Groundhog Day For Boro

Middlesbrough     0          Leeds     0

Boro’s goal drought is showing no signs of ending, unfortunately the same can’t be said for their play-off aspirations which now appear all but extinct.

After a promising Christmas period Aitor Karanka’s team have drifted ten points off the top six with fourteen games to go and another mediocre season in the Championship is beginning to look imminent.

Boro fail to score for the sixth game in succession

To the Boro fans who haven’t seen their side score for six matches in a row, setting an unwanted club record, today’s 0-0 draw at home to Leeds United will have felt like Groundhog Day as another game of few chances only appeared to have one conclusion.

On the balance of things Boro shaded what was for the most part a scrappy affair and were unfortunate to come up against Leeds’ new on loan Keeper Jack Butland who came up with some critical saves at the key moments in the match.    

In the other goal it was only fitting that in Shay Given’s final game, before his return to parent club Aston Villa, that the Irishman kept his tenth clean sheet after sixteen games on loan at Boro which earned him a warm farewell at full time.

This match marked the ten year anniversary since Boro lifted the Carling Cup back in 2004, before the game Red Faction paid their tribute by showing banners with the names of the eleven that started that day, any of whom would have been a welcome addition to the current side.

Karanka made four changes from the side which were beaten 1-0 away at Watford the previous Saturday. One was enforced as Ben Gibson’s red card at Vicarage Road meant he was suspended so was replaced by Kenneth Omeruo who partnered captain Jonathan Woodgate at centre back.

Further forward Grant Leadbitter and Nathanial Chalobah kept their place in the heart of midfield to fit Karanka’s 4-2-3-1 formation. Albert Adomah, Dean Whitehead and Emmanuel Ledesma all dropped to the bench, their replacements were Jacob Butterfield in the centre and Curtis Main and Kei Kamara on the wings, Danny Graham kept his place upfront.

Leeds made five changes from their defeat to Brighton; Butland replaced the injured Paddy Kenny in goal while Lee Peltier, Scott Wooton, Cameron Stewart and Noel Hunt also came into the side.

In a vibrant atmosphere created by a crowd of over 20,000, Boro had most of the early running; however they failed to test Butland in the Leeds goal and had nothing to show for their early pressure.

At the other end Hunt led a weak Leeds penalty claim when he was challenged by Omeruo in the Boro box as the striker tried to get on the end of Cameron Stewart’s low cross from the left but his appeal was turned down by referee Anthony Taylor.

Both sets of fans were poised to celebrate, yet after a vocal start the match entered a weary lull as neither side could break a frustrating stalemate. On the half hour mark a slight mix up between Given and Omeruo led to an instinctive punch from the Boro keeper with Hunt ready to pounce.

The two best efforts of the half both came minutes before the interval. Leeds midfielder Luke Murphy tried his luck from outside the box but fizzed a low shot inches wide of the post, minutes later Boro finally had their first shot on target when Leadbitter’s in swinging corner was cleared as far as Butterfield who cracked a vicious effort which forced Butland to tip the ball over the cross bar.

Three minutes after the re-start Leeds defender Steven Warnock was lucky not to put through his own net after he diverted the ball towards goal from George Friend’s low cross, fortunately for the visitors Butland was on hand to spare their blushes.  

Boro continued to crank up the pressure when Graham went for the spectacular over head kick from Main’s header across the penalty area, however the effort was straight at Butland. Sensing his first Boro goal Graham continued to be in the thick of the action, on the hour mark he latched on to Leadbitter’s pass but fired over from a tight angle.

The Championship’s top scorer Ross McCormack had been kept quiet all afternoon, but with twenty minutes to go he showed a glimpse of why he has found the net twenty-two times this season when his shot from range whistled just wide of the post.

There was a Boro debut for January signing Lee Tomlin who replaced Kamara on sixty-six minutes with the game there for the taking.  Karanka also sent on Adomah and Ledesma in search of a winner.

The changes were nearly instantly rewarded, with thirteen minutes to go Ledesma split the defence with a teasing lofted pass which Adomah chested down to advance to a one on one with Butland. However the keeper was quick to react and spread himself well to deny the Ghanaian.

Deep into stoppage time the hosts managed to fashion up one last chance when Chalobah slipped a pass through to Adomah, but with the Leeds defenders bearing down on him he could only blaze the ball high into the stands and add to Boro’s painful wait without a goal.

  

Player Ratings

Shay Given   7- Had next to nothing to do on his final appearance for the club while claiming his 10^th clean sheet

George Friend   7.5- Snubbed out numerous Leeds attacks, got forward when he could  

Kenneth Omeruo   8- Won everything in the air and kept McCormack very quiet   

Jonathan Woogate   8- Swept up any danger when it came his way, as Boro looked a solid unit at the back

Jossef Varga   7- Has become Boro’s regular right back by consistent performances

Nathanial Chalobah   7- Grew in to the game and became more effective in midfield    

Grant Leadbitter   7- Showed good range of passes in midfield  

Jacob Butterfield   6.5- Played behind the striker, created some chances

Kei Kamara   6- Played on the left, at times looked out of position  

Curtis Main   6- Dipped in and out of the game on the right hand side   

Danny Graham   6.5- Got into some good positions, but wasn’t given a clear cut opportunity

Subs

Lee Tomlin   6- Came on with 25 minutes to go for debut as Boro pushed for a winner  

Albert Adomah   6-Injected some pace into the game, missed to opportunities late on

Emmanuel Ledesma   6- Came on with 15 minutes to go, added some creativity to Boro attack  

My Boro Man Of The Match Jonathan Woodgate

Boro's Goal Drought Continues

Middlesbrough     0          Blackburn     0

It’s a well known fact that goals win games and at the moment Boro just aren’t scoring enough. They haven’t found the net in over seven hours of football, that’s far from play-off material.

Not even transfer deadline day signing Danny Graham, on his Riverside return, could prevent Boro from extending their unwanted run to four games without a goal, after a third consecutive 0-0 draw at home to Blackburn.   

Karanka hasn't seen his side score in 4 consecutive games 

Whether it’s the system to play a lone striker or just a lack of quality upfront which is letting them down remains a topic for debate. Bearing in mind, while Boro were once again left puzzled in front of goal, former striker Lukas Jutkiewitz, on loan at Bolton, was busy enjoying his first goal for his new club, after scoring just two in twenty earlier this season for Boro.

In many ways this goalless draw was even more frustrating than the tedious one Boro recorded at home to Wigan last week, as the hosts squandered a catalogue of chances missing an opportunity to close the gap on the top six which now stands at eight points.

Luckily for Boro, manager Aitor Karanka has settled what was at times a patchy defence; this was their eighth clean sheet in ten league games even without the centre back pairing of Rhys Williams and Daniel Ayala who both face lengthy injury absences.

"It's frustrating for me because we didn't play well against Doncaster, and we didn't deserve to win the game against Wigan but [against Blackburn] we had a lot of chances” said Karanka after the match.

"We didn't score but that's football and I'm more confident than I was after the last game. The keeper did very, very well and stopped us so we have to improve with our chances."

Despite the calls for a more offensive formation, Karanka stuck with his preferred 4-2-3-1, but made four changes from the side which drew at Doncaster last Saturday.

   

Jonathan Woodgate returned to captain the side replacing the injured Ayala at centre back while Jozsef Varga was a straight swap for Kenneth Omeruo at right back.

Further forward Dean Whitehead came in for Jacob Butterfield to join Nathanial Chalobah in midfield, with Grant Leadbitter, Mustapha Carayol and Emmanuel Ledesma ahead of them. Graham was preferred to Curtis Main upfront, who dropped to the bench where he was joined by the fit again Albert Adomah.

Boro took no time at all to get started, within a minute Carayol had charged down the left to whip a low cross into the box; however his team mates were late to arrive. Minutes later Carayol was at it again, this time cutting in from the left to force a save at the near post from Blackburn keeper Paul Robinson, who was also on hand to stop Chaloboh’s header from the resulting corner.

The hosts continued to have the better chances, especially down the left hand side. On twenty-six minutes George Friend made a powerful run into the Blackburn penalty area where he curled in a cross which evaded everyone and forced another save from Robinson.

There was more work for Robinson moments after; Carayol’s latest shot was once again tipped around the near post by Robinson, before Ledesma’s cross from the right looked like it had been spilled by the Blackburn keeper, however he recovered well to smother the ball quickly.

It took until the thirtieth minute for the visitors to finally threaten the Boro goal. Blackburn striker Jordan Rhodes has already netted sixteen times in the league so far and he could have made it seventeen if wasn’t for a brilliant block from Ben Gibson inside the area. From the following corner Rhodes’ strike Rudy Gestede found space to shoot but fired wide.

On balance Boro had been the better side which prompted more cheers than boos at half time. However their lack of ambition upfront had once again been frustrating and for most of the half Graham had been isolated upfront.

Boro had earned nine corners to Blackburn’s one in the first half, a statistic they continued to improve after the break. Six minutes after the re-start, Friend’s cross took a wicked deflection off Blackburn midfielder Jason Lowe causing the ball to dip toward his own goal however it landed inches wide of the post.

A goal looked imminent, but still it didn’t come. From a Blackburn corner Graham led a promising counter attack before feeding a delightful pass through to Carayol, who shrugged off the last defender but couldn’t beat the advancing figure of Robinson who saved with his leg.

Blackburn had done little to trouble Boro keeper Shay Given, who made a rare intervention to deny Tom Carney’s effort from range. However Boro still looked more likely to snatch it, with twenty minutes to go Karanka threw on Adomah, who made an immediate impact with a shot from distance which Robinson tipped over the bar.

In desperation for a goal Karanka also introduced Kei Kamara and Curtis Main; however their late surge slowly faded and was washed away be the heavy rain which only added to Boro’s misery.

Player Ratings

Shay Given   7- Not much to do but reliable when called upon

George Friend   7.5- Linked up well with Carayol to cause problems on the left  

Ben Gibson   7.5- Slotted in well to defence kept Rhodes quiet

Jonathan Woodgate   7- Solid afternoon not posed huge threat by the opposition

Joszef Varga   6.5- Wasn’t caused much trouble by opposition at right back

Dean Whitehead   6.5- Protected the back four and broke up play in midfield

Nathanial Chalobah   6- Liked to get on the ball, sometimes a little too casual

Grant Leadbitter   6- Played in unfamiliar role of attacking midfielder, didn’t have the same effect on the game Emmanuel Ledesma   6- Created a few chances, but went missing for spells in the game

Mustapha Carayol   8- By far Boro’s brightest player causing all sorts of problems crossing and shooting from the left

Danny Graham   6- Showed good signs with his movement, but overall isolated upfront

Subs

Albert Adomah   6- Added a spark when he came on surprising he didn’t start

Kei Kamara   6- Came on with 15 minutes to go as Boro pushed for a winner

Curtis Main- Replaced Graham with 7 minutes to go, not enough time to give a fair rating

My Boro Man Of The Match: Mustapha Carayol