. Of course he would prefer to spend more minutes on the pitch.
"We have to be a bit careful with our expectations of a player from Manchester City. It's not like he won the title for them last season.
"He was out on loan and didn't really play for a side in Spain, who were relegated. That is not easy in terms of confidence to come to a new club and be in your rhythm. He had a really, really good pre-season but then he looked a bit tired, which is quite normal, and now we have a lot of competition.
"He will have the opportunity but he's not 18 anymore. He's at an age where he has to deliver right now and we will give him every chance. I'm pretty confident when there is a chance for him he can use us but it's up to him.
"Patrick won't be 100% happy at the moment because he didn't play that much but all I can say is from my feeling I am happy with him. His time will come I'm pretty sure, but I can't predict at the moment when it is."
"When you bring a player on loan if he immediately played each and every second what does that say to the players who were here before? It would tell them they have no chance to play at this level," said Farke. "It was important to bring him here to add to the competition in the winger position.
"He has improved a lot on the training pitch. That is where they need to impress me and my coaching staff.
"All I can say he has trained pretty well during the international break and let's see how far he comes in the next weeks."
Deja vu comes to mind when reading that, it could almost be a Warnock quote.
I’ve said it before about loan players from the PL. They corner the market in young players and then expect other clubs to pay to progress their improvement, to ready them for a place in their first team squads.
We are doing them a favour therefore I believe we shouldn’t have to pay for the privilege. I’m unaware if it is a loan fee that’s involved or we are covering part of his salary. NW doesn’t seem particularly enamoured with him, and if he was truly Premier League class he’d walk into our team.
On the evidence I’ve seen I don’t think he is any better than we already have and the money would be better spent elsewhere.
Redcar Red, Thank you for the report and the comments about Patrick Roberts, truthful on all counts. I think some of our 'younger' players would do better. I for one wouldn't be unhappy if he goes back to Manchester in January, yet another player who was 'snapped' up by a Premiership club to stop any other Premiership club signing him. A just in case he's really good kind of insurance, if he is we've got him. the Premiership preying on the Championship with their possible 'skill bank'.
Anyway a great report, a great result (why didn't we get five?) and no major injuries. I'm surprised but happy. What isn't there to be happy about in 3-0?
Stay safe everyone.
UTB,
John
Thanks RR for a comprehensive match report appreciated as ever
OFB
A nice story about Sam Folarin and Isaiah Jones and how the young duo ended up at Boro. You can find the story written by Dominic Shaw in here:
https://www.gazettelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/making-sam-folarin-isaiah-jones-19446705
A nice read. Up the Boro!
Great write up, and great entertainment for a bleak afternoon.
Feeling much happier this morning.
Listening to NW about his team amd the fact that this is the youngest average age for a team he has managed puts things into perspective. Boro are going to be inconsistent with highs and lows but let’s look at the plus points.
McNair and Fry could walk into any Championship side and quite a few Premiership clubs as well.
Tavernier although erratic is developing a tremendous work ethic and if his performance can be more disciplined he will turn into a major player for the team
Bola and Dijksteel have been developed into major components of the team amd the fact the team struggled when Dijksteel was absent speaks volumes about his contribution to the team. I smiled when NW at the presser shook his head and said “couldn’t believe Bola was overlapping late in the game when we’ve got a match on Wednesday!” And smiled and shook his head.
I never saw what Saville brought to the team and for £7m thought he was a waste of money. Now he’s performing well under NW and looks like the £2m player that NW offered for him when he was at Millwall. His work rate is tremendous and his link up play with Morsey yesterday meant that we never really missed Howson yesterday.
Johnson who was on his way out of the club looks to be a rejuvenated player but needs to stop giving away fouls in dangerous areas.
The signing of Watmore has been of great benefit to all parties and hopefully he will get better as his match fitness improves
So the only problem we have are at the centre forward position and I’m quite certain we will sign one next month.
I liked NW throwaway remark about Gestede that Watmore had scored more goals for Boro in three weeks than He had in three years !
what a difference a win and a good performance makes !
Up the Boro
OFB
Thanks RR for another excellent report on the enigma that is Boro!
A good match yesterday and an excellent team performance in which everyone contributed.
I wasn't looking forward to yesterday's game but can't wait for Wednesday. CoB let's have a similar performance against Luton! 😎
Thanks to Redcar Red for his excellent report of the match as I didn’t know the result until later in the day. Whilst I’m pleased and surprised that Boro won I was pleased I choose to watch the golf In Dubai. It was certainly the most exciting day’s play I’ve seen this year with 7 players including Lee Westwood all leading on 10 under par with 40 minutes remaining. After 8 holes Lee, the oldest player on display at 47 years of age, was 5 behind the leaders, but for the second day running outplayed the rest of the field on the back nine holes. Apart from a double bogey early in his round, his only blemish was on the final hole where he surprisingly took the more difficult route to the green resulting in a par instead of a birdie cost him a share of the lead. Nevertheless he finished the day with 3 other players on 10 under par only one stroke behind a trio of players on 11 under. Can’t wait to see the final day’s play today.
As for Boro I’m sure you all enjoyed the match, but as the top 6 teams all won it just retains the status quo at the top of the table and I still reckon that more than likely that they will be the same 6 top teams at the end of the season with only Bournemouth having a chance of avoiding relegation back down to the Championship next season. If Boro sign Duncan Watmore on a permanent deal which I hope they do, I can’t see Steve Gibson loosening the purse strings in January unless he sells some of our top players to make funds available. I’d still be happy with a mid-table finish, but the sooner Boro reach 52/54 points this season the better. I still think it’s unrealistic to expect a playoff place, perhaps a season or 2 too soon in my opinion. Let’s not get too carried away yet; it’s Boro after all.
Thanks for your report RR. What a difference a few days can make. After our poor performance against Preston I felt really low all the way through Thursday but after that good play and well deserved win over Millwall I am still bouncing. if that is still possible at my age. It is the first time this season that I have wished I had been at the Riverside instead of the comfort of home viewing.
I was surprised how well the Morsy/Saville combination covered the defensive and attacking roles in Howson's absence. Playing Watmore centrally also worked and I have always felt sympathy for a lone striker with "attacking" midfielders a long distance away. With Dijksteel back in defence we cut out most of the Millwall attacks. Johnson is showing up well as a goalscorer and goalmaker and I think Tav's skill and workrate as an attacking midfielder who is capable of scoring good goals and also does a lot of defensive work is underestimated.
Of course Boro are capable of putting in a poor show next time out but I think NW is doing a good job with the players available. Getting into the playoffs would be a great achievement but a mid- table end would be as much as I dared hope for this season.
I didn't need to open a bottle of wine on Saturday so I had a celebratory bottle of Malbec at the pub with my Sunday lunch.
Thanks RR. Great report as ever.
Who saw that coming? Not me, but maybe we should have....
Millwall in terrible form and a clear trend with Boro forming now: in home games only we are third in the table with P9 W6 D2 L1 but away from home we are eighteenth with P9 W1 D4 L4.
All of which makes me confident going into the game against Luton.
Watmore is looking a real find.
The Boro website has given three examples of Boro scoring 3 goals in the first 20 minutes of a match but it will be no surprise to hear that as far as I can ascertain that on the 23rd October 1926 Boro scored 3 goals in the first 14 minutes against Barnsley with goals by Billy Pease (8 min) and a brace from Jackie Carr (13 and 14 mins), but that George Camsell didn’t score until much later in a 5-1 win. However in the same season on the 26th February 1927 Boro scored 3 opening goals from Billy Birrell (12 and 16 mins) and George Camsell (20 min) in a 6-0 win against Clapton Orient, this of course in the season that Boro scored 122 goals. However Boro scored 4 goals in the first 26 minutes through Bill Harris (two penalties 5 and 26 mins), Alan Peacock (18 mins) and Brian Clough (15 mins) on the 23rd August 1958 in the 9-0 win over Brighton; of course Clough scored a further 4 goals in that match. In that same season Alan Peacock scored a hat-trick in the opening 21 minutes on the 8th November in a 6-1 win against Scunthorpe United. I’m now searching for faster hat-tricks, but that will obviously take much more research.
Today I’ve been watching the final round of the last European Golf tournament of the year in Dubai, and it was even better than yesterday as 47 year old Forest fan Lee Westwood finished one stroke behind Sheffield United fan Matt Fitzpatrick who won the tournament but pointswise Lee won the top European golfer of the year award on the Road to Dubai for the 3rd time. I hadn’t been too well this last week, but the last two days golf have compensated for that; if only Lee could win one of golf’s majors I could die a happy man!
Millwall in terrible form and a clear trend with Boro forming now: in home games only we are third in the table with P9 W6 D2 L1 but away from home we are eighteenth with P9 W1 D4 L4.
That's something I hadn't noticed and one hell of a turnaround.
I was wondering after the last game whether other teams had figured us out. To an extent, yes, but Warnock has shown he can adjust plus the return of Dijksteel was clearly huge.
You can see why he is after someone like Bolasie to keep adding creativity and pace up front. I didn't see the game but it looks like a lot of the result was based on Tav's pace and energy both attacking and defending.
Interesting also that Akpom may not have scored but seems to have created more space with his movement. That is, at heart, Bamford's role for Leeds albeit with actually scoring goals too.
During our golden month last season, Fletcher, Tav and Wing seemed to have an intuitive understanding and enough movement and threat to open up defences. With Watmore instead of Wing, and Johnson having a purple spell in attack you can see the shape of a possibly decent attack with some interchangeable parts.
@deleriad. Akpom not only creates space but also at times holds the ball up and brings others into play, something sadly lacking in BA.
For the first goal the ball was played out of defence up to Akpom who controlled it whilst holding off the defender and continued to do do as he progressed up the pitch before squaring to GS who then played in MJ to play an excellent low cross to the far post for a tap in for DW. A good move and a good goal, something which has been lacking for far too long.
As you say, possibly the makings of a decent attack beginning to form albeit we need to be careful that we do not get carried away after one 3-0 win! 😎
@ken. Sorry you have not been feeling too well, hope you are feeling better soon and that Boro provide you with a tonic on Wednesday against Luton. 😎
I think that you may be a little too gloomy with your rating of our prospects. As I see it, we will get our away form back to something like normal, and I think that there is no outstanding team in the league this season (Southampton anybody) further, we are seeing a cause and effect with Britt, so I'm going to say that we will field the sort of formation we started with on Saturday, (I think Wing will get to play behind the strikers as he certainly should) a win on Wednesday will move us into a more threatening position, which in turn will cause us to be more careful with our team selections. Just a thought on the dreaded VAR, I was watching the footy last night, an Arsenal gentleman committed an awful foul, then assaulted his victim, and was booked, VAR told the ref to look at the moniter so he sent him off. Later another Arsenal player did another assault on an opponent, just a booking. Later match, Liverpool struggling, took out an opponent about to cross, quite badly, the ref booked him, told to look at it on the moniter, looked at it, no red card. All the 'Pundits' agreed with the decision, but, to be fair, they looked ashamed of themselves.
I’ve not been able to find any proof of a Boro player scoring a hat-trick in the first 20 minutes of a match, but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t occurred as records between the two World Wars didn’t always show the recorded times of when goals were actually scored. They sometimes only stated that a player scored a hat-trick, but I watched a relegation match against Sheffield United, the last home match of the 1948/49 season, when left winger Jimmy Hartnett scored a first half hat-trick in a 3-1 win against Sheffield United to more or less save Boro from relegation, and that two of his goals were definitely scored by the 20th minute. I was standing in the Holgate end with my father, but can’t remember whether the third goal occurred before the 20th minute or after but it was over 70 years ago after all.
However I’ve scoured my records to find that only two Boro players have scored 5 goals in a match - George Camsell in September 1935 away to Aston Villa, his first goal in the 12th minute and his 5th in the 89th minute in a 7-2 win only five days after having lost 1-2 to Villa at home. If that doesn’t quote Boro as ‘untypical Boro’ nothing will. The other player to score 5 goals in a match for Boro was of course Brian Clough in the first match of 1958/59 season when Boro won 9-0 with his first goal scored in the 15th minute and his 5th in the 82nd minute. Of course many Boro players have scored a quartet of goals in a match and these are the quickest by each individual player:-
1. Craig Hignett in a home 5-0 League Cup win against Brighton in September 1993 - 15, 39, 41, 43 so including only 4 minutes between his 2nd and 4th goals.
2. Brian Clough in a 6-2 home win against Plymouth Argyle in September 1959 - 51, 59, 63, 65 so including only 6 minutes between his 2nd and 4th goals.
3.Micky Fenton in a 4-1 home win against West Brom in the last game of the season in 1938 - 42, 48, 51, 70 so including only 9 minutes between his 1st and 3rd goals.
4. Charlie Wayman in a 6–0 home win against West Ham in October 1954 - 33, 39, 43, 64 including only 10 minutes between his 1st and 3rd goals.
5. Willie Pease in a 8-3 home win against Wolves in February 1929 - 21, 40, 44, 53 minutes (32 minutes between his 1st and 4th goal).
6. Alan Peacock in a 7-1 away win against Derby County in August 1959 - 15, 44, 57, 64 minutes (49 minutes between his 1st and 4th goal, with Clough failing to score).
7. John Hickton in a 5-3 home win against Hull City in March 1969 - 19, 30, 58, 69 minutes (50 minutes between his 1st and 4th goal).
8. Fabrizio Ravanelli in a 7-0 home League Cup win against Hereford United in September 1996 - 20, 37, 55, 73 minutes (53 minutes between his 1st and 4th goal).
9. Micky Burns in a 7-2 home win against Chelsea in December 1978 - 35, 39, 65, 89 minutes (54 minutes between his 1st and 4th goal).
10. George Camsell in a 5-0 home win against Leeds United in February 1930 - 23, 32, 67, 85 minutes (62 minutes between his 1st and 4th goal).
11. George Elliott in a 4-0 home win against Bradford City in April 1920 - 1, 30, 50, 70 minutes (69 minutes between his 1st and 4th goal).
12. Tommy Cochrane in a 6-1 away win against Manchester City in March 1938 - 6 seconds, 34, 83, 89 minutes (89 minutes between his 1st and 4th goal. This is the earliest recorded goal scored by a Boro player.
I’ve also found that at least 32 different Boro players have scored hat-tricks where I can put minutes to each one. There are obviously more that I can’t find the actual minutes when they were scored. Later in the week I’ll identify those 32 players probably in alphabetical order.
This is a handy site for your records checking Ken.
https://www.11v11.com/matches/middlesbrough-v-brighton-and-hove-albion-23-august-1958-109215/
Thanks. Werdermouth pointed out about this site about 2 or 3 years ago but it doesn’t give the timings of goals scored from the dim and distant past. I don’t think that the Boro archives have that information or even some of the halftime scores either. I sometimes use match reports from the Gazette or Wikipedia but it’s very time consuming as you can imagine. But nevertheless that 11v11 site is very useful for obtaining league tables for any week of any season, and Wikipedia can show complete results and final league tables for every season for all 4 divisions.