Chuba hits the right note!
Boro took on QPR this afternoon at the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium in yet another empty and soulless Championship ground as new restrictions ended optimism after last week's successful Riverside trial of fans attending. Mark Warburton had lost his talismanic goalscoring duo of Eberechi Eze and Jordan Hugill from the last time we met but had added Livingston’s Lyndon Dykes to his strikeforce whom Boro fans had seemingly coveted many times over the summer.
Covid permitting, Blackwell and Jepson had more or less a full squad to select from, Stojanovic apart presumably recovering from his illness along with NW who would sit this one out again. Fletcher was surprisingly declared fit on Friday after coming off as a precaution last weekend but just in case there was new boy Chuba Akpom available.
Like Boro, it is too early to decide on what type of side QPR will be this season with a win against Forest and a defeat to Coventry so far. They still seem capable of scoring goals but hopefully, the improving defensive unit for Boro will strut their stuff whilst Britt and Co. test what was one of the most porous defences in last seasons Championship.
Team news revealed that Akpom was selected in place of Fletcher who wasn’t in the matchday squad at all indicating that perhaps his injury was more serious than publicised during the week. Morsy was on the bench and the rest of the side was the one that started against Bournemouth last week.
Ref Dean Whitestone’s whistle pierced the empty terracing as Rangers kicked off, launching it into the Boro half where Howson wellied it back from whence it came. Saville linked up with Akpom in an early piece of promising play, driving forward playing in Spence down the right earning a quick throw-in. Dijksteel was adjudged to have fouled Ilias Chair with a hefty challenge from the adequately built Boro defender. After a lengthy delay for emergency treatment for what looked like a terminal injury, play restarted and miraculously it was Chair just seconds later and now fully recovered to nearly open the scoring.
Dijksteel fed in Tavernier played towards Britt but the move fizzled out after an impressive run by Dijksteel. The young Dutch player was soon under pressure from Samuel seconds later requiring Howson to mute the threat with just over eight minutes played. Unmarked, Chair then had a long-range effort needing Bettinelli to get to his near post to save Boro blushes. The rejuvenated and fully recovered Chair had Dijksteel moving into top gear once again as Anfernee conceded the games first corner.
Another lengthy delay for an injured Ranger with Thomas this time going down after a challenge from Akpom meant more lost minutes whilst the QPR Physio once again worked his magic. McNair intercepted in midfield and went forward, sliding a pass to Britt centrally on the edge of the box who set up Akpom whose shot was deflected out for a corner. Boro’s first corner was perfectly delivered by Paddy McNair and met with aplomb by Chuba Akpom with nineteen minutes on the clock. Paddy’s delivery was as good as last week for Browne, it was met at the near post by a glancing header from the new boy to put Boro one up.
McNair was then in the wars after the restart as he clashed heads with Dykes and clearly felt the aftereffects in stark contrast to the lightweight Rangers players who had been going down at the slightest touch or glance. A groggy Paddy returned to the action feeling the visible impact on his right cheek.
Chair twisted and turned the Boro defence and after a block from Saville it broke across the edge of our eighteen-yard box to our left side and as the cross came in Samuel reacted first from an Amos shot that was parried out by Bettinelli stroking the ball past Boro’s loan Keeper bringing the sides level on twenty-eight minutes. Disappointing goalkeeping from Bettinelli and from Boro generally who stood off the Rangers attack allowing them to push us back.
On the half-hour, Spence crossed from the right to the far post where Akpom was running in to head well wide. It was Spence again, this time finding Saville from the right but his shot was deflected and eventually flagged for offside as Boro looked to get back in front. Immediately Samuel went down the other end and Amos should have scored, phew, still 1-1. The game was toing and froing. A Tav delivered corner saw Grant Hall at the back post head wide as QPR’s defence still looked very suspect.
As suspect as Rangers defence had looked their attacking prowess was both swift and incisive and Boro had McNair to thank for blocking an Amos effort. Saville had to block another fast-paced attack as Johnson claimed he was elbowed while being skinned. As the cross came in the shot was fired in by Amos with interest, hitting George smack on his face leaving him seeing stars. Two Boro players were waiting on the touchline after receiving treatment as Rangers restarted play with a throw-in. Down to nine men, the Referee didn’t seem overly keen to get them back on the pitch. Fortunately, nothing happened immediately but the Hoops soon attacked down the right and it needed to be put out by Dijksteel to concede a corner. In it came and cleared back out only for another onslaught which McNair cleared.
Britt was pushed over on the halfway line allowing Boro to send some bodies up into the box where Hall was dragged down for what looked like a definite nailed on penalty but incredibly seemingly unseen by the short-sighted officials. Chair was undone by Howson who found Spence but as excitement levels rose for the visitors it was cleared downfield for Dijskteel to head clear as the game continued to swing from end to end. A late first-half corner claim after Johnson found Britt was predictably denied with the Referee once again snubbing Boro’s claims.
As the first half ended Dykes had a shot go past Bettinelli’s goal signalling a late warning to Boro’s midfield who seemed clustered and switched off. When the whistle went Boro trudged off the pitch showing some deserved aggrievement in the direction of Dean Whitestone over the Hall penalty that wasn’t given. The sides had been fairly even with QPR looking dangerous attacking down the flanks with Chair and Samuel and Boro also looking a threat albeit at a somewhat more laboured pace.
Boro got the second half underway with no changes from either Manager. Howson sent in an early free-kick aimed at Hall but Dieng in the Rangers goal collected easily. Samuel beat Howson who hit a low shot at Bettinelli in Rangers first real attack of the half. A corner was sent in by Chair to the front post, cleared by Tav but only to Wallace who despatched it back in, eventually, Boro managed to clear the ball up the pitch but it came straight back this time with the lively Chair once again working Bettinelli.
A Tav interception on Samuel after Spence had tried two successive crosses ended with Tav getting a left-footed shot away but it was direct and easily dealt with by Dieng. Another breakaway attack from the home side ended with Hall dejectedly pulling his shin pad out of his sock and ominously stretching his calf. Dael Fry came on for the former Hoops CB but the pressure was building from QPR and Fry needed to be fully focussed.
Kakay and Thomas teased Johnson and recycled the ball with Amos hovering dangerously and needing McNair to come across and put the ball out. From the throw in the ball was immediately delivered into Dykes but fortunately, it was just over his head and the danger was averted. Thomas then went off for Tom Carroll to come on as Warburton clearly felt that he could squeeze something extra from this game sensing that Boro looked vulnerable in wide areas.
Blackwell responded by getting Morsy ready, coming on for Djed Spence in a surprise switch. Spence had been lively but in fairness had produced very little end product despite a few promising runs. Tav then went out wide with Morsy coming into the midfield alongside Saville. A Handball given against Howson saw the resulting free-kick launched by Chair towards the back post, going out harmlessly for a Boro goal kick with Dykes diving despairingly. Bettinelli quickly cleared it upfield to Britt on the right who was bundled over to again receive absolutely nothing from Ref Dean Whitestone. QPR broke from that Britt incident with Fry sensing danger and cutting out the run to concede a throw-in on sixty-six minutes.
Industrious scrapping by Morsy out near the corner flag wide earned a corner for Boro which ended up with Britt just missing a diving header. As had been the way all afternoon the ball went back down towards Bettinelli with Fry making a surgical last-ditch clearance as the ball cannoned off one post across the goal line with Dijsteel holding off the attentions of an attacker. With Boro launching the ball, Britt was adjudged to have elbowed a defender in the face with his arms down by his side. Not only was Ref Whitestone determined not to give Boro anything this afternoon he was now seeing things that didn’t exist.
Chair then went off for Paul Smyth. Perhaps Warburton felt the possession his side were enjoying could be leveraged further by throwing on fresh legs. Whatever the reason Chair going off must have been a welcome sight for those in red shirts. Since the substitution the game was becoming increasingly scrappy in parts, Britt won the ball, passed it wide to Johnson who saw his cross put out by Kakay for a corner. Tav stood close to Hoops Keeper Dieng as Boro moved bodies forward into the six-yard box at the anticipation of the incoming corner. The Ref seemed upset at something that he had once again imagined. The corner ball eventually came in from Paddy and was punched clear starting an attack resulting in Dijksteel and Samuel chasing neck and neck with Howson clearing the danger. Ten minutes remained and you had the feeling that the next mistake was going to be decisive.
Tav delivered a great ball in which had Dieng flapping and Saville in close attention but the ball just wouldn’t drop kindly for McNair. A minute later and Britt was dragged back yet again and as play continued Tav courtesy of Morsy found Akpom only for the offside flag to go up. As frustrations grew Dijksteel entered the book with six minutes remaining. The resultant free-kick was a poor one dropping at Bettinelli’s feet. As Boro then launched an attack Britt was pulled back with the ball going out for a throw, as the throw-in in our favour was quickly taken play was pulled back by a very irritating Dean Whitestone.
Substitute Carrol floated in a late free-kick with three mutes remaining which Bettinelli flapped at, completely misjudging the flight of the ball. Morsy since coming on was making a nuisance of himself in disrupting and spoiling in equal measure in the middle of the park, breaking up Ranger's movement. Three minutes additional time came up on the fourth official's board. A challenge meant that Akpom went down allowing a late Boro chance for a quality delivery. McNair delivered it in towards Britt who just couldn’t dig it out from under his feet falling over the ball and with it Boro’s final chance went begging, the final whistle sounding seconds later.
MOM could have been Dijksteel especially in the opening stages where he was immense, Dael Fry was excellent when he came on and looked every bit the £20M CB that he once was. Morsy made a credible difference when he came on, helping ease pressure and turn the Hooped tide but it has to be Paddy “Beckenbauer” McNair who once again looked a class above. It wasn’t a great Boro performance but we were robbed of a penalty and fought tooth and nail away from home against a Warburton side who looked useful. The points tally may not look great thus far but Boro do look to be developing into a solid if unspectacular outfit who will win more than they lose this season.
We played much better at Watford than at QPR today. With a bit of luck, we might have won as RR said above. A penalty for us and ... who knows we could have won. Our keeper had one save, theirs about eight.
We were the better team in the 1st half, then QPR were coming close to dictating the match in the 2nd half. I think Fry and Mursy were great when they came on. And we started to dictate again.
Britt should have scored a brace today.
But that is football. Let's hope we get the first win soon.
Up the Boro!
A very fair reflection of the game RR. Only 2 points from 3 difficult opening fixtures but credible performances in all league matches, I agree that we will win more than we lose this season.
Come on BORO.
If this goalkeeper is the better of the three , were in trouble hes cost us points already, he reminds me of Jim Stewart ,we signed to replace Jim Platt ,made the odd hollywood saved, then let three junior school errors go by.
Excellent report, RR, and much as I saw it.
Many thanks.
@jarkko can’t see how we were the better team in the first half. If it had been 3-1 at the break we could not of complained. Second half, second best until Fry and Morsy came on, then we could have nicked it.
Only my opinion of course. 😊
Thanks for the alternative match report RR. Well written.
Redcar Red,
Thank you for the report a good read with the morning cup of tea and signs of hope are beginning to show. Grounds for optimism? I hope so. Once again thank you.
Stay safe,
UTB,
John
Thanks RR for another excellent report which I enjoyed reading with a cup of tea this morning. It reflected very much what I watched.
Certainly better performances so far than under JW and with a bit of luck/better defending could have had more points on the board.
A win against Barnsley next week would be a satisfying start to the season at the International break. CoB 😎
Thanks RR a good report and preceded by some very astute observations and comments on the QPR v Boro thread.
The summary so far is:
- Set-pieces aside, we’re a tougher nut to crack this season than last
- We have more of a plan this season
- The squad has some obvious flaws with a number of players either new to the club/their teammates or playing slightly out of position
- Creativity remains the biggest problem overall
Based on the above, I have no reason as yet to update the forecast of us staying out of relegation trouble but not seriously bothering the promotion race either.
Redcar Red
I missed the first half (involuntary siesta time unfortunately) but woke up to listen to Radio Tees for the second half so thanks for bringing me up to date which by all accounts was a good appraisal of events. I particularly liked your description of Boro’s goal ‘met with aplomb by Chuba Akpom’. I’m hoping the rhyming whether intentional or not will be repeated in future reports.
Our keeper had one save, theirs about eight.
While it might have seemed like that, the match stats apparently say that their keeper only made one save - Boro mustered 8 shots of which 3 were blocked, 3 were off target and just two were on target where one went in and the other was saved.
Thanks to RR for the match report and I'd agree with many of his observations and the conclusion that Boro are developing into a solid if unspectacular outfit. Spence couldn't really argue about being subbed as he's not creating many chances despite getting into good positions - he's perhaps at the Traore stage where he needs to improve and speed up his decision making to match his pace.
The other problem is that our other pacey wing-back Johnson can't really defend that well and he too must be under pressure - though not sure if we have an alternative just yet but perhaps the transfer window will see one arrive.
It does mean Boro may end up sacrificing pace for more solid performers and perhaps that ultimately questions actually playing with wing-backs instead of full-backs - especially if we've lost another centre-back from our limited supply. Plus if we start with both Morsy and Saville should we even have three at the back.
Dijksteel could revert to right-back but would McNair fit in as one of two centre-backs and who plays left-back? Boro are perhaps just one injury away from defensive problems so it will be interesting to see whether pace and creativity can co-exist with solidity and preventing the opposition from getting in those crosses.
So improvement but still much to work on and still an unbalanced squad with not much sign that we'll improve on our scoring total over the last few seasons.
Redcar Red
I missed the first half (involuntary siesta time unfortunately) but woke up to listen to Radio Tees for the second half so thanks for bringing me up to date which by all accounts was a good appraisal of events. I particularly liked your description of Boro’s goal ‘met with aplomb by Chuba Akpom’. I’m hoping the rhyming whether intentional or not will be repeated in future reports.
I have to confess Ken that I had the title "Chuba hits the right note" and "met with aplomb by Chuba Akpom" up my sleeve as I do for many games but had Britt scored it would have spoilt my fun. With Boro it's not very often that the game breaks my way!
RR
Many thanks for a good brassy report and whilst the match lacked sax appeal the finale was pretty resounding at the end
i just wondered if Britt was playing all the right notes but not necessarily in the right order?
OFB
I enjoyed the games yesterday. While we still have many areas in which we need to improve I saw some signs of it.
I thought we looked better at the end of the game and that Morsy made a difference. He looked to get the ball forward quickly. Spence for me dwells on the ball too much and needs to learn to move it on sooner.
I would stick to 442, with Morsey and Howson in the middle, and Tavernier and Coulson out wide. Although it does not appear that Coulson is in the plans right now.
I would also like to see Fletcher and Akpom together up front. I think they will be a more mobile, and quicker thinking, partnership than one with Assombalonga in it. Again, it may be wishful thinking that Warnock would drop the captain.
So I think there is some scope for putting out a more threatening side with the resources we already have.
Watching the video it seemed to me that we have the habit of moving into the most promising position, but in a snail like manner, thus being repeatedly left standing by the opposition. In particular we could not handle their left sided attacker, he just did as he pleased, and I do mean we were not even close enough to block or do the professional foul, he was able to run infield along the by line towards our goal, which in most cases is terminal. The Keeper is, I'm afraid, not up to it. It is time to return to Pears. Britt is not up to it, what he was doing with the sitter he received in front of goal I cannot imagine. Our goal came from a corner delivered shoulder height and very hard to the near post (see last weeks post) so that's one up to this blog.
Just a thought, Mogga's Blackburn have scored eleven goals already this season. They have won two and lost one match. I do not think he has much money to spend and probably much less than Boro have.
I have always thought he is a good manager and his teams are good to watch, too. Attacking and entertaning - pity he had no money when at Boro! I still hope to see him back at the Riverside one day. He deserves that and as a person he is just magic. I had the pleasure of meeting him once as a Boro manger.
Still dreaming. Up the Boro!
I also noticed that Dani Ayala has now joined Mogga at Blackburn too.
I also noticed that Dani Ayala has now joined Mogga at Blackburn too.
I do not think he got a better deal than what was offered by Boro. A new challenge but still a long way from Norfolk.
Up the Boro!
I always look out for the results of Coventry and Blackburn, two clubs with less financial clout than Boro have had in recent seasons. Mogga didn’t do too badly at Coventry and even better at Blackburn. During the 2018/19 season Coventry were having to play their matches at St Andrews with gates of around 12,000 and Blackburn with gates of around 14,500 compared to Boro’s 23,000 and Sunderland’s 32,000 so far less than the two northeast giants, and certainly at Blackburn Mogga’s team have been more attractive and arguably more successful than Boro also. This goes to show how badly run and wasteful Boro have been in giving contracts to most of their players. One has to ask how Blackburn were able to sign Downing if only for one season, and now Ayala on terms that Boro couldn’t match. I also noticed that Harry Chapman was brought on as a substitute on Saturday and was instrumental in Rovers’ 4th goal, yet Boro allowed him to leave. Mogga has always had a good eye for a player and seems to have had to work on a tight budget when in charge of English clubs (bar West Brom) and been fairly successful with them. Only a decade ago his West Brom team embarrassed Boro with a 5-0 win at the Riverside. He was manager of the year at Hibernian though Celtic was a job too far for him. Even at Boro over a year’s results (not a season’s) his results would have got Boro promotion in 2010. However his forte is as a manager/coach and not a Director of Football. True that he could identify players to buy, but I doubt that he would be happy in not being able to have the day to day coaching of his players, so unlikely to return to Boro.
Tony Pulis was employed to not only get Boro promoted, but to restructure the club behind the scenes. In my opinion he failed in both assignments jettisoning the playing staff to 25 players, whilst at the moment we’re well short of even that number, and Boro are going to have to rely on getting players on loan to be competitive again in the foreseeable future. We must hope that the academy will bear fruit in the next couple of seasons, or I can see many more seasons outside of the Premier League.
Boro’s new captain talking sense off the pitch...
@jarkko I may be wrong, but I believe Ayala has got a 3 year deal at Blackburn. I would guess Boro would not offer more than 2 years, even on the same money.
@grovehillwallah Yes it is actions and visual change that is required, not gestures.
Back to Saturday, I thought that given the very limited service offered up to our two front men, Britt in particular did OK and that late chance was at best only a half chance, not a sitter that many were calling it.
Akpom, first match, good goal, but with so little offerings hard to judge. Is he going to be any better than we have, I am not sure. Certainly no target man, so the quicker NW tells his players to stop hoofing it in the air the better.
The enigma unsolved that is the defence and midfield in front needs sorting pretty quickly. I am hoping Morsy can come good there with extra games because Saville is not the answer. Johnson was far better further forward when Morsy came on. Bettinelli has pleased and disappointed in equal proportions. Biggest plus so far has been Dijksteel.
Our only chance of scoring more goals to enable us to win matches probably now lays with a decent young EPL starlet coming in on loan. However time is running out, October 5 including loans deals????
While the transfer window for international deals closes at 11pm on 5th October, there is an agreement between the Premier League and the EFL for an extended domestic only window, which closes at 5pm on October 16.
I hope Boro can perhaps get a left-back on loan from the many promising youngsters that are probably on the books at PL clubs - or even another rising League One player, who could step up.
OK perhaps it wasn't a full-blown sitter that Britt missed though not sure what the term for half a sitter is - perhaps we could say he missed a squatter...
I'm sure many observers were beginning to wonder whether taking the knee would just continue indefinitely as some kind of ritual that people ultimately wondered what it was supposed to encourage people to actively do to change matters. Like any gesture, once it becomes more of a commonly-witnessed habit rather than an unexpected display to highlight an issue it starts to lose significance - just like the weekly 8pm 'clap for carers' for those who were struggling to cope with handling covid cases, which almost became an alternative to actually giving them proper PPE.
No striker ever converts every chance that comes their way. Assombalonga faces the same problem all strikers at Boro have had, namely a lack of clear cut opportunities. Because they are so far few and between it makes any miss glaringly obvious.
If Assombalonga had a conversion rate of say, 33% we’d all be happy, of course to achieve that there would need to be far more created. The added pressure of knowing you may only get one chance adds its own burden.
Conversely at the other end, if a GK makes a string of great saves and then makes a rick, which usually results in a goal, then that is what’s remembered. They can’t win.