Well Stoke were the better team during the early exchanges and we have not played as well as last week but are 2-0 to the good due to goals from Hall and McNair.
A change to a flat back four has helped and we could have had at least another couple of goals. Stoke are however still not out of this! 😎
Tranfermarkt on Josh: https://www.transfermarkt.com/josh-coburn/profil/spieler/646727
A nice score at half time. We were run over during the first 20 min but NW changed to flat back four and we scored a brace. Bola good again, also McNair in midfield. Kebano lively.
Hope we keep a clean sheet now. Up the Boro.
Agree KP. As bad as it gets early doors, but a couple of attacks, a couple of goals and the whole complexion of the game has changed.
Spence has been poor, and in the first half-hour only Bola looked anything like a player.
Since then McNair has come into his own, scored a fine goal which has given him the confidence to run things higher up the pitch. He looks as though he has the measure and the legs of Mikel.
As KP says, a Stoke goal will change things, but currently, thanks to McNair we have the wind in our sails and we might even get to radically improve our goal difference .
An intriguing game.
A 3-0 win today. But agent Woodgate let us down as Barnsley picked up all three points at Bournemouth. So still eight points behind. But Stoke are more or less out of play-offs now.
Well done Boro, though. Up the Boro!
A deserved win in the end and three goals scored and non conceded, a rare occurrence at home.
Some very good performances from Fry, Hall, McNair, Bola and Howson in particular.
The only disappointment was that Bournemouth couldn't hang on for a draw against Barnsley which would have reduced the gap to six, instead it remains at eight and still seems a bridge too far.
As NW has said, our fate should be clearer by this time next week. Where there's life there is hope and an unbeaten run would not go amiss from now on CoB! 😎
A nice score at half time. We were run over during the first 20 min but NW changed to flat back four and we scored a brace. Bola good again, also McNair in midfield. Kebano lively.
Hope we keep a clean sheet now. Up the Boro.
This was Vic's comment after the the first goal:
LOL. Boro have shown no intent, win their first corner and goal machine GRANT HALL popped up to bury at far post. Get in (1-0, 21 mins)
And you got your wish, Jarkko. 😀
Vic's summary:
FT: 3-0. Disciplined display in a must win game. An early switch swung the game as reshaped back 4 was solid & stifled Stoke. MF unit gradually took control then started to hit on the break. Stoke had most of the ball but Boro sharper up top.
And star ratings:
*** McNair: bossed MF, coool goal
** Hall: Solid at back, goal
* (surprise, surprise!) Bettinelli: big saves when heat was on
And a word from a blast from the last, John Powls:
Yep - very satisfying and satisfactory win. Three goals, a clean sheet with a well organised and disciplined performance. If we could produce that more regularly we’d already be in the top six but we don’t do consistency, unfortunately
A convincing scoreline in a game in which we were rarely able to get hold of the ball.
Three goals, yet their keeper did not make a single save.
Bettinell, by contrast, after a shaky start, in which he almost conceded an early goal at his near post (again), made three good second-half saves, one of them exceptional, to retain our hold on the game.
So, a solid defensive display, but we looked poor going forward, apart from McNair who was a revelation in midfield and comfortably our M-o-M.
I was disappointed with Kebano who lacked the confidence to finish two gilt-edged chances, whilst Bolasie flitted in and out of the game. Mendez-Laing took his goal well, but looks about a stone overweight to me and is a long way off the pace.
No Boro fan will complain about the scoreline or the team's effort and defensive grit, but few will be entirely happy that we were outplayed at home for large parts of the game by another mid- table side.
And a word from a blast from the last, John Powls:
That should have been "blast from the past", of course, but I noticed my typo too late to be able to go in & correct it. ☹️
Fifteen minutes in and I was about to switch off and go and do something more interesting and just as I was about to give up Akpom flicks on that corner and Hall puts us one up. If the mere thought of me giving up for the first time in years had that effect I just wish I’d discovered that ploy a lot earlier in the season.
A change in tactics from NW saw McNair go on to drive and inspire his teammates and despite conceding the majority of possession Boro looked comfortable and controlled throughout. Bizarrely Bettinelli put in his best Boro performance and looked assured rather than calamitous. Djed Spence showed a little more maturity and was unlucky to go off injured just after he was pushed up for Fisher coming on for Bolasie. Bolasie had blown hot and cold, good in parts and showing some of that skill set from years gone by but also a little wasteful at times in trying to attempt too much. Hopefully as his match fitness improves, he becomes sharper and we see some of that clinical excellence he was once renowned for. Overall, he looks to be getting better.
Continuing that improvement theme of Bettinelli, Spence and Bolasie, Grant Hall is starting to look seriously good. Calm and assured and having the knack of getting a foot in when needed and of course not forgetting his goal scoring exploits. It is maybe hard on Dijksteel but I thought that today we looked a more solid unit in his absence. Let’s hope that this lay off allows him to get fully fit, regaining his earlier form.
Kebano had a few opportunities to put the game beyond reach, but his finishing was wayward and overall today looked a little off the pace that he himself set since arriving. After a golden chance went begging Paddy drove down the left wing and cut inside into the box where Kebano and Akpom were arriving hoping for a slide rule pass into their stride but Paddy kept going, took the shot himself deflecting off Souttar’s legs giving Gunn in the Stoke goal no chance. 2-0 up and we hadn’t reached half time yet.
Stoke made a change for the start of the second half and looked to have gone to a 442 but Boro were now in containment mode and done so with aplomb. Despite huffing and puffing the Potters just couldn’t break through the Red wall. Throwing everything forward to try and save what little remaining play off hope that Stoke may have had Sam Morsy broke from defence and whilst somehow looking like he was running in treacle he managed to leave the Stoke chasers in his stride playing a peach of a cutting pass from the halfway line through to Mendez Laing who had come on for the injured Spence to dink the advancing Gunn putting Boro three up. Harsh on Stoke but its goals that win games not possession.
It’s still just as unlikely as it was before the kick off but the manner of the win was convincing enough to just maybe think if we keep that level of professionalism up we can catch both Cardiff and Bournemouth and hope that Barnsley and/or Reading stutter and with us yet to play the Tykes who knows?
And a word from a blast from the last, John Powls:
That should have been "blast from the past", of course, but I noticed my typo too late to be able to go in & correct it. ☹️
Good to know he is still following the Boro and alive and well after the last twelve months.
Three goals, a clean sheet and three points, so why did it feel a bit flat?
The game really reminded me of Pulis’ 3-0 win over Sheff Utd a few seasons ago. Like that day, this was a result that looks great on paper but the performance didn’t really match it.
Agree with everything Len wrote above and would only add that, thankfully, Stoke were toothless.
It struck to think how I might have reacted to that game if I was a Stoke supporter. They couldn’t complain because nothing happened as the result of a bad refereeing decision or a bad bounce but they found themselves losing 3-0 after a game when they often looked better in possession.
Clearly the game turned when NW sent McNair to snuff out JOM.....which he did and then started turning out all over the pitch. It sparked a completely different feeling with a great deal of confidence filtering through the team.
I wonder whether we have found the knack of making space when we attack and, at the same time, largely denying that space to the opposition.
Anyway, onwards and upwards. If we manage to win the next two it might actually get interesting.
utb
Did anyone take notice of the ref yesterday? Me neither. One yellow that could have been red but nothing else. We won on merit. Up the Boro!
Thanks for the opener RR, which I agree gives a realistic assessment of where both teams are.
Boro have been so unpredictable all season so I continue to have no real idea of what to expect on Saturday. All I have is a whiff of foam to help me hallucinate to a convincing 3-0 win for Boro.
Bloody good stuff this foam. If I keep sniffing till the end of the season we are sure to finish the season on a high, beating Swansea at Wembley with that disputed last minute penalty following an artistically beautiful swan dive that someone else was hallucinating about...
In other walks of life this might be considered torture...just keep that outside chance of success going till the bitter end.
We are all gluttons for punishment and isn't it this glorious unpredictability that is a part of what keeps us all coming back for more.
CoB
Notice the Ref? I did and it was because it was such an immaculate display from an experienced full time professional Premiership referee.
it shows that the championship needs full time professional referees who train and learn all the time not amateurs.
OFB
After the formation change when Paddy was moved into midfield and especially after our first goal went in the game I thought was extremely enjoyable.
We even saw our goalkeeper make a Banks or Monty type goal line save flipping the ball up and away from crossing the goal line.
Bola is really consistent every game now and must be one of the best left back players in the Championship.
Hall is now the player we thought we were signing originally and whilst not fleet or foot his Reading of the game is superb allowing him to make important tackles.
Johnson impresses me every time he comes onto the pitch and his cameos are important to the team and I hope he stays with us when his contract expires in the summer.
I still think Boro look better without Saville !
OFB
Great to get the points. Doesn't matter how we play as long we win! Brilliant tactics from NW that changed the game. I would have put the 18 year old striker on instead of Britt though.
On another note and I have said this before, I got a stream for the game and eventually the commentary came through. It was the Tees guys. How bad are they? Neil Maddison dearie me! How can he comment fairly when he works for the club. Drury just as bad. Oh for the days of Brownlie and Slaven. Don't suppose anybody will agree with me! But we all have our own opinions.
Thanks to RR and Len for their excellent appraisals of yesterday's game which was much more of a spectacle than the corresponding fixture.
I do, however, agree with Andy that the result looks great on paper but the performance did not match it. We need look after the ball better and if we give it away as much as we did against other teams then we will likely suffer the cost.
I do, however, wonder if a flat back four is the way to go and once Dijksteel is fit next season we will have two specialist full backs who also can provide overlapping/attacking opportunities and also allows NW to play the likes of Johnson/Spence/Coulson in attacking positions where to my mind they are better suited.
Fry and Hall are forming a solid partnership and again I believe are more effective in a back four. I also think yesterday proved that PM offers more in an offensive role and hopefully this has given NW more food for thought.
Morsy made the right choice in passing to NML for the third goal as I dread to think what would have happened if he had given it to BA for a one on one with the keeper!
I agree with RR that Bolasie is not yet fully effective and blows hot and cold; it remains to be seen if we can get the best out of him in the remaining ten games whilst Kebano just seemed to have an off day. NML is still work in progress but showed composure in scoring the third which is an attribute not often seen from a Boro forward.
With Tav and Fletcher to come back into contention it could be an interesting last ten games of which three are against teams above us. If we are still in touching distance of sixth place by Easter, then we could have another week of destiny when we play Bournemouth, Watford and Barnsley in that order with the first two games over the Easter weekend!
It will be interesting to see the formation on Tuesday and NW's job is now becoming more difficult, given that he has choices to make as to who should start and who should be on the bench and trying to keep them all happy. 😎
Too true, and I think that we should have bombarded the FA with our complaints after the mugging we have received lately from hopeless officials (at least I think they were hopeless) the alternative does not bear thinking about.
Notice the Ref? I did and it was because it was such an immaculate display from an experienced full time professional Premiership referee.
it shows that the championship needs full time professional referees who train and learn all the time not amateurs.
OFB
It helps when Players aren't diving and cheating feigning fouls.
I am of the opinion that this team can improve by a considerable margin, some of it's failings are very noticeable, as when carrying the ball across the front of the box, and not having a serious shot at goal, regardless of whether the shot is on, the chance of a goal is pretty Good in those circumstances, as can be seen any Saturday night on match of the day. It is unfair but a really good Keeper would be an immediate 10-12 points improvement.
I looked the highlights this morning. I think Kebano was quite good. Created one goal and had two good places to score but the angles were difficult. I like him. Up the Boro!
I see that a certain Mr J Rhodes has given the Wendies the lead at home to the Canaries. Three ex-Boro players on the pitch & a fourth (Hugill) on the Norwich bench, with Ben G picking up yellow card a minute before the Wendies scored.
ot wad interesting for the third goal by NML as Mrs OFB and I thought originally it was Britt !
we said he’s going to miss this and were amazed he scored and then saw that the no 9 on the back of his shirt was actually no 19 !
must get some new glasses !
OFB
@malcolm the commentary team oh dear me.
The thing about those two Radio Commentators are all the banal comments and birthday greetings and talking about people they know during a game not before !
OFB
Great to get the points. Doesn't matter how we play as long we win! Brilliant tactics from NW that changed the game. I would have put the 18 year old striker on instead of Britt though.
On another note and I have said this before, I got a stream for the game and eventually the commentary came through. It was the Tees guys. How bad are they? Neil Maddison dearie me! How can he comment fairly when he works for the club. Drury just as bad. Oh for the days of Brownlie and Slaven. Don't suppose anybody will agree with me! But we all have our own opinions.
I’m not sure that I could disagree with this post more, Malcolm!
Did you think Brownlie was impartial in comparison to Maddison?
I do miss Ali though and Bernie was great with him.
Great to get the points. Doesn't matter how we play as long we win! Brilliant tactics from NW that changed the game. I would have put the 18 year old striker on instead of Britt though.
On another note and I have said this before, I got a stream for the game and eventually the commentary came through. It was the Tees guys. How bad are they? Neil Maddison dearie me! How can he comment fairly when he works for the club. Drury just as bad. Oh for the days of Brownlie and Slaven. Don't suppose anybody will agree with me! But we all have our own opinions.
I really miss them when we pick up the opposition’s commentary for away games. I like the fact that NM is involved with the club and knows the players.
As for fairness, well I’d expect them to want to us to win and tbf they do criticise our players on occasion and I’m pretty sure NM isn’t a fan of BA.
The birthday greetings, etc doesn’t really bother me too much as long as they do it in quiet bits during the game. I’d hate that they were wishing someone Happy Birthday whilst Britt was lashing in a 30 yarder, although I think that’s unlikely. 😉