Its A Job Worth Taking

Middlesbrough   4        Doncaster   0  

                                    Adomah  7  35

                                     Kamara  67

                                     Ayala  82  

After all it’s been through in the recent weeks and months the spirit of Teesside is still burning strong.

Despite the tough times at the Riverside which have led to the sacking of manager, club legend and lifelong Boro fan Tony Mowbray, the fans were still quick to show their love and desire for their town and team on a night where pride, passion and excitement were all rolled into one.

Boro's new formed attack could be a real asset for the new manager

For the first time in a while you could be proud to say you’re from Teesside. Proud to see the banner of the transporter bridge before kickoff, proud to see the Riverside bouncing with over 21,000 inside, but most of all proud to see a demolishing victory.

As a fan no one would have enjoyed last night’s 4-0 triumph over Doncaster more than Mowbray himself, but as a manager he must wonder why the same players didn’t perform like that when he was in the dugout.

Two first half goals from Albert Adomah got the vibrant show started before Kei Kamara and new loan signing Daniel Ayala added their names to the score sheet after the interval.

It was a result which certainly stated a claim for current caretaker boss Mark Venus to take the vacant manager’s job full time, however there may be a few more candidates interested after watching  last night’s performance.

Venus, who has been Mowbray’s assistant at all of his previous jobs, made no hesitation in stamping his own mark on the team making six changes from last week’s embarrassing 3-2 defeat at Barnsley.

In came Rhys Williams, Jonathan Woodgate, Richard Smallwood Mustapha Carayol and Marvin Emnes along with Ayala who signed a 93 day loan deal from Norwich earlier this week.

Seb Hines, George Friend, Jacob Butterfield and Lukas Jutkiewicz all dropped to the bench where they were joined by Curtis Main who has just returned from a loan spell at Shrewsbury. Frazer Richardson and Dean Whitehead were the other casualties as they missed out all together.

There was also an evident change to the Boro system as they set up to play 4-4-2 with Carayol and Adomah operating the wings while Emnes linked up with Kamara as a front two.

Doncaster’s team showed just one change from their defeat at Reading last time out, Richie Wellens was suspended so replaced by Theo Robinson, while in goal Ross Turnbull made his first return to Boro since leaving in 2009.

Following the week’s events it was a nervy but energetic start as the half price ticket offer resulted in an attendance of 21,882, Boro’s highest in the league since Boxing Day.

However it was the visitors who earned themselves the opening chance when a mix up in the Boro defence allowed the ball to fall at the feet of James Coppinger, but with a clear sight of goal his low shot failed to hit the target.

Boro’s attack force showed plenty of promise and with only seven minutes played they had taken the lead.

Kamara received the ball mid way inside his own half before sending a perfectly measured pass over the top of the defence towards Adomah. The Ghanaian international reacted shapely to beat the defenders to the loose ball then with Turnbull slightly off his line, Adomah produced the calmest of finishes looping the ball over the stranded keeper from the edge of the area where it dipped into the net.

The hosts bided their time picking their moments to get forward. On the left Carayol’s direct runs were causing Doncaster all sorts of problems, on sixteen minutes he cut inside on to his favoured right foot; however his low effort was denied by Turnbull who palmed the ball away.

Conditions were made tricky as the rain began to lash down however Boro soaked up the growing Doncaster pressure. The visitor’s only shot on target came in the form of a speculative effort from full back Reece Wabara whose long range shot from the edge of the area flew straight into the gloves of Jason Steele.

It remained a buoyant atmosphere as Boro posed the bigger threat going forward. On 23 minutes Kamara made a powerful leap to connect with Carayol’s cross however he couldn’t steer his header on target.

Minutes later Boro strung together another well worked move, but when Emnes teed off Carayol in the Doncaster penalty area he could only fire over the cross bar.

It took until the 35^th minute but Boro finally doubled their advantage, Carayol once again charged down the left before laying the ball back to Smallwood who had took up the space in midfield, with plenty of time he swung the ball into the box where it was met by the diving header from Adomah which cannoned into the ground before bouncing over Turnbull and into the roof of the net.

Doncaster should have pulled one back on the stroke of half time when captain Rob Jones failed to make contact with the ball from a teasing corner.

However Boro could have been out of sight when Kamara slipped the ball through to Carayol however he was denied by the outstretched Turnbull.

At half time the fans were treated to a performance by last year’s X factor winner James Arthur, who was given a warm reception.

After the break Williams was fortunate he didn’t turn Mark Duffy’s free kick into his own net, as the ball bounced off the Aussie's shin before going for a corner.

Boro gradually clawed back their authority, Ayala’s header had to be cleared off the line by Jones but it wasn’t long before the hosts wrapped up a third.

Leadbitter’s free kick mid way inside the Doncaster half floated towards the far post where Kamara was on hand to tuck the ball past Turnbull sealing the game and sparing a nervy climax.

The visitors missed the chance to salvage a consolation goal when substitute Chris Brown’s header ten minutes from time rebounded off Steele’s far post.

Boro’s fourth was ominous and nearly came when Emnes received the ball from Carayol in the area however the Dutch forward couldn’t beat Turnbull.

The night was completed with eight minutes remaining; an in swinging corner from Leadbitter was powered into the net from Ayala’s header who hustled off the crowd of defenders to mark a debut goal.

After making an admitted “tough decision” to sack his manager, chairman Steve Gibson will hope the man he appoints in the coming weeks can produce more victories like last night.

Whoever gets the job still has plenty of work to do, but one thing’s for sure the role definitely looks a lot more appealing than it did a week ago.  

Player Ratings

Jason Steele   6- Wasn’t required to make any top class saves, still looked a little shaky when dealing with crosses

Ben Gibson   6- Unfamiliar position of left back but coped well

Jonathan Woodgate (C)   7- Took up good positions to snub out Doncaster danger

Daniel Ayala   7.5- Looked comfortable at the back, capped of Boro debut with a powerful headed goal 

Rhys Williams   6- became more adventurous as the game went on, occasionally got caught out of position at right back  

Richard Smallwood   7.5- Worked continuously in midfield, cross picked out Adomah for second goal

Grant Leadbitter   7.5- Kept the midfield ticking through work rate and variety of passing

Mustapha Carayol   7.5- Created plenty of chances with Direct runs at the defence in the first half 

Albert Adomah   8.5- Two well taken goals, never stopped charging forward down the right

Marvin Emnes   8- Found pockets of space in front of the Doncaster defence to cause them plenty of problems

Kei Kamara   7.5- Linked up well with other forwards, continues to look a goal threat

Subs

Players were not on the pitch long enough to give a fair score

Jacob Butterfield- Came on with 8 minutes to go to sure up the midfield

Curtis Main- Made his return for the last few minutes after loan spell at Shrewsbury    

Jozsef Varga- Replaced Adomah in the last minute as the Ghanaian received a standing ovation

My Boro Man Of The Match Albert Adomah

England Power Past Poland To Begin World Cup Countdown

England     2          Poland     0

                                    Rooney  40

                                    Gerrard  87

Raise the banners, cue the optimism, for England have finally qualified for next year’s World Cup.

Can they win it?  It remains unlikely, although this time people are actually admitting it. But at least we’ll be there and have the chance to relive the hope, the drama and the frequent heartbreak; it just wouldn’t be the same without. Who knows they may even surprise us.

Steven Gerrard celebrates the goal which sends England to Brazil 

There were no excuses or what if’s from manager Roy Hodgson and his players last night as they booked their ticket’s to Brazil next Summer with a 2-0 victory over Poland at Wembley, to conclude an up and down qualifying campaign which England finished unbeaten.

Yes it was tense for most of the night; it was always going to be. England needed to win to top group H anything less would result in the unpredictability of a play-off.

They led through Wayne Rooney’s header five minutes before half time. However it wasn’t until the 87^th minute when Captain Steven Gerrard shrugged off two Polish defenders and converted England’s second, that the nation could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Hodgson later described the victory as the “proudest moment” [of his career] that was clear from the beaming smile on his face at the final whistle.

“We knew how important it is to so many people England is a very big football nation. So many people are desperate to see England participate and hopefully do well in a world cup so we knew it was on our shoulder’s to make certain we didn’t disappoint them.” Hodgson said after the match.

The England manager only made two changes from the side that conquered Montenegro on Friday night. One was enforced as Chris Smalling replaced the suspended Kyle Walker at right back, while Frank Lampard dropped to the bench and made way for Michael Carrick.

After a cagey opening the game suddenly sprung into life. England made the first move when Leighton Baines whipped a low cross from the left which required a vital interception from Poland defender Grzegorz Wojtkowiak who prevented the ball entering the heart of the penalty area.

Then it was the visitors turn. From the resulting corner Poland’s most recognised asset, Borussia Dortmund's Robert Lewandowski, launched an immediate counter attack. Urged on by the 18,000 Poland fans inside Wembley he charged to the edge of the England box however his tame shot was straight at keeper Joe Hart.

An end to end game must have been turning into an entertaining spectacle, for the neutral at least. England’s new wonder kid Andros Townsend backed up his man of the match performance on Friday night and brought the first save out of Poland and Arsenal keeper Wojciech Szczęsny.

However the hosts were left exposed at the back once again with twenty minutes on the clock, Jakub Błaszczykowski’s clever dummy fooled the England defence, the ball fell perfectly at the feet of Lewandowski but with only Hart to beat the Polish number nine dragged his shot hopelessly wide. 

   

England had been let off the hook; however they soon regrouped and dominated the remainder of the half.

Townsend was at it again and nearly opened the scoring when he cut inside from the left before unleashing a spectacular effort which arched towards the goal but cannoned back off the cross bar.

Chances continued to come, Welbeck fired wide after a scramble from a corner, Sturridge then scuffed one past the post from the edge of the box, before Rooney forced Szczęsny back into action.

It could have quite easily turned into one of those agonising nights where England just couldn’t score. However those thoughts were abolished five minutes before the interval, Baines yet again found space on the left, his ominous cross fell perfectly onto the head of Rooney who glanced the ball into the far corner of the net for his 38^th international goal.

England had seized momentum before the break but seconds after half time they nearly handed it back. Błaszczykowski’s low cross from the right picked out Mateusz Klich, who had just come on as a substitute, fortunately for England his shot was blocked by the outstretched leg of Gary Cahill.

At 1-0 the situation was far from comfortable in a nail-biting climax. England came close to folding when a pass over the defence was controlled by Lewandowski however he couldn’t beat the outrushing Hart who made a critical block with his right arm.

A substitution saw Lampard replace Carrick as England looked to put the game out of sight. It was agonising for both Hodgson and the fans, both Rooney and Sturrridge came close but both had efforts impressively saved by Szczęsny.

However with three minutes to go the long road to Brazil was completed in style, Gerrard latched on to a loose ball with only one thing in mind, determined to send his country to the World Cup finals, he brushed aside two Polish defenders before poking the ball past  Szczęsny causing Wembley to erupt.

The countdown for next summer starts now, so let the excitement begin!   

A Home Win At Last

Middlesbrough     4          Yeovil     1

                    Leadbitter  8                                                  Davis  4

                    Adomah  27

                    Butterfield  49 

                     Kamara  74

It may have been a long time coming but Boro finally have their first home win of the season.

In the end the victory was a comfortable and one-sided affair against an at best, average Yeovil side who will be more than happy to retain their Championship status come May.

Grant Leadbitter celebrates Boro's equalizer

Boro were good value for their 4-1 victory and could have easily scored more goals, but in truth so could Yeovil on an afternoon full of open, free flowing football which made for an entertaining spectacle.

Goals from Grant Leadbitter, Albert Adomah, Jacob Butterfield and Kei Kamara ensured Boro finally abolished their eight game winning drought going into next week’s international break allowing some much needed respite for manager Tony Mowbray.     

The Boro boss expressed that his side got what they deserved in the 3 points but admitted that “it wasn't the perfect performance and that the problems are still there in front of my eyes” Not least in the defensive areas.

Mowbray made just one change from the side which was held to a 1-1 draw with Huddersfield on Tuesday night. Marvin Emnes replaced Mustapha Carayol who dropped to the bench following his apology on twitter for his performance last time out.

Empty seats were again clear to see as Boro recorded their two lowest  league attendances at the Riverside back to back. 13,181 was a minor improvement on the 12,793 who were present on Tuesday night, however it’s still miles off the great Premier league and European days five years ago.

Against a Yeovil side who sat second from bottom before kick-off with just five points, the Boro fans expected nothing less than a victory to kick start their sluggish opening to the season.

However things didn’t go to plan as Boro were yet again punished for a defensive mishap which resulted in the opening goal.

Just four minutes were on clock when a Yeovil clearance up field was misjudged by Rhys Williams who allowed the ball to bounce deep inside his own half. Before the Boro captain had time to rethink the situation his mistake had been pounced on by Yeovil’s Liam Davis who latched onto the ball and drove towards the Boro penalty area, before slotting his effort past Jason Steele.

It was the worst possible start to a must win game and the fans made their thoughts clear channeling their frustration towards Mowbray, who was again the victim of individual error that was out of his control.

Boro’s response had to be imminent and they made sure they weren’t behind for long. Four minutes later Albert Adomah retrieved possession mid-way inside the opposition  half, he charged toward Yeovil goal before drifting a cross from the right in to the path of Grant Leadbitter, who cannoned his volley into the ground before it flew into the roof of the net.

More than anything there was a sense of relief around the ground, but Boro didn’t rest on their laurels as they went in search of a second. Kei Kamara was inches away when he met George Friend’s cross, the Sierra Leone international steered his original header onto the crossbar, before he pounced on the rebound but was denied by the post.

After 20 minutes it was obvious to see why Yeovil had lost five games on the bounce, the Glovers defensive frailties were again exploited on 22 minutes when Dean Whitehead threaded a menacing pass towards Friend in the Yeovil penalty area, where the Boro full back was chopped down by Joel Grant; referee Dean Whitestone immediately signalled a penalty.

Leadbitter elected to take it but was denied by an outstanding save from Wayne Hennessy who turned the ball onto his right hand post. However the Yeovil keeper was left helpless when Adomah was quickest to react and followed in the rebound which bounced in to the net.

Boro had another strong penalty appeal turned down when Adomah went for a one-two pass with Kamara in the Yeovil box. Adomah was visibly blocked by Shane Duffy when going for the return however the referee stood by his decision.    

Adomah was running the show as Boro piled on the pressure, with half an hour played, the Ghanaian's quick feet allowed him to dance his way past two Yeovil defenders opposition before he firing a left foot shot over the bar.

Yeovil thought they had an equalizer when Steele could only parry Sam Hoskins’ low shot; Andy Williams converted the rebound only for the linesman’s flag to cut his celebrations short.

Half time was a chance to draw breath from what had been a relentless 45 minutes. For the majority Boro had dominated and could have been out of sight, on the other hand they could have easily been level.

It was crucial for Boro to regain their momentum after the interval and they did it in emphatic style. Four minutes after the restart Emnes cut in field from the left before laying the ball off to Butterfield about 30 yards from goal, the Boro midfielder turned into space before unleashing a darting shot which fizzed low into the bottom right corner and doubling Boro’s advantage.

However their lead should have been slashed back to one minutes later, when careless play from Whitehead saw him dispossessed in middfield allowing Yeovil to break. 

It was two on one in the visitors favour and when Davis squared the ball to Hoskins he looked certain to score however with almost the whole goal to aim at he could only find the post to let Boro off the hook.

Boro did well to take the sting out of an end to end game and hold their advantage. With half an hour to go Mowbray introduced Carayol to replace Emnes who’d had a decent game on his return to the side.

Brimming with confidence after his first goal in a Boro shirt, Butterfield continued to shine winning tackles and driving the team forward from midfield. With twenty minutes to go he almost added Boro’s fourth when another long range effort had to beaten away by Hennessey.

That didn’t matter though as Boro soon moved out of sight on seventy four minutes, Carayol’s in swinging corner was powered into the net by the head of Kamara to seal a much needed three points.

Once more Boro were caught napping at the back, when Yeovil substitute Keiffer Moore was presented with a golden chance from Hoskins’ cross, however with the goal gaping Moore released a contender for miss of the season from two yards out.

That concluded Boro’s first home win this campaign, next up for Mowbray is an away trip to Barnsley after the international break. Their next home game is on the 25th of October against Doncaster, when the club will hope reduced tickets prices will lure fans back to the Riverside.

Player Ratings

Jason Steele   5.5- Not overly worked, but again looked unconvincing when coming for crosses

George Friend   7- Played key role in Boro’s attack got forward to good effect and won the penalty

Rhys Williams (C)   5.5- Mistake led to first goal and looked shaky all afternoon

Ben Gibson   7- Only 20 years old but at time was the leader in defence, backed up performance on Tuesday night

Frazer Richardson   6.5- Tried to get forward but didn’t see much of the ball

Dean Whitehead   5.5- Great pass led to penalty, but made a few too many errors which could have been costly

Grant Leadbitter   7.5- Scored equaliser, worked hard all afternoon in midfield

Jacob Butterfield   8- By far his best game in a Boro shirt, always looked to get forward resulting in brilliant goal

Marvin Emnes   6.5- Caused a few problems in and around the Yeovil penalty area  

Albert Adomah   7.5- Ran the show in the first half, faded after half time but still an impressive performance
Kei Kamara   7.5- Linked up well with teammates, looks a goal threat, strong header put the game out of sight

Subs

Mustapha Carayol   6- Added fresh legs with 30 minutes to go, showed flashes of his ability

Jozsef Varga -came on with 10 minutes to go so can’t give a fair score

Justin Hoyte -came on with 10 minutes to go so can’t give a fair score

My Boro Man Of The Match: Jacob Butterfield

Another Chance Missed

Middlesbrough   1       Huddersfield   1   

                         

                       Gibson  79                                           Vaughan  58

No matter how hard they try this season Boro can only continue to find new ways to draw football matches, especially at the Riverside.

After five home games Boro are still winless on their own turf, losing one while the other four have finished all square, hardly the form of a mid-table side let alone playoff contenders.

Ben Gibson celebrates his first Boro goal

In last night 1-1 draw with Huddersfield there were signs and flashes of a team who are beginning to make progress, but in small steps rather than huge strides.  

Boro dominated for large spells of the game mounting up 8 shots on target to Huddersfield’s 1, which inevitability found the back of the net, as Boro’s inability to concentrate for the full ninety minutes was once again exploited.  

The lowest ever league attendance at the Riverside, a mere 12,793 watched the latest chapter in Boro’s chain of frustrating results which after ten games leaves then 19^th in the table, four points from the relegation zone, but more alarming ten points adrift from the final playoff spot.

Following a disheartening defeat away to QPR last weekend Tony Mowbray made two changes from the side which started at Loftus road, captain Rhys Williams replaced the injured Jonathan Woodgate while Mustapha Carayol came in for Jozsef Varga.

The host’s poor form was clear to see and hear in the opening exchanges; at times the Riverside was almost silent, a subdued atmosphere wasn’t helped by the action on the pitch.

Huddersfield came into the game unbeaten in four league games and their confidence was clear to see, as visitors pinned Boro back for a majority of the opening half an hour.

Despite their early pressure the visitor failed to threaten Jason Steele’s goal. It took until the 22^nd minute but Boro finally stuttered into action; Mustapha Carayol made a darting run towards the opposition box where he traded passes with Kei Kamara before testing Huddersfield Alex Smithies who palmed the ball away.

    

Ten minutes later Boro found a new gear all together, Carayol again broke away before firing his effort across goal forcing another save from Smithies.

At this point Boro were in the ascendency and continued to keep Smithies busy, Kamara did well to turn his defender before unleashing a shot on target to warm the gloves of the keeper, minutes later Frazier Richardson’s teasing cross was heading towards the Huddersfield goal and once again triggered Smithies into action.

Half time made an unwelcome interruption to Boro’s progress, after a sluggish start they had created plenty of chances.      

Five minutes after the restart Grant Leadbitter’s long range effort rolled nicely into the Smithies grasp for one of his easier saves of the night.

Huddersfield manager Mark Robins opted to replace Sean Scannel with Danny Ward, with just seven minutes of the second half played, as the visitor’s patiently waited for their opportunity.

It came minutes later when former Boro loanee Adam Hammill drifted a cross from the right into the host’s penalty area; Steele made the mistake of leaving the ball allowing Ward to clatter a close range header against the post. The ball bounced out to Oscar Goburn whose shot was diverted into the Boro net by James Vaughan for the striker’s ninth goal of the season.    

  

With just under half an hour to go a tribute went out to lifelong Boro fan Frankie Bam Bam who recently passed away. A banner was paraded around the ground resulting in applause from both sets of supporters.

In search for an equaliser Mowbray switched to 4-4-2 replacing Carayol and Jacob Butterfield with Lukas Jutkiewitz and Andy Halliday.

The change nearly made an instant impact when Jutkiewitz cut in from the left hand side, his cross sat up nicely for Kamara who had found space in the box however Boro’s deadline day signing steered his header the wrong side of the post.

At the start of the night a draw for Boro would have been extremely disappointing, but a defeat would have been catastrophic. However the hosts spared their blushes with eleven minutes remaining.

An in swinging corner from the left was taken by Leadbitter and cannoned in by a header from Ben Gibson, a well deserved goal for a player making his first league appearance at the Riverside.

 Mowbray replaced Richardson with Justin Hoyte in search of a winner.It almost came six minutes from time. Hoyte’s cross was met by the head of Williams who had made a charging run into the opposition box, only to see his header rebound off the underside of the crossbar.  

Deep into injury time Leadbitter fired the final chance wide, as Boro let another two points slip through the net while adding a further draw to their growing collection.

Mowbray will now turn his attention to Saturday’s home game against Yeovil as the need for three points becomes greater by the day.  

Player Ratings

Jason Steele   5 – Could have prevented the goal, otherwise had a game with little to do  

George Friend   6 – Got forward to good effect down the left but struggled defensively

Ryes Williams (C)   7 – Urged the team forward while looking solid in defence

Ben Gibson   7.5 – Scored vital equaliser while looking comfortable on the ball in defence 

Fraiser Richardson   6.5 – Got forward to good effect and not troubled much defensively

Dean Whitehead   5.5 – Continued to play sideways or backwards passes  

Grant Leadbitter   6.5 – Took on a role further forward threatening at times

Jacob Butterfield   6.5 – Provided energy in the midfield

Albert Adomah   5.5 – Quiet game didn’t see enough of the ball to cause a threat

Mustapha Carayol   6 – Improved as the first half went on causing a few problems for the opposition

Kei Kamara   6.5 – Linked up well testing the keeper on a couple of occasions

Subs

Lukas Jutkiewitz   6.5 – Added extra body up front giving Huddersfield more problems    

Andy Hallidy   5 – Had little impact after coming on with twenty minutes to go

Justin Hoyte   6 – Looked to get forward, cross nearly resulted in the winning goal

My Boro Man Of The Match: Ben Gibson