A high energy first half with Boro looking comfortable in possession but only a few genuine chances to score against a well-organised Coventry defence. Jones has shown plenty of energy down the right and looks dangerous and nearly opened the scoring with that great Akpom through-ball but went a shade too early. McGree has been the pick for me with Lenihan also keeping Gyokeres quiet. Boro need an early goal in the second half to make life and watching easier - so fingers crossed.
I thought Jones was fouled in the box and we should have had a penalty !
OFB
Courtesy of Vic:
41: Isaiah Jones plants the ball home after a lovely pass from Akpom, but he is flagged for offside!
That was an Akpom pass so finely weighted and angled it could be used to calibrate scientific instruments by the way.
HT: 0-0. All square but Boro had good spells of domination, the better chances & rattled the woodwork. Cov fought back and had a decent spell. Finely balanced. We tend to be better in 2nd half.
Akpom's name goes into the ref's book in the 79th minute - "bad foul", according to the Beeb.
Forss replaces Jones in the 68th minute, Crooks on for Archer in the 83rd.
Why was the referee being so pendantic with McNair where to place the ball in the quadrant for the final corner. I’m sure it put McNair off ! I thought the referee was poor throughout …
OFB
Apart from the lack of a goal I think that was our best performance since the injuries hit us. Just needed a goal to make it a great performance. That doesn't mean the home game is a formality and I wish I could take a bottle of wine with me! (Only 2/3rds of the Malbec needed today.) I thought McNair was the MOM and good game by Hackney who took my advice to only put in good tackles. Pity we didn't play enough good passes to Archer as he is a nightmare running at defenders.
Vic's brief assessment of the match:
Well it looked like the game at the Coventry Building Society Arena had both teams interested in saving themselves for the second leg with neither side willing to risk to much to profit from carrying an advantage into that game.
Boro looked the more likely to score, particularly in the first half, but the Sky Blues looked solid as usually and didn't give much away once it got into the last third. Likewise, Boro played with a good defensive shape and were calm playing it out from the back and never allowed Coventry a shot on target.
So a few tweaks needed before Wednesday otherwise this game could easily go to extra time - both managers probably satisfied with the result and both feel that they can win it. May well be the Riverside crowd that win this one for Boro by giving the players that extra few percent.
Man of the Match a toss up between McGree and McNair - so I'll give it to Mac...
A clean sheet, so that’s a big plus. I thought we played pretty well today, particularly in the first half. If Akpom’s chance in the first half had gone in under the bar, it could have been a very different game.
Scoring first at the Riverside is a must for me, otherwise we’ll start chasing the game and may leave ourselves open at the back. If today was tense, imagine how we’ll all feel on Wednesday.
I agree that McNair was MoM. I thought he had a superb game against Gyokeres. I wasn’t as impressed with Riley, but I did think the defence and midfield were excellent as units throughout.
I was incredibly tense watching this game, but as the match wore on, I began to have more confidence in Boro’s ability to keep Coventry out. No shots on target is great. I’ll settle for that again on Wednesday. It’ll be another tight game, no doubt. I can see it going to extra time. Perhaps the next few days would be a good time to practise penalties? 🫣🫣🫣
Gazette ratings
Zack Steffen - 6
Really good with his feet to set the tone for Boro's confidence and killing the early home tempo. Summing up Boro's defensive performance, there wasn't a single shot to save.
Tommy Smith - 7
Typically solid, while unspectacular. He supported his centre-backs when needed and gave a veteran's performance to limit Bidwell's success on the flank.
Paddy McNair - 8
A huge performance again from the Northern Irishman, particularly in the second half when Boro came under more pressure. Some really big, crowd-pleasing tackles.
Darragh Lenihan - 8
A good shout for man of the match after a dominant display. He didn't give Gyokeres a sniff and won numerous headers as vital times for his side. That Coventry didn't have a shot on target on their turf is a testament to the defence, ushered by Lenihan, as a whole.
Ryan Giles - 6
Didn't get as much opportunity to attack as Coventry watched his forays forward closely. So he was limited to defensive action which, largely speaking, he did with minimal fuss.
Hayden Hackney - 8
Just edges the man of the match award after a performance of real maturity. The way he played with the ball in tight situations and drove forward to try and make things happen was a pleasure to watch in such a high-stakes match.
Alex Mowatt - 8
Not as eye-catching or flashy as his midfield partner, but what a big performance from the West Brom loanee. Protected the back four so well by reading the game really well, making good interceptions and important tackles before playing simple and letting others do the more expansive stuff.
Isaiah Jones - 6
Lively down the right-hand side in the first half and important work defensively too. But he did have a couple of really good openings that he didn't make the most of.
Riley McGree - 7
Lively, particularly in the first half. Always wanted the ball and trying to make something happen, crafting the best chance of the game for Akpom in the first half. Tired after the break and became less influential as Coventry had control, but worked hard throughout.
Chuba Akpom - 6
Mixed performance. Will be disappointed not to have a goal after two big chances. There was some sloppiness in passes at key moments too, but don't underestimate how important, in the context of the game, some of his touches and ball-protection was brilliant to ease pressure.
Cameron Archer - 6
Battled and worked hard up top for his side and showed his strength at important times to keep possession for Boro, particularly first half. Less efficient after the break as Coventry took control and didn't have any sniffs at goal.
Substitutions
Marcus Forss (For Jones, 68') - 6 - With Coventry pushing hard for a goal, Forss just couldn't get himself into the game. But important minutes into his legs after injury.
Matt Crooks (For Archer, 82') - N/A.
Nail biting at times, but great to finally get a clean sheet.
I thought McNair played best game at CB today and hope he repeats it on Wednesday night. Overall the defence was solid apart from a couple of loose passes out from Steffen.
However there was not a lot going forward, and very little for Archer. HH played very well defensively, but like a number of other players his forward passes were generally poor. Giles only gets into the games offensively when he get played into an overlap position by McGree. Why he has stopped taking on players occasionally? May be it is MC playing the averages of not losing the ball.
I thought Mowatt did well and tidies up possibly better than Howson. But we do miss Howson going forward. Also good to see Forss come on even if his contribution was limited. I think Smith does slow us down, and the game tends to move left from right most of the time.
So all to play for on Wednesday and I expect the opposition in the Final to be Sunderland.
Very tense time for me as I’m on holiday and couldn’t get Wi-Fi connections. Eventuality got it and just seen the result. I’m more than happy with 0-0.
I agree with others that it’s important , probably essential, that Boro score first on Wednesday. My problem is I’ll still be on holiday and just hope I don’t have today’s Wi-Fi problems.
Philip of Huddersfield 👍👋😂
A rare March report in the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/may/14/middlesbroughs-chuba-akpom-fails-to-punish-coventry-as-first-leg-ends-level?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
I'm happy enough with that.
We contained Coventry very well. When they press high, as they also did last Monday, they make it difficult for us. I think we need to turn their high press to our advantage. Faster movement of the ball and in particular to find the pass behind their press. If we get on the scoresheet first. They will pressively over commit going forward to make even more spaces for us to exploit.
I expect it will be a good game on Wednesday. On Tuesday, unlike others, I think Luton will be too much for Sunderland.
Three more sleeps..
A rare March report in the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/may/14/middlesbroughs-chuba-akpom-fails-to-punish-coventry-as-first-leg-ends-level?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
What's that? A rare March report in May !! 😉
MIDDLESBROUGH’S preparations for this afternoon’s play-off semi-final at Coventry City were disrupted by a late-night firework display outside their team hotel that is understood to have been staged by Sky Blues fans.
Boro’s players were settled in their rooms when fireworks started exploding outside their hotel at around 1am.
Pictures had been posted on social media earlier in the day revealing where they were staying, and it is believed that a group of Coventry fans travelled to their hotel in an attempt to disrupt their sleep.
Boro head coach Michael Carrick confirmed that he was woken up by the explosions outside the hotel, which lasted for around five minutes, although he did not want to make too much of the incident, which preceded his side’s goalless draw at the CBS Arena.
Carrick said: “It happened, but I’ll be honest, it didn’t really bother me too much. I woke up, had a little chuckle to myself, and then went back to sleep.
READ MORE:
“I didn’t watch them. Apparently, it was fireworks, but I didn’t see them, I just heard them. I looked at the clock, saw it was one o’clock, and then shut my eyes again.
“That was it, really. I don’t think the players were too bothered by it, they didn’t make a big deal of it.”
Something we've not seen under Carrick: a defensive master-class. Ok, slightly over-stated but that was our most complete defensive performance under Carrick. Two of our most defensively maligned players - McNair and Giles - were key to it.
McNair in particular monstered Gyokeres. In the past McNair has sometimes acted like a midfielder playing in defence; preferring to intercept the ball or shepherd players out of harms way. Today he was basically the complete centre-back: going in hard and never giving Gyokeres a moment's peace. He also kept his focus for the whole match. Earlier in the season we conceded a goal when Steffen passed out to him when he wasn't expecting it, got caught flat-footed and panicked. Today in the second-half there was an action replay. He passed back to Steffen, indicated to Steffen not to pass back and, so, Steffen passed it back. McNair was just about able to recover because he was focused on the risk.
Giles was clearly under instructions to play as a much more orthodox left back and kept his side of the pitch under control. I don't recall seeing him caught out once.
Ideally we would have scored. We certainly had the best chances but we have proven that we can play a compact 4-2-3-1 with Hackney and Mowatt getting through a metric ton of work in the middle of the field.
With Forss back as an option and Fry fit enough for the bench, I think we might see Howson back for the home tie and, possibly, Ramsey on the bench.
After all that, I feel fairly confident. I feel like we have done about 60% of the job.
A rare March report in the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/may/14/middlesbroughs-chuba-akpom-fails-to-punish-coventry-as-first-leg-ends-level?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
What's that? A rare March report in May !! 😉
Oops - damn these fat fingers.
Out with the family on Southsea sea front so missed the match but managed to pick up a wi-fi connection whilst having a late lunch and delighted with the result.
Far from a done deal but we are in the driving seat on Wednesday and with the backing of our home crowd should see us over the line; I just hope the crowd aren’t nervous from the off and transmit that to the players, as I have experienced it in the past and it has not been a happy ending.
Looking forward to heading home tomorrow and to Wednesday evening. 😊👏🏻😎
The Mackems must be rubbing their hands in glee! In what was one of the most boring of matches by Boro who seem to have lost their way, and I can’t see them recovering their mojo in the next 3 days. Two poor teams today.
I think Boro was excellent today!
We should have scored a goal or two. Jones was off-side just two inches, as Bob said we should have had a penalty and the Akpom miss was a pity. Really small margins.
But Steffen did not have a single shot to save. I would be very worried if I were a Coventry fan. At home and no shots on target.
And next a trip to Riverside. They must change their tactics completely now. They cannot afford to give Boro 73 % of the ball like on Monday. With full house and Boro not saving energy now, the Sky Blues must be worrying.
But it is not over. It is half time only, but now we will be at home. There will be at least ExMill and Dormo supporting in full voise - and many more!
Also I think we are in a better position now than Sunderland is. Even they won, and we drew. We still have Riverside to look forward to. And if it is goalless after 90 min, we will still have the home advance.
Finally, as we say in my home town - ChaChaCha 💚. We can do it. Up the Boro!
●●● Käärijä ●●●lives in my home town 🇫🇮. UBT!
We need Chuba to score a goal again. He was very close today and had a superb pass to Jones (but was just, just off-sside).
Elsewhere - the latest promotion probabilities and odds after the play-off first legs.
37% 🟥 Middlesbrough (13/8)
24% 🟥 Sunderland (11/4)
21% 🟧 Luton (4/1)
19% 🟦 Coventry (5/1)
We still have a chance. Up the Boro!
I’m staying positive, as I think we did a reasonable job today. I certainly didn’t find it boring (I was too tense to be bored) and on another day we’d have won.
I’m sure we’d all have taken 0-0 before the game - onwards to Wednesday.
i really enjoyed the game. As others have said a tactical and defensive master class. I think that this game knocked a few million off Gyorkeres' value. I saw nothing to justify a high price tag. Mcnair played him really well it was good to see some very well timed tackles. We only conceded 6 free kicks all game. I don't think the Jones challenge was a penalty as the initial challenge was outside the box but it was definitely a foul. It is a pity the goals have dried up only 2 in the last 4 games. Just looked at Who scored and Isiah Jones' pass % was only 57%.
Well everything to play for, thought we played with discipline and tactically spot on, Hackney for me was outstanding, I'm just waiting for Liverpool to come in, they used to buy all of our young talented players for years.
Forss looked a little rusty, Jones does well but final ball could be better, they will look to counter attack we've got to be aware.
COB
I don't think the Jones challenge was a penalty as the initial challenge was outside the box but it was definitely a foul.
Yes, you might be right in there. It was definaltely a foul but might have been outside the penalty area.
@gt Yes, Forss was running like an slighty injured himself. Was definately like a rusty striker. But he will be useful in the next two matches - first as a sub and then starting in London 😉.
Jones had a good first half. Pity he was just off-side for his goal after that world class pass from Akpom.
Up the Boro!
