I think that, After watching the match, and I stress, After the Match. We, or our manager, stepped on to the pitch and played an absolute blinder. Solid, ruthless, no sending off, no injuries, not our best team, in control, more players back in the frame, a group of happy smiling faces, our trademark organisation, calmness under fire, total support for any team mate under pressure, and hardly bothered trying to end the tie on the night. It is football so we will make no promises, but I feel happy about the outcome.
@exmil - I must be more nervous about this match than I thought! Coventry City, obviously. Hopefully Luton Town in a stadium in a capital city near you, sometime soon!
I always read his columns in the times, he is a person from this area, and, like it or not, his comments cut to the chase, and how! And funny with it.
Well 1 hour and five minutes to go before kick off and I am a nervous wreck!
Been non-stop with heavy-duty gardening since the first leg so have had no time to think abut tonight's games - which is probably for the best as I'm not feeling as confident as i was before the two games against the Sky Blues given Boro have only scored once against them.
Firstly many thanks to OFB for the match preview - great stuff! and I agree there's much at stake tonight as much of what has been built this season by Carrick could easily evaporate in the summer if Boro fail to win promotion. Like I said best not to think about it until it happens - though I have faith in Carrick to get the players in the right mindset.
Not sure on the team tonight but unless Howson is fit it may well be the same XI that start the 2nd leg - we will soon find out.
Hoping for an early goal or two and no drama - a boring 3-0 win would do it for me 😉
Team News...
Still no Howson but one change as Forss starts instead of Jones
Same team except Forss replaces Jones. i would have kept jones in from the start.UTB
If Coventry (and Luton if we get there) play a tough, close to the edge, aggressive game, who’s your bet for the first Boro yellow card? For me it would be Hackney or Jones.
I'd probably agree with you as I thought Jones gave them all kinds of problems in the first half - though I also agree with others who say Smith and Forss play better together so it may well be the package on the right that clinched it.
Maybe that's why Carrick went for Forss instead of Jones
I would have stayed with Jones too. He gave them any amount of trouble in the first game.
Forss has played better than last time around.
Next, we need to get a goal. We have had the possesion for 67 %. They defend well and just hoist the ball upwards.
Very tight yet. Up the Boro!
Well the first half has more or less continued with the same pattern of the first leg - Coventry resolute in defence and Boro not quite finding the final pass. Boro just need to play with a bit more urgency and possibly risk a bit more if they are to break through - of course they could then risk Coventry make a counter attack. Could well go all the way this one but the tie is on a knife-edge 😬
I don’t want to sound like a stuck record, but they take our players out deliberately whenever we are moving forward in the middle. Referee took far too long to book one for [yet again] taking Apkom out. Commentary keeps saying individual challenges are not bookable. Misses the point for me, the tactic is clear and the Rreferee needs to stamp on it.
Rant over. Back to being a bag of nerves for the second half now....
Somehow managed to post these in the first Coventry thread (*redface*):
1) And the first booking goes to Tommy Smith in the 16th minute! 
2) From the Beeb's text commentary:
They've been their own worst enemy again here, Middlesbrough.
Zach Steffen's pass out is poor and Tommy Smith has to pull the Coventry player back as he threatened to break through.
And from Maddo a couple of minutes later:
Boro fast start has Riverside pulses racing
There is no messing from Middlesbrough. They are getting the ball down quickly, they're trying to play quickly and stretch Coventry as a team.
The intensity in this game, you can see it's there.
3) The second [yellow card] to Paddy in the 41st - the Beeb:
I think this is what you'd call taking one for the team.
Viktor Gyökeres cleverly allows the ball to run through his legs and beyond Paddy McNair, but as the Sky Blues forward attempts to roll his man and break clear McNair hauls him to the floor. And he knew he had to.
Yellow card.
Tight.
Boro more likely to score from build-up play. Boro more likely to concede from a defensive error.
Hard to call but we’re the better side overall.
First blood to Coventry: Hamer in the 57th minute. 🙁
Get one, and we’ll get two.
Get one Boro.
Barlaser, Jones & Dijksteel on for Mowatt, Forss & Smith in the 67th minute, Lenihan booked for bringing down Gyökeres in the 68th.
@andy-r. Isn’t that what the Coventry supporters said! ☹️
Jones booked in the 83rd minute, Crooks on for Paddy in the 88th. Crooks has a goal disallowed for offside almost immediately. EIGHT minutes of injury time. We've had it...
Well, I maintain that Boro were the best footballing side in the playoff pack but it counts for nought.
No complaints. In truth, Coventry had three huge chances and took one to progress. They deserved it if only for the their defensive display over the two legs.
The problem for me was one I didn’t expect: Boro, for the first time under Carrick, played the first 150mins of this tie with a different mindset - we were afraid to lose. That, however, can be dissected another day
A hugely disappointing end to an otherwise overwhelming fun season.
We haven't scored goals in recent matches. This is the result of that. We hit the bad batch in the last four weeks of the season.
Rookie manager vs. one with six years at Coventry.
Very dissappointed. Season over. Up the Boro!
No words...god knows what happens next....another new chapter begins
Looking back Jones should have been in from the start
What a fantastic season we have had and some great football to have enjoyed.
Looking forward to next season immensely.
One thing though, both Luton and Coventry have had the measure of us. We have to work out how to counter teams that play with a high fast and physical press. For me (apart from losing Howson) that has been our undoing at this tail end of the season.
Despite the disappointment. I am proud of what the team has achieved and the manner they have gone about it.
Gutted ☹️
Boro failed to score at home for the first time in long time and never really created a clear opportunity (except for all the ones where the cross or the shot should have been better) - Coventry just toughed it out and were very solid defensively and physical when they needed to be.
Pity Boro didn't start with Dijksteel and Jones - plus it was evident from an early stage that Archer wasn't getting any joy trying to use his pace to get behind the Coventry defence - in hindsight Crooks looked to give them more of a problem but maybe Boro missing the key players of Howson and Ramsey.
In truth Boro's form has dipped at the wrong time and probably a combination of injuries and playing dead rubbers has taken 5% off the team when our A-Game would have sealed it.
A huge disappointment and with all respect to Luton and Coventry they look ill-equipped for the Premier League and the pity is that Michael Carrick had developed a style of playing that could have worked in the top flight given better quality players - particularly in defence.
I hope Michael Carrick isn't tempted elsewhere in the summer and he can find the player he needs for next season - though it will be tough if the likes of Leeds, Everton, Leicester and Southampton are in the mix.
Still well done to Coventry - they were unfortunately for us the better side and executed their plan to perfection.
gazette ratings
Zack Steffen - 6
Important save early on when Smith's sloppy ball played Gyokeres in. Only beaten by a special goal from Gus Hamer, having done well to force Gyokeres wide from the ball over the top.
Tommy Smith - 6
Recovered from the early sloppy pass to have a solid enough game, but he struggled to help his side have much of an attacking threat.
Paddy McNair - 6
After two brilliant displays against Gyokeres, it was perhaps inevitable that the Swede would come to life eventually. McNair struggled to deal with him this time, but still battled hard throughout.
Darragh Lenihan - 7
Was solid throughout with some big headers and tackles before the game opened up towards the end as Boro pushed forward in numbers for an equaliser that didn't come.
Ryan Giles - 6
Best player on the pitch in a positive first half, but then made the sloppy pass that gifted Coventry possession and allowed them to break, leading to their winning goal.
Hayden Hackney - 6
Tried to drive his side on and be positive, but found it so difficult to help Boro penetrate such a stubborn Coventry defence.
Alex Mowatt - 5
Not as effective in this one as he lacked the craft to help Boro break down the Coventry defence when needing to be more forward-thinking in this leg of the tie.
Marcus Forss - 6
Back in after injury, he worked his socks off with the press on the right-hand side, but ultimately couldn't find a moment of quality to unlock the defence.
Riley McGree - 5
Usual lively performance. The Australian always wanted the ball and tried to make something happen. But finding a way through Coventry's defence proved a difficult task as too many crosses from out wide went astray.
Chuba Akpom - 5
A disappointing end to a remarkable season for the forward. He was ultimately swarmed by Coventry players whenever the ball went near him and though he battled as hard as he could, he just couldn't make the ball stick.
Cameron Archer - 5
Isolated at times up top against a physical defence, but ultimately too flat-footed and unresponsive when Boro did try to feed the ball through for him.
Substitutions
Anfernee Dijksteel (For Smith, 67') - 6 - Was lively down the right wing when he came on, but just couldn't find the final ball.
Dan Barlaser (For Mowatt, 67') - 6 - Was positive with his passing range when he came on.
Isaiah Jones (For Forss, 67') - 5 - Much like the first leg, saw plenty of the ball on the right after coming on but was so wasteful when it came to the final ball and big decision.
Matt Crooks (For McNair, 88') - N/A - Thought he'd scored with his first touch but was offside after Coventry cleared their lines after a corner so quickly.
Very, very disappointed.
We just weren’t good enough over the last few weeks at the business end of the season. But the season as a whole has been miles better than anyone could have expected after the poor start saw Boro in the bottom three. Carrick has done a great job and I hope we can keep him to help us go one step further next season.
The only question is whether Gibson has the necessary depth of pockets to give Carrick the resources he wants to challenge for automatic promotion. We shall see.
Disappointed with the result tonight but life goes on and we go again next season. Since we qualified for the playoffs the intensity seems to have dropped and we couldn't get back up again. As others have pointed out when faced with a team that defends deep the killer pass becomes more difficult to play. I wonder if Barlaser is the answer? Also previously when we were putting in crosses they were driven in low but tonight we were crossing for headers against tall centre backs. I wonder how Steve Gibson goes about funding next season, does he sell or does he fund it himself and keep as many of the squad as possible. How much is Chuba worth? Joao Pedro has gone to Brighton from Watford for 30 million and only scored 11 goals this season, although he is only 21.