Boro Fall to Foxes Fightback

Middlesbrough   1             Leicester   2

                                               Bailey  48                                          Vardy  62

                                                                                                          Dyer  89 

Boro's home fans were left frustrated and aggrieved after a late winner from Leicester substitute Lloyd Dyer ended a 100% record at the Riverside in heartbreaking fashion.

Tony Mowbray's side spend the majority of the first half on the back foot, but went ahead following Nicky Bailey's stunning strike soon after the restart. However after being pegged back Dyer's deflected shot left Boro with nothing causing a painful defeat for the supporters.

Dyer's deflected shot loops over Jason Steele

After victory in the cup on Tuesday Mowbray recalled most of his established player who sat out in the week,with hero at Blackburn Lukas Jutkiewicz playing as a lone striker in Marvin Emmnes absence . Jonathan Woodgate captained the team as he and Andre Bikey again returned to the heart in defense with George Friend and Justin Hoyte in the full back positions.

The hosts started slowly as they were stretched from the off, when Woodgate was forced to clear a low cross with striker David Nugent lurching behind him. Boro's best chance looked to be on the counter attack as they relieved some pressure though Bailey whose effort across goal went just wide.

A defensive minded midfield saw Boro come under most of the pressure in the opening 45 minutes, as they struggled to retained the ball while a lack of bodies and movement toward the attacking third continued to annoy the home supporters.

Middlesbrough's biggest threat came from full back George Friend, whose attacking runs from defense threatened down the left hand side re-engaging the crowd, however few options in attacking areas meant he was often crowded out when reaching the penalty area as the game remained goalless at the break. 

Boro only tested Leicester keeper  Kasper Schmeichel once in the first half, but the son of Manchester United Peter Schmeichel was soon beaten as the second half burst into life. As the visitors sat back Bailey was able to get on the ball before unleashing a 30 yard strike,which looked to be heading for the stands, but flew past the stranded keeper into the top right hand corner.

The home side could have had the game wrapped up soon after, as more positive play saw them break in numbers using the pace of Hoyte whose low cross was met by Jutkiewicz before unluckily rebounding of the cross bar and the chance was gone.

Naturally defending a goals lead Boro reverted to a defensive set up, as the Foxes began to move men forward pushing for the equalizer.Then with just under half an hour to go the scores were leveled when an original shot from Danny Drinkwater hit Dyer, who looked in an offside position, and fell nicely to Jamie Vardy who buried the rebound with the Boro player fuming at the linesman's decision.

Mowbray introduced Luke Williams and Emmanuel Ledesma as the game slowly became more open, first an excellent save from Steele to deny the header of former Boro player Sean St Ledger before Williams low shot was deflected wide as the game then looked to be heading for the draw.

However after a mysterious free kick was given to Leicester inside the Boro half the ball eventually fell to substitute Dyer whose shot took a cruel deflection off Friend looping over Steele to silence the home fans and give the visitors all three points.   

Player Ratings

Jason Steele   7- Not much he could have done about ether goal looking like one of the top keepers in this division
Justin Hoyte   6.5- Looked a threat going forward but wasn't found on the wing enough
Jonathan Woodgate   6- Came off after 39 minutes with a hamstring problem
Andre Bikey   7.5- Vocal in defense not afraid to bring the ball forward from the back
George Friend    7.5- Unlucky with deflection at the end looked Boro's biggest threat in the first half
Josh McEachran   5.5- Got in a few forward possitions at the start of the second half but struggled to get on the ball
Kevin Thompson   6.5- Looked better on the ball replaced by Willaims as Boro looked for more attacking options         
Grant Leadbitter   6- Played in a deep midfield with players that looked too similar
Nicky Bailey   7- Scored a brilliant goal which looked like giving boro the points      
Merouane Zemmama   5- A few Indecisive decisions on Boro counter attacks   
Lukas Jutkiewicz   6- A bit isolated up front not enough players supporting him 
Subs 
Hines   6.5- Replaced Woodgate in first half gave a solid performance tried to release Hoyte's pace from defence
Williams   5.5- Had one shot go just wide as the game became more open
Emmanuel Ledesma   6- added a extra body in attacking third looked a threat   
    

Home Sweet Home for Boro

Middlesbrough   2     Ipswich   0

                                        L.Williams  34

                                            Carayol  90

A winning home record is always the building block for a successful season in football and Boro's 100% record at the Riverside so far this season has given fans real hope that Tony Mowbray's side can once again be in the mix for promotion to the Premier League this year.

However don't be fooled by what looks a routine 2-0 victory over Paul Jewell's Ipswich team, after Boro provided the usual agony for their supporters in the dying minutes, hanging on to their one goal advantage courtesy of Luke Williams' first half strike. 

Carayol celebrates his home debut with a goal

Boro dug deep to keep a limit on the visitor's chances late on before home debutant Mustapha Carayol was presented a chance on the counter attack, killing the game and making nine points out of nine at home, the Riverside proving to be something of a fortress this year.

After the International break Mowbray made four changes from the side who were beaten away at Millwall two weeks ago. Marvin Emmnes dropped out due to illness allowing teenager Williams to again show his qualities up front.While new arrival Andre Bikey was given his debut playing alongside captain Jonathan Woodgate in defense.

Boro tried to impose themselves on the game early on and were able to create the game's opening chance nine minutes in, when Ishmael Miller was released clear through on goal from Josh McEachran's pass only to be denied by the legs of Ipswich keeper Scott Loach.

Ipswich were quick to respond attacking down the right when Lee Martin's run behind the defense forced Steele into action tipping the winger's shot over the bar. Ipswich then enjoyed large spells of possession in the Boro half as the hosts sat very deep without the ball.

But back came Boro after failing to test the visitors goal since Miller's effort the hosts were quick to pounce on the next opportunity that went begging, this time it was Kevin Thompson's pass which split the defense for Williams to fire the ball low across Loach into the bottom left hand corner.

Boro closed out the first half by keeping the ball as their lead remained intact and were close to adding a second just after the restart when Adam Reach came inside onto his left foot for his shot to be unconvincingly parried away by Loach.

Mowbray gambled on the fitness level Lukas Jutkiewicz in the second half as the Boro striker, who missed most of pre-season through injury, looked hungry for a goal heading the ball just over the bar within seconds of coming on to the pitch.   

In the first half Ipswich forward Michael Chopra found it difficult to make an impact on the game with his team mates struggling to get their main striker on the ball. However the former Newcastle and Cardiff man started to show just why he was Ipswich's top scorer last season first missing wide before bringing another good save from Steele a few minutes later.    

Boro were forced back deeper and deeper as the visitors launched one last push to salvage somthing from the game. However the home fans were allowed a huge sigh of relief when Steele picked out Carayol from the goal kick allowing the Boro winger to exploit the space before a composed finish past Loach at the near post.

Boro now face back to back away games against Blackpool and Blackburn as they go looking for their first point on the road this season.

Match Ratings

Jason Steele  9- Made some crucial saves to keep Boro in the game
George Friend  7- Looked good going forward early on, but struggled to cope with the pace of Martin at times
Jonathan Woodgate(C)  8- Solid captain's performance in the heart of defense
Andre Bikey   8.5- Played like a brick wall in defense as not much got past him  
Justin Hoyte   6.5- Not able show much of his pace going forward
Josh McEachran   6- Set up Miller early on but then had quiet spells throughout the match
Kevin Thompson   6- His pass set up Williams for the first goal but looked short of match fitness
Grant Leadbitter   6.5- Showed a range of passing in  midfield against his former club
Adam Reach   6- Had shot saved early in the second half but didn't cause defenders as many problems as he would have liked
Luke Williams 7- Took his chance to score, with a good low shot, to put Boro in the driving seat
Ishmael Miller   6- Missed a good chance early on but his physical threat gave defenders problems
Subs 
Lukas Jukiewicz   6- First appearance of the season and looked hungry for a goal
Mustapha Carayol   7- came on for the last 20 minutes helping out in defense before his pace on the break lead to the second goal