I may be in a minority but that was a poor performance too many misplaced passes and what do we do to strikers, we are now relying on the player who was virtually out of the door. Just thankful of the three points
We have played better and lost this season. So due some "luck". I know Ken does not like that word.
But a good win over not so good Hull side. Up the Boro!
Hull came out of the blocks for the second half and when they equalised I feared the worst but then the Tiger's realised they couldn't change their stripes and reverted to their default defensive failings and opted to score the next two into their own goal.
Still, some good performances tonight with Akpom looking the real deal with a good physical presence and a deft touch and an exquisite pass with the outside of his foot to play in Giles for the near post deflected own goal. Hackney also looking calm and mature on the ball as he offered an outlet from defence with the confidence to turn and pick out a pass. McGree is starting to show some evidence he could replace Tav's energy and hussle too. However, Jones still not finding his game and Giles is certainly no full-back and looks suspect in his own half.
So first win for Carrick and Boro up to the dizzy heights of 18th just 3 points from 12th - though we won't mention still just a point above the drop zone as only 4 points separate 12th to 22nd in true Championship fashion. Another win on Saturday should see the pressure ease a little more and a chance to regroup in the break.
This was there to be a game to win and fortunately Boro did.
First half showed two poor teams with Boro showing limited drive and playing too slow - plus the usual ( too many sideway passes ) Then Boro scored - was it the only shot on target by both teams?
Second half and Boro allowed themselves to be pushed back. Then Hull scored and we’ll get the “ we were unlucky as the ball took a wicked deflection “ - I didn’t see it like that. What I saw was a Boro player cheaply giving the ball away which directly led to Hull’s chance of a shot at goal.
So, the game was available to either team to win and Lenihan, without doubt Boro’s best player and leader, got the all important second goal. - just seen it’s credited as an own goal.
After that Hull huffed and puffed and created very little despite Boro’s tendency of not always clearing the ball.
Meanwhile Boro could and should have scored more although I’ll not be greedy.
So, for M.C. it’s played 2 with 1 defeat and 1 win with some little improvements. At least tonight’s win will improve confidence with the players and supporters daring to look upwards at the League table.
And we supporters go to bed happy !!
Philip of Huddersfield
With Boro in the shape we’re in and adapting to a new coaching setup, we’ve really no right to expect top performances.
Take the three points and move on.
Arguably the best thing about tonight, similarly to the Wigan win, was the evidence that there are likely to be three worse teams in the division than ourselves.
Lenihan, Hackney and Akpom then pick of the team tonight.
Pleased I was able to watch a rare Boro win. There is a team worse than us!
If we didn't have Akpom we would have no attack as Forss and Muniz seem to be competing for who is the least able to hold the ball. Lenihan seems to be getting back to the form he showed when he first joined us which is welcome as we need someone strong in the middle of our defence. Giles is not a full back but he did get further upfield which is where we need him. McGree works hard but must improve his passing. Hackney looks like an established midfielder but must be more careful with his tackles. Jones not winning much going up the right wing but was involved in the first goal. He also must be more careful tackling or making petty fouls or he will get sent off instead of just getting one yellow card.
Just 8 points from the playoffs!
Not a reflection of the scoreline and it should have been 4.
Lenihan should be the Captain, but that would be a little unfair on Howson. Fry a little better, Smith brings stability without offering much going forward. Giles, a Jekyll and Hyde. Good in the final third but a liability in the other two thirds. Not sure what we do there.
Howson steady, Hackney showing promise, but needs to reign himself in a little, McGree one of his best games. Jones still has to improve and should be fined for his yellow card.
Forss, could this be another wasted 3 million. Akpom MoTM and has been said, is only still here by default. Also his contract runs out next summer so could be subject to a bid in January?
So three points, and a little breathing space depending on tomorrow nights results.
Another three on Saturday would help as I cannot see us getting anything at Norwich.
@david-in-cumbria A good summary in there and exactly as I saw it. Hackney good with the ball but his tacling is sometimes reckless. McGree lost the ball far too often and his first touch let him down. But these two players kept on trying to play football, though.
I think Akpom was good, my MoM. He had scored at Preston North End on Saturday and he repeated the feat for his sixth of the season. On average, he could now score about 15 goals this season.
Was Akpom signed by Woody? Anyway he has been good this season. By far the player who has surpriced us all this season.
And finally, who was Maddo's man of the match? Because of the two hour time difference, I headed to the bed immediately when the match ended so I missed Maddo's announcement.
Up the Boro!
At least it was a confidence boosting win, confidence boosting for both the fans and the players.
Before each game Hayden Hackney seems to be giving himself a rub-down with the Cattermole book on enthusiasm and tackling. No doubt refs will start watching him carefully or maybe he's in a private competition with Crooks for the 'Golden Yellow Card'. Talking of Crooks has he been sent for his Hernia operation yet?
Now the Norwich game is set as a perfect opportunity for a 'Typical Boro' performance, I mustn't get too far ahead of myself.
No prediction worked so I'm almost happy.
Carry on Mr Carrick.
UTB,
John
I was pleased to hear our coach speak after our previous defeat, what a difference to the pair who preceded him, calm, pleasant, reasonable, not at all upset by our failure to get anything out of the match. Obviously aware that there was a lot to do on the tactical side of things, and very certain that he could do it. A Big factor in the result last night was the running both on and off the ball. That, together with his tactical knowhow, will be a big factor in the rest of the season.
@john-richardson I hope you are able join in in the away end. It was magnificent at Wigan and totally safe.
I do not think Crooks has had his hernia done yet as he came on for the last few minutes in place of McGree. He did miss a couple of matches but cannot see the was time enough.
Up the Boro!
Whisper it softly but I see green shoots. Since Wilder left we've played 7, won 3, drawn 1, lost 3. That's comfortable mid-table form. First Leo and then Carrick have simplified what we're asking the players to do and, to an extent, gone back to basics.
We weren't great against Hull but the big moments largely went our way. The players looked unsurprisingly cautious and conservative but we had enough quality to see us through.
Speaking of quality, that was one of the best performances by a Boro striker I've seen in the last five years. Chuba is a man reborn. I also think Forss did well with his contribution possibly under-valued.
Akpom has been having what is probably the best season of his career but it has gone to the next level in the last two games. Carrick seems to have moved him into a similar role that Kane plays for Spurs. Sort of a false 9: dropping deep to pick up the ball and spark an attack then following up for the kill. You can see that perhaps Carrick is looking for someone like Forss or Watmore to play the Son role.
Another big call that Leo and Carrick have got right is Hackney. He's still learning but yesterday was probably his best performance. It would have been easy for Carrick in particular to revert to McNair but Carrick kept faith and has been rewarded.
It was also probably the best performance from Steffen so far. I think simplifying things and dropping the defensive line a little deeper means that he can play the sweeper role much more effectively. He also commanded his box well.
Likewise, Fry and Lenihan played well together with Fry in particular looking back to his best. I don't think there's anything magic about this: just two good players with a weight lifted and being asked to play to their strengths.
Jones is in an odd position. Frustrating as hell but I think the problem is that we're not combining well with him. At his peak, he was part of the telepathic triangle with Dijksteel and Crooks. At the moment we're tending to pass him the ball with two players to beat and asking him to get on with it. There's no real understanding with Smith and no one to play give and goes with at the top end of the pitch. Jones himself looks frustrated about this but is still producing multiple potential assists each match.
Giles. Giles seems to have lost the plot entirely. He was rank bad yesterday. His goal was a fluke and pretty much every open play move that went through him broke down. He and McGree look like the opposite of Friends Reunited. Watching him reminded of Connolley last season; playing in a little bubble by himself and spending the entire game swearing at himself. When we scored, he was last to celebrate. When he scored, instead of it inspiring him it seemed to demotivate him further. Carrick dropped a brick not having Bola on the bench. I don't know what's going on with Giles but it does need fixing because he ought to be a key player for us.
McGree's also been getting some pelters but some of that is that he can't play on the left next to Giles. This is something that Leo noticed. Carrick, probably rightly, recognises that McGree is a quality attacking midfielder when he's used correctly. At the moment though it feels like we can have Giles or McGree but not both.
There's a long way to go but so far I think Leo and now Carrick have done reasonably well. I also wonder if Woody has found a good role in the club. He was a disaster as a manager but it was not all his fault.
Well three points and a climb up the league a few places but a poor match with far too many miss placed passes, possession lost far too easily, lack of control of the ball and poor first touches.
A few periods of play where we did play the ball around well but overall we were only marginally better than Hull and slightly flattered by the score.
Nevertheless a win is a win and we take it and move on.
The positives for me were that at least we kept battling and there was a clear leadership performance from Lenihan and another MoTM performance from Akpom.
Smith was solid at right back and did put in a good cross for the first goal. I am not bothered about a lack of offensive contribution from him if Jones is performing but at present he is not, so that remains a concern.
Forss and Muniz look to be a waste of money. My early assessment of Giles was that he is the best crosser of a ball since Spike and I stand by that but I have yet to see anything else to his game; at this stage he is clearly not PL standard.
I still feel that this squad is not good enough and MC will need a few seasons and plenty of wheeling and dealing to make us into promotion candidates, I hope I am wrong!
The next three games will give us an indication of whether or not progress is being made. 5 points or better being a benchmark for me. 😎
In my time there were still a couple of "pitches" parallel to the boundary of Clairville Stadium. I put the word in quotes because they were rarely maintained and really dreadful, even dangerous, things to run about on. We always used to lay opur goalposts (piles of coats and jumpers) in the much better surface at the Clairville Road end and play there. Alternatively we would climb over the fence into St Joseph's school playing field and use their small-ish pitch which had goal posts.
My sister's ex husband was a regular for Acklam Steelworks football team in the day (1970s).
@deleriad “ Giles seems to have lost the plot entirely“.
I agree and it seems to me his downturn in performances coincided with the team’s poor performances and the departure of CW.
I just wonder if now that CW has gone and we are not looking like promotion contenders that he has lost interest as he is no longer playing for a former PL manager or in a team pushing for promotion which was perhaps what he signed up for?
I think Muniz could be in the same category. 😎
I had a similar thought around Akpom/Kane. I also think that, the more I see of him, Forss isn’t really a number 9. He’s more of a runner in the Rashford/Son mould and to that end, particularly with Giles looking all over the place, I’d like to see Forss playing wide left and cutting in/running beyond Akpom ala Kane/Son.
Sticking with the Spurs theme, I think Carrick has given McGree a role similar to how Luka Modric was played under Harry Redknapp at Spurs. He starts on the left and heads there when we’re out of possession but drifts into a no. 10 position when we have the ball. It makes him quite difficult to mark.
The problem, as I see it, is that McGree doesn’t look fully fit and Giles behind him is too vulnerable.
I’d like to see a 4-3-3 with McGree and Hackney as the No. 8’s with Akpom in that false 9 sort of role and Forss and Jones running in beyond him. Bola is the obvious left back.
We’re still not back home, but at least this property has Wifi, so I was able to watch the game via Boro Live.
At this stage, I don’t think we can expect much more than a 1-3 win away from home, regardless of the performance. There were quite a few positives and something for MC to build on, and he’ll have learned more about his players too.
I’m not going to discuss negatives, as these have already been mentioned by previous posters - for now, I’m happy for the win.
My mate messaged me last night to say he was so pleased with the result that he would celebrate by eating one of Jarkko's Finnish chocolates which have the name "Geisha" on the carton, so I think many would guess they come from Japan. They don't though for, as it says on the box: "Geisha chocolate is loved for it's delcious taste. Soft yet crispy hazelnut nougat filling, covered with finest milk chocolate has attracted chocolate lovers since the 1960s. Geisha inspires us to take a relaxing pause with a perfectly balanced piece of chocolate." AND, on the other side: "Discover Fazer (the manufacturer), an iconic taste of Finland. Since 1891."
So Geisha sounds as if it may come from Japan and Fazer sounds to me as if it might come from Turkey. But it doesn't. I wonder what other products might sound as though they come from one place but actually come from another? Nobody shouting "Yorkshire Tea" will be acknowledged.
I am thinking of hiding one of the chocolates away to ensure the whole box isn't snaffled before I launch myself on the carbs of the world again (shortly....). Delayed gratification.
How about India Pale Ale?
I think they called it that because it was a particular brew that was expected to be OK after shipping to India from the UK. But, yes...
@forever-dormo The Fazer company was started in Helsinki in 1856.
Karl Fazer's father Eduard Fazer moved from Switzerland to Finland at the age of 23 to work for the German Ernst Flohr. Fazer came from the Swiss town of Romanshorn, which is located on the shores of Lake Constance. Originally the family name was spelled Fatzer.
The production of Geisha chocolate started in 1962. Peter Fazer was in love with the Japonica pastry made at the Karl Fazer Café on Kluuvikatu. He asked product development to try this filling together with milk chocolate.
Fazer is situated in my home town and my wife's mother worked there most of his life. Up the Boro!
As someone just mentioned about Don Revie, he was the first England footballer to adopt the system of the deep lying centre forward. However it was the Hungarian national team that first adopted that system in 1953 which I watched on a small television set and was dubbed as the Match of the Century as they became the first foreign team outside of the British Isles to win at Wembley. Alf Ramsey was England’s full back that day as Hungary won 6-3 with Nandor Hideguti as the deep lying centre forward and Ferenc Puskas up front causing mayhem. I’m speaking from memory here, so I’m not sure whether Ramsey was also captain or whether Billy Wright was, but can’t remember the name of the flying Hungarian winger who gave Ramsey so much trouble.
I didn’t see the return fixture in Budapest some 18 months later, but do recall that it was played on a Sunday and that Hungary won 7-1. I’m not sure if it was televised either, but suffice to say that in the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland that Hungary beat West Germany 8-3 in the group stages in Basel and were strong favourites to win the Final when they came up against West Germany again which was of course was televised. If I remember correctly Hungary were leading 2-0 early on but that the Germans eventually won 3-2 ending Hungary’s long unbeaten record.
I do remember being well pleased at that surprise result as my ancestors came from Frankfurt and it WAS 9 years after the Second World War. Maybe not forget, but willing to forgive by that time although my views were not shared by the vast majority of the British people! But I’ve always believed that we shouldn’t be castigated by the sins of our ancestors, and I did make friends with Germans from Monchengladbach in Portugal much later, as I expect Werdermouth has done in Bremen.