Thanks for the prologue Werder. At first I misread one line to be "any more defensive injuries would leave Warnock scratching his head and possibly being forced into the back four". I soon realised that he couldn't play as he is just recovering from Covid.
Is this an early six-pointer? I see that Barnsley haven't yet scored a league goal so I hope it is not a Typical Boro game.
Surprise team selection!
@werdermouth Good appraisal Werder
Never mind the quality it's about the score! A poor match with both teams lacking quality but we have stuck at it. Let's hope it is a better second half and we stay in front. The referee also lacks quality judgment. CoB 😎
@werdermouth God appraisal Werder
Thanks Pedro, though I'm probably agnostic when it comes to believing in Boro 😉
Morsy had the ball in the back of the net in the 37th minute, but it was ruled out for offside (Tav, according to Vic, Akpom, according to the Beeb). Then Jonny H finally bagged one that counted in the second minute of injury time, with Tav, if it was he who was offside for the disallowed goal, making amends by supplying th free kick. Here's hoping they can hang on to the lead.
Howson's first for how long in a competitive match?
I'd agree with it being a poor game and perhaps it's down to lacking width and playing too many hopeful long balls again. The problem with Tav on the right is he usually prefers to cut inside and Bola on the left has struggled with his delivery. Still at least we've scored and it was a cracking strike from Tav and Howson was literally Jonny on the spot to fire the poor clearance home. Though at least Akpom has missed his first sitter in a Boro shirt to get that out of the way!
Morsy had the ball in the back of the net in the 37th minute, but it was ruled out for offside (Tav, according to Vic, Akpom, according to the Beeb).
It can only have been Akpom as the ball deflected in off him when he was stood in front of he keeper - if it had been Tav then surely he won't have been interfering with play.
Scrappy game, Boro second best, certainly for the first 25/30 minutes in terms of passing and second balls. Little to the front two and as Werder said no width.
I thought our three in midfield lost out to Barnsley’s MF.
Still took our chance so 1-0
Morsy had the ball in the back of the net in the 37th minute, but it was ruled out for offside (Tav, according to Vic, Akpom, according to the Beeb).
It can only have been Akpom as the ball deflected in off him when he was stood in front of he keeper - if it had been Tav then surely he won't have been interfering with play.
Thanks for the clarification, Werder, & - a bit belatedly - the entertaining opening piece.
And Akpom atones for his missed sitter by adding the second! 🙂
Get in you little beauty 2-0. Good to see a forward picking up a loose ball and scoring. Makes up for a glaring miss in the first half when 1:1 with the keeper. CoB 😎
Bloody hell! FIVE yellow cards (McNair, Morsy, Saville, Howson & Tav)! 🙁
Bloody hell! FIVE yellow cards (McNair, Morsy, Saville, Howson & Tav)! 🙁
And Bettinelli makes it SIX! That must be some sort of record! 🤥 It will be interesting to see what Redcar Red makes of that stat. Who IS Oliver Langford?
2 points off the play-offs....
So Boro got their first much-needed win and despite scoring either side of the break they failed to push on to make it a more comfortable victory. Barnsley were a limited side and offered little goal threat but a late penalty left Boro needing to be careful to see out the game to avoid what could have been a disastrous draw. Not a particularly convincing performance and most of the first half was poor but Neil Warnock got them out on the front foot for the second but they gradually eased off and the game got a bit scrappy with not much creative play on show. Still it's three points and back into mid-table obscurity where we probably belong this season!
2 points off the play-offs....
My mistake, scrub the mid-table obscurity and put us down as obscure play-off contenders!
I have a reputation of talking to anyone who will listen, as once on a cruise ship somebody said to me on a rare quiet moment “Quiet today, Ken!” to which I replied “Amazing, isn’t it!” causing laughter all around. It’s living alone I suppose as I talk to my wife all the time even though she’s now been been dead over 11 years, though it’s a one way conversation really as I’m probably talking to myself. So I enjoyed Neil Warnock’s post match interview which had me smiling and occasionally laughing out loud, and such a contrast to Tony Pulis who always seemed to me as if he wanted a quick getaway. It’s good to talk, so the adverts keep telling me - and one can see the enthusiasm of Neil Warnock about football oozing out. He is to football what the late Ken Dodd was to comedy. Absolutely brilliant!
@lenmasterman I agree with you Len that was a brilliant preview by Werder which just keeps getting better and better - thank you Werder for another funny piece
OFB
@stircrazy for those who have forgotten Mr Langford remember this?
OFB
Oh, THAT Oliver Langford! Seriously, OFB, I don't really take any notice of refs' names, but I should have remembered that one, even though it was under JW's largely forgettable stewardship! 😵 Thanks for enlightening me. 🙂
Looking back, it seems the card score in that Wigan match just pipped yesterday's by virtue of the fact that one of Wigan's six yellows became a red when the player in question (Dunkley) picked up a second, while Boro couldn't quite match the home side's total with only four yellows (the Tykes yesterday managed only two).
I note that Morsy played in that match, but wasn't booked.