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