I think Andy summed it up with his post. Boro once more slow out of the blocks and would probably have been punished by a better team.
Then we finally got it together and the game should of been safe by HT. Then another avoidable error nearly let Barnsley equalise early in the second half. Then Whatmore’s harder to miss than score nightmare.
Crooks may be the answer to the defensive mid spot after all, although he did give away some iffy passes. Tav worked tirelessly defending as did Jones, but both produced very little end product. How many crosses into the box where there, was it 1 or may be 2?
A good result and three points, but at times it was like watching schoolboy football.
A good win, but too many shots from outside the penalty were woeful. A bit of calm needed and more shooting practice in training required.
There were 21 shots last night by Boro. And as you said, not too many on target. Anyway 9 shots were on target - much more than we are used to seeing by our Boro team. At least some improvement in there 😁.
We can still improve a lot. Up the Boro!
A good result and three points but we should not get carried away as Barnsley are a poor side and seriously in trouble.
We still made hard work of dispatching a relegation candidate with too many of the same old failings on show at times, a lack of composure, poor decision making and poor execution. I suspect some other sides may have put four or five past the tykes.
We did, however, see some encouraging signs/displays with Payero improving all the time and Howson looked impressive once NW went with a flat back four which a number of us had suggested.
Sporar looks a proper goal scorer and it's worrying that he went off with what appeared to be a groin injury. Crooks is really having an impact all over the pitch and can pick a pass albeit a number did not find his man.
I agree with Pedro that we need more end product from Tav and Jones as far too often crosses were cut out or were not made and Tav needs to find another pair of shooting boots as both he and Watmore appear to have been to the Britt school of how not to score!
The big question is, is this the start of an unbeaten run or just another inconsistent blip. 😎
@k-p-in-spain agree that it was 3 points we needed, a lot of people are saying we played well , this view should be tempered with the fact that they are the worst team I have seen at RS in a while and yet they should have been 1 - 0 up after a few minutes. Things that still stood out in my opinion we seem incapable of stringing two passes together and Tavs corners and crosses need improvement. He still looks disinterested playing at wing back and strolls around. I would have bet a large sum of money that what more would have scored. A bit of a curates egg of a performance really, but then again winning is everything......
You can only beat the team in front of you and too often Boro have failed to do that against what we all perceive as the weakest in the division. So, while we didn't "batter" Barnsley, we certainly bettered them and now have two consecutive wins from two such games that many of us were worried about. Three out of four now, which starts to build a some confidence and self belief in the team/squad.
Credit also where it is due. I don't think any of us saw NW starting Payero again, nor with switching the defence around. Two winnable games coming up, though a trip to Cardiff will be tricky. 4 points will be good, though 6 should be the target.
Watmore needs to practice striking the ball with his left foot. He had to twist his body around unnaturally to hit that ball with his right and that will often as not make you lean back somewhat, and he did, so up went the ball. That was a perfectly weighted and placed pass from Payero for Watmore to have tapped in with his left without having to force himself into the position to use his right.
It didn't matter in the end last night, but another time that lack of instinct can cost points.
@powmillnaemore ... and hence Watmore slipped. A good point for using thhis left foot.
@K P in Spain Sporar was feeling stiffness is his leg as he was during a recent international match. So we came off to prevent it getting worse.
I would play the big Ikpeazu at Cardiff - wrestling with lanky Aden Flint. And resting Sporar on the bench for a cameo in Wales.
I agree with Powmill. Let's enjoy the run and hope for better times. But not getting carried away. Up the Boro!
The three worst misses in front of goal in my opinion would be:-
3rd Duncan Watmore last night
2nd Ronnie Rosenthal for Liverpool against Aston Villa, but at least his shot did hit the bar
1st Charlie Wayman for Boro from no more than 48 inches out. I can’t remember the opposition, but it was at the Holgate end. I reckon that he couldn’t have repeated that miss in 50 attempts if he tried, but would have been a good drop goal in rugby.
Remember that Kanu miss for WBA from about a yard? Was that against us?
@andy-r it was it was less than a yard and he skied it if my memory serves me right
Better but not getting carried away by any means. Time to drop Tavernier me thinks.
I am of the opinion that Tavernier is more interested in personal glory than the interests of the team, very poor decision making.
Come on BORO.
@clive-
Well, we suffered that pair, so they should be fine
@exmil. I agree and it wouldn't be so bad if he achieved glory as the team would also benefit but he is not and hasn't looked like achieving it for some matches; he needs a rest and some advice/guidance on his decision making/shooting.😎
Having emerged from behind the couch in a darkened room and turned the whale song off I was pleased to see another win. How long since two on the trot? However having watched some of the highlights I'm glad the post was there in the first few minutes and it looked like Lumley took one full in the face too.
I agree with Emil about Tavernier, personal glory seems more important than the team at times and I'm surprised nobody took him to task over one sharp angle shot when there were, I think, three Boro players waiting around the six yard box. He needs bringing into line a little, as management people used to say 'there's no I'' in team'. Cliched but true.
I think Cardiff will be a bruising battle, or is physical the preferred term? Will Payero play? I hope so and I'm sure that having played club football in Argentina they won't serve up anything he hasn't dealt with before. Most interesting will be Mr Warnock's attitude to the ref and whether he picks a team for the opposition to worry about rather than our new found attacking formation for them to worry about.
All will be revealed.
UTB,
John
I think that we are collecting these points because Bamba is bossing the defence, they are the easy points.
Sorry Exmil but my spellcheck changed you to Emil.
UTB,
John
PS k-p-in-spain, at least we got the points for a change.
@andy-r: It was virtually on the line. Kanu defied the Laws of Physics by managing to get the ball over the bar and if he tried to do that 10,000 times I'd be surprised if he managed it twice. Bryan Robson couldn't believe it, by the look on his face. What a let-off for the Boro that was.
Re Tav, it was interesting to hear the RTees commentator last night talking about his mate who’d sat behind the bench at the previous game. He said he was amazed how Tav shouted replies at NW when being coached from the byline. Doesnt’t sound like there’s much mutual respect there.
Martin yes I heard that apparently Tav “gave as much as he got!” Was the remark.
I couldn’t see that happening with Big Jack or Rioch or even Karanka.
Smacks of lack of discipline to me.
OFB
I said a few weeks ago that Tavernier talks too much instead of concentrating on his game. If he is as said that he is badmouthing NW then for me I would sell him. Grossly overated player.
@malcolm I think maybe he needs some better coaching. If he could hit the target regularly when he cuts inside and shoots with his left foot he’d be a great player - he’s still quite young, it could happen yet.
2 Boro wins in a row. I can't remember when I last saw that. I was so pleased (relieved) that when I got back to the hotel and saw the bar was open I treated myself to a large glass of Rioja. A bit of bad timing (by Sky) means I won't even be able to follow most of the Cardiff match on Radio Tees as my flu/Covid booster is at 12:50 and it will take me about 25 minutes to get to the vaccination site. Hopefully I will get home to hear the end of another win.
Our current position only 3 points from the playoff places is more an indication of the poor quality of teams in the division than our good play. I don't see 18 points out of 39 as success.
Good to see Payero getting more into matches and he should have been able to claim another assist but for Watmore's incredible miss. Crooks also seems to be more involved in both defence and attack. Will Sporar avoid the usual Boro striker disaster of becoming a non-scoring striker? Both Jones and Tav had the beating of the Barnsley defenders but must have better end products in either good crosses or shots. Perhaps the Hull City disaster will prove to be the blip rather than our wins.
The three worst misses in front of goal in my opinion would be:-
3rd Duncan Watmore last night
2nd Ronnie Rosenthal for Liverpool against Aston Villa, but at least his shot did hit the bar
1st Charlie Wayman for Boro from no more than 48 inches out. I can’t remember the opposition, but it was at the Holgate end. I reckon that he couldn’t have repeated that miss in 50 attempts if he tried, but would have been a good drop goal in rugby.
Ken, I guess you didn’t see Aidan Flint’s unbelievable miss against Burton in the Carabao Cup quarter final? Worst ever! He was virtually standing on the goal-line, under the posts, yet somehow sent his header over the top. For a player of his reputed heading ability, that was a really dreadful miss. He should have equalised for us and might have helped us into the semis.
Boro have now three wins in their last four outings. And I think it was the third home win in succession, if my memory is correct. Wasn't it the Sheffield United win, when we got excited, too?
It is early days yet. We are still bedding in many of the summer signings. For example we haven't seen much of Lea-Siliki yet.
But I think we can improve. Let's keep the run going and hope we will have some defenders back soon after Cardiff.
Up the Boro!
OFB, have you heard anything about Sammy Ameobi and his injury lately?
He has disappeared into a hole ever since he was signed. Must be hard for the player himself. Even more devastating that the loneliness experienced by Payero. The latter is at least training and playing now.
Up the Boro!
I can understand to a certain extent a player missing an open goal with a header, but in Charlie Wayman’s case the ball was on the ground. It almost defies the logic of physics and trajectory to lift a ball over the bar from 2 feet out. It would take several attempts to do that on purpose even.
Jarkko
Cas Tigers signed a Tongan winger called Sosaia Feki from the Australian club Cronulla Sharks on a 3 year contract in 2019 who arrived with a huge reputation as the fastest winger in the Southern Hemisphere. Looked brilliant in training and has had no real injury problems before joining Cas, yet has played only 20 minutes in 2 years continuingly breaking down in training with various apparently unrelated injuries. However I think that Sammy Ameobi was injured when Boro signed him in a panic. I agree though that in both cases it’s not the player’s’ fault and is probably more frustrating for them than it is for their clubs.
Clive
Sorry should have read ‘trajection’ not ‘trajectory’.