Rangers Leave It Late To Deny Boro

Middlesbrough    1        QPR    3     

                                          Friend  18                                              Benayoun  45

                                                                   Zamora  90+4

                                                                      Morrison  90+6 

If Boro’s 3-1 defeat to Queens Park Rangers tells us anything about Aitor Karanka it’s that he will stick to his tactics no matter what.

If there was ever a chance for the Spaniard to throw caution to the wind and abandon his traditional defensive policy, today was that opportunity. At this late stage in the season the table clearly shows Boro won’t go down, neither will they go up and seemingly have nothing to lose.

Boro left to suffer after stoppage time goals  

However experimenting with the formation doesn’t appear be on the Boro manager’s agenda. At 1-1 in today’s fixture his decision to persist with a lone striker rather than switch to a more offensive formation was a sign that he is convinced the system will work. In the long term maybe it will, from Jose Mourinho he has learnt from the best.

In the meantime Boro will have to make do with another painful defeat. After taking a first half lead through a rare George Friend goal, the hosts were undone by Yossi Benayoun’s equaliser on the stroke of half time before a double sucker punch when Bobby Zamora and Ravel Morrison were both on target in second half stoppage time.

Karanka made three changes from the side which drew 0-0 at Bournemouth the weekend before. The defence along with keeper Dimi Konstantopoulos were unchanged, further forward captain Grant Leadbitter was suspended after picking up his 10^th booking of the season at Dean Court; he was replaced by Nathaniel Chalobah who partnered stand in skipper Dean Whitehead in midfield.

In front of then Kei Kamara and Jacob Butterfield came in replacing Lee Tomlin, who dropped to the bench, and Mustapha Carayol who will miss the rest of the season with an anterior cruciate ligament injury. Danny Graham remained the lone centre forward.     

QPR’s play-off hopes suffered a worrying dent in mid-week when they were convincingly beaten by Sheffield Wednesday. Manager Harry Redknapp made six changes from that evening recalling goalkeeper Robert Green, Suk-Young Yun, Tom Carroll, Niko Kranjcar, Will Keane and Benayoun. Former Boro midfielder Gary O’Neil was on the bench.

Before kick-off the Boro side wore bright blue “T-shirts with the words “Get well soon Muzzy” written on the front. With eight goals to his name it’s clear the winger will be a huge loss.  

The Rangers side was sprinkled with a number of ex-Premier League players following their relegation last year. One of whom was the, never short of controversy, Joey Barton, his long range shot with just two minutes played forced Konstantopoulos to parry the ball away, it dropped kindly at the feet of Carroll, whose rebound was denied by the foot of the Boro keeper.

Boro responded two minutes later when Butterfield turned towards goal on the edge of a crowded Rangers penalty area but fired over the cross bar, not long after he tried his luck again with a better view of goal however Green was on hand to palm the ball away.

The game’s opening goal came on eighteen minutes. Friend advanced on one of his adventurous runs from left back into the Rangers penalty area where he cut inside, avoiding the attempted challenges, he pulled the trigger at goal; Green got a hand to it but couldn’t keep it out.

It was clear to see that the Rangers midfield had quality; they were comfortable and composed on the ball however, to Boro’s credit, they failed to do much with it and the best chances fell the host’s way.

Just before the half hour mark Chalobah played a well measured through ball to Friend on the left, the full back’s low cross towards the box was dangerous however there was a lack of Boro players there to convert it.     

Moments later the visitor’s goal was under threat again, Whitehead’s well hit effort required a block from Barton to send it over the bar, before Friend went close once more, his low half volley fizzed along the ground but was comfortable for Green to gather.

Back came the visitors minutes before half time, Morrison, on loan from Tottenham, showed why he is one of England’s hot prospects when he drove at the Boro defence before unleashing a shot which Konstantopoulos had to tip over the bar.

It wasn’t long before the Boro keeper was beaten though. In first half stoppage time Kranjcar’s shot deflected into the path Benayoun who could barely miss from close range; there were some Boro appeals for offside and at the half time whistle the boos from the home fans were at the linesman who turned them down.

It turned out to be the tale of two halves. Boro had attacked with purpose and prevented the Rangers threat before the interval but after the break they appeared to stall.

Five minutes after the re-start Konstantopoulos had to be alert to catch Aaron Hughes’ cross which was heading goal bound, as the visitors started to apply the pressure.

With just under half an hour to go Tomlin replaced Butterfield as the attacking midfield, with Karanka electing not to change the balance of the team.   

A series of fouls and stray passes saw the match enter a scrappy period. Chaloboh was booked when he appeared to win the ball, which sparked an aggrieved reaction from the home fans. Tempers flared further when words were exchanged between Morrison and Kei Kamara, Barton also got involved and all three earned a place in the referee’s notebook.

The events had set up a grandstand finish, with ten minutes remaining Albert Adomah cut in from the right but the Boro winger was denied by Green at his near post.

With the match in the balance up came five minutes of injury time. Boro appeared to have snatched all three points when the ball dropped to Friend inside the crowded Rangers box, he made a clean connection but his shot whistled the wrong side of the post.

Then just like that the game flipped on its head, a back pass from Kenneth Omeruo to his keeper took a wicked bobble off the turf taking it past the stranded Konstantopoulos presenting Rangers substitute Zamora a routine tap-in.

Boro had little time to respond but as they pushed forward the visitors pounced again, Morrison latched on to the loose ball inside the Boro half and lashed it across goal into the roof of the net to seal all the points for his side.

Player Ratings

Dimi Konstantopoulos   6.5- Solid game, caught out for second goal by unlucky bobble

Jozsef Varga   7- Provided good secure cover at right back as Rangers struggled to break through     

Ben Gibson   7- Cleared the danger when he had to and saw out his duties

Kenneth Omeruo   7- Another consistent performance at the heart of the defence

George Friend   7.5- Mostly untroubled defensively, chose when to get forward and rewarded with a goal

Dean Whitehead (C)   6.5- Gave protection to the back four in midfield

Nathaniel Chalobah   6- Could have had more impact on the game as Rangers controlled midfield

Albert Adomah   6- Tracked back well but was quite quiet going forward

Kei Kamara   5.5- Looked out position on the left hand side

Jacob Butterfield   7- Got in to some good forward positions, replaced after an hour

Danny Graham   5.5- Struggled upfront on his own and had little effect on the game

Subs

Lee Tomlin   6- Replaced Butterfield with half an hour to go

Emmanuel Ledesma – Came on for the last two minutes not enough time to give a fair rating

My Boro Man Of The Match: George Friend

Boro Denied By Controversial Goal

Middlesbrough  1     Nottingham Forest   1

                             Carayol  53                                                         Henderson 80

Boro may have scored their first goal for seven games on Saturday, but they remain far from the finished package.

Victory over Nottingham Forest last night would have only disguised  what was on the whole a disappointing display from a Boro side who should have been brimming with confidence following their 2-0 victory over Ipswich at the weekend.

Henderson's goal ten minutes from time denies Boro victory 

The hosts probably didn’t deserve the win but neither did they deserve the misfortune that prevented it. After taking the lead through Mustapha Carayol’s second half strike Boro looked set to pick up all three points for the second time in four days, only to be undone by another controversial referee decision when Forest striker Darius Henderson appeared to bundle the ball in using his hand.

Despite that, Boro can have no complaints about the final result in what was an anti-climax to Saturday’s performance. Forest, who came into the game off the back three successive defeats, failed to capitalise on their dominant first half showing and in the end just managed to scrape a point to keep their play-off bid on track.

  On last nights’ evidence Forest are a team worthy of their current play-off position, yet for large spells Boro were able to resist the waves of pressure that came their way, Henderson’s goal ten minutes from time was the first goal Boro have conceded at the Riverside for 11 hours 54 minutes, a statistic which shows just how difficult Aitor Karanka’s side are to beat.

At 1-0 Boro’s counter attacking style created chances for them to double their lead but they couldn’t convert them. Their lack of conviction upfront appears to have already ended their play-off aspirations this campaign and still looks the difference between Boro and the top six.

For the first time since his appointment in November Karanka named an unchanged side from the previous match. The only changes from Saturday’s victory over Ipswich were on the bench where Albert Adomah returned along with Dean Whitehead who was suspended at the weekend.

Forest boss Billy Davis was serving a five match touchline ban, his side showed two changes from the team which lost at Barnsley on Saturday, Greg Halford and Kevin Gomis made way for Danny Collins and ex-Boro midfielder Jonathan Greening.

The opening exchanges played out like a game of chess as the two sides bided their time to make a move. Set pieces looked to be both team’s greatest weapons. On ten minutes Forest defender Jamaal Lascelles headed wide from the visitor’s first corner. Minutes later it was Boro’s turn, Carayol managed to steer his header on target but Lascelles was placed to clear it on the line.

Despite their poor run of form Forest were showing few signs of a team low in confidence, their passing was crisp as they kept possession for long spells. In contrast Boro struggled to retain the ball and were spending a majority of their time camped in their own half.

Before long the visitors began to turn their possession into chances, with twenty minutes played Jamie Paterson’s low cross from the left found fellow forward Jamie Mackie whose shot required a block from Boro captain Grant Leadbitter.

Boro’s defence continued to stand firm but twelve minutes later Forest really should have opened the scoring. Djamel Abdoun, who was a threat for the visitors all game, crossed from the left to provide Simon Cox with a free header however it was tamely directed in to the gloves of Boro keeper Dimi Konstantopoulos.

The crowd needed a lift and ironically it came from a Boro injury, Lee Tomlin had been one of the host’s most creative players before he limped off ten minutes before half time. His departure saw the introduction of top scorer Adomah who received a warm welcome.

There was still time for both sides to threaten the deadlock before the break. Abdoun latched on to a loose pass from Boro’s Nathaniel Chalobah however his low shot from range was easily held by Konstantopoulos. Minutes before the interval Carayol cut inside from the left to hit a skimming shot along the ground which whistled inches wide of Forest keeper Karl Darlow’s near post.

That late effort prompted the majority to applaud at half time, but overall Forest had been the better side and Boro needed to improve.

A miss-kick from Darlow when attempting to clear the ball from a back pass at the start of the second half resulted in a roar of jeers from the home fans behind the goal and Boro’s first corner of the half, however that was as far as the danger went.

Boro had been waiting for their chance on the counter attack all evening, which came in the fifty-third minute. With Forest busy appealing for a penalty a one end the hosts piled forward, Adomah led the charge as he dribbled deep into the Forest half, he picked out Carayol to his left who then took over cutting inside to curl the ball inside Darlow’s far post.

Forest saw another chance go begging when Cox’s shot was denied by Ben Gibson’s last ditch challenge. Boro should have been out of sight when Leadbitter broke forward and found Carayol in an almost identical position to where he scored the goal, once again he cut inside his full back but this time he placed his shot wide.

With an hour gone Karanka brought on Whitehead in place of Ledesma with the idea of protecting the defence. Forest introduced Andy Reid with twenty minutes to go before a double change saw strikers Henderson and Matt Derbyshire join the action, and the subs soon paid off.

A long ball forward into the Boro half caught right back Jozsef Varga off guard allowing Reid to advance on the left, his low cross across the box was met by Henderson who when lunging forward appeared  turn the ball in using his hand. The Boro appeals were ones of anger but referee Roger East wasn’t going to change his mind.

Kei Kamara for Carayol was Boro’s final substitution and the striker nearly played a key role in a Boro winner when his flick on fell at the feet of Graham whose effort from close range could only find the post leaving Boro to wonder what might have been. 

Player Ratings

Dimi Konstantopoulos   6.5- Made some important saves to keep Boro level

Joszsef Varga   6.5- Stuck to his duties at right back but caught out for the goal late on

Kenneth Omeruo   7- Dealt with the danger caused by Forest attack

Ben Gibson   7.5- Put in some important tackles and cleared the danger when he had to

George Friend   7- Got forward to good effect but at time his final product let him down

Nathaniel Chalobah   6- Failed to impose himself on the game with any great effect

Grant Leadbitter (C)   6- Struggled to impose himself on the game as Forest dominated for large parts  

Emmanuel Ledesma   5.5- struggled to get in to the game, subbed in the second half

Mustapha Carayol   7- Again looked Boro’s brightest spark, but failed to convert chance to go 2-0 up

Lee Tomlin   6- Struggled to get in the game, showed signs of what he can do before going off injured

Danny Graham   5.5- Failed to hold the ball up, at times looked a lost figure upfront

Subs

Albert Adomah   6.5- Added extra pace on the wing after coming on in the first half

Dean Whitehead   6- Came on with 30 minutes to go to sure up the midfield

Kei Kamara- Came on with 7 minutes to go not enough time to give a fair rating

My Boro Man Of The Match: Ben Gibson

The Wait Is Over

Middlesbrough     2          Ipswich     0    

                              Graham 29, 45

Boro's goals come like buses you wait over 12 hours for one then two come at once!  

It’s ironic that a side who have failed to score in seven consecutive games are then able to find the net twice in a mere quarter of an hour.

Graham celebrate's his double

Danny Graham’s two goals before half time were the striker’s first in a Boro shirt since his loan move from Sunderland back in January, his first came in the shape of a tap in from close range, his second a glancing header right before the interval in a 2-0 victory over Ipswich Town at the Riverside.

Overall the visitors may have been a little disappointing but take nothing away from Boro who were efficient and professional in closing out their first win for over a month.

Aitor Karanka’s philosophy of keeping things tight at the back was a key part of this overdue victory. Boro haven’t conceded a goal at the Riverside since December and that never looked like changing, for this was another dominant defensive display from the hosts who were rarely troubled by an out of sort Ipswich side.

“Finally the goals arrived and I'm very happy. Firstly, our supporters deserved to see us scoring goals and winning and secondly it's great for my team to reward their hard work,” said Karanka after the match.

"But I was never worried. I always believed 100 per cent in myself and in the team and I know that when we work hard and play like that we can beat anybody."

The Boro boss made six changes from the side that lost away at Sheffield Wednesday last weekend. In goal Dimi Konstantopoulos was preferred to Jason Steele and replaced the injured Tomas Mejias. The defence showed one change as Ben Gibson came in for Jonathan Woodgate who had picked up a calf strain.

Further forward Grant Leadbitter returned as captain in place of Dean Whitehead who was sent off at Hillsborough and was serving his suspension, the other changes saw Mustapha Carayol, Lee Tomlin and Ledsema all line up behind Graham upfront, Jacob Butterfield and Kei Kamara dropped to the bench which didn’t feature Albert Adomah.

Ipswich manager Mick McCarthy named an unchanged side from their 1-0 victory over Birmingham the previous Saturday.

Before this game Boro had taken just four points from a possible twenty-one and their poor form was reflected by a rather subdued atmosphere in the early exchanges.

Nevertheless the first chance of the afternoon fell the way of the hosts. With three minutes gone Graham received the ball on the edge of the Ipswich penalty where he laid the ball back to Ledesma who could only drag his shot wide of the near post.

Boro continued to look a threat especially down the left hand side where Carayol and George Friend were causing the visitors all kinds of problems. On eighteen minutes Friend’s run from left back into the opposition box looked promising, however his shot on the end of it was well off target.

Minutes later it was Carayol’s turn when he made a diagonal run from left to right inside the Ipswich half, after working himself some space the winger finally pulled the trigger only to see his effort roll past the far post.

Ipswich had begun to apply some pressure to the Boro back line to which they had resisted. However on twenty-seven minutes the visitors should have taken the lead Daryl Murphy’s shot took a deflection off Gibson and fell nicely into the path of Town forward Paul Taylor, who blazed the ball over the bar with a clear sight of goal.

Then at last it came, Boro’s first goal since the 18^th of January. With just under half an hour played Carayol cut in from the left before attempting a low shot from range, Ipswich keeper Dean Gerkin should have done better but could only spill the ball into the path of Graham who was on hand to tuck the ball home.

Boro suddenly had a spring in their step and had chances to double their lead; the most notable was another act from Carayol who once again got the better of Ipswich right back Luke Chambers, except this time Gerkin was quick to react and block the shot.

It wasn’t long before Boro clinched their second, on the stroke of half time. Boro’s captain Leadbitter, formerly of Ipswich, took an in swinging corner from the left which was met Graham who flicked his header across goal into the far corner of the net.

The half time whistle immediately followed, welcomed with a resounding applause from the home fans.

At half time McCarthy brought on Luke Hyam in place of Frank Nouble, but after the break Boro continued where they left off. This time Carayol found himself on the right side where he sent a low cross in search of Nathanial Chalobah at the far post, but the ball was cut out at the last minute by a backtracking defender.

There were few goal scoring opportunities for either side after that, Boro were effective in closing the game out but in truth the visitors offered little threat going forward.

With twenty minutes to go Karanka denied Graham the chance to complete his hat-trick; however the striker received standing ovation as he was replaced by Kei Kamara. McCarthy also made his final changes introducing Sylvan Ebanks-Blake and Jonathan Williams.

Further changes saw Tomlin make way for Butterfield and Carayol, who had been impressive all afternoon, depart for Curtis Main.

Boro came close to adding a third but Main could only find the side netting from a tight angle. Then in four minutes of stoppage time Taylor wasted a chance for the visitors curling his shot over the cross bar.

Player Ratings

Dimi Konstantopoulos   6.5- Not a lot to do on his league debut, only faced one shot on target

George Friend   7.5- Linked up well with Carayol and caused lots of problems down the left  

Ben Gibson   7.5- Solid display never looked troubled by the opposition

Kenneth Omeruo   7.5- No nonsense defending, cleared the danger when it came

Jozsef Varga   7- Does his job with minimum fuss week in week out at right back  

Grant Leadbitter   7- Put in some good deliveries from set piece and was firm in midfield

Nathaniel Chalobah   7- Wasn’t afraid to make a challenge in midfield, put himself about well

Emmanuel Ledesma   6- Made a few cynical challenges, at times struggled to get in the game

Mustapha Carayol   8- Caused problems down the left all afternoon

Lee Tomlin   6.5- drifted in and out of the game, was a threat at times

Danny Graham   7.5- Took both his goals well which made the difference

Subs

Kei Kamara   6- Came on for the last 20 minutes upfront

Jacob Butterfield – Came on for last 10 minutes not enough time to give a fair rating

Curtis Main – Came on for last 10 minutes not enough time to give a fair rating

My Boro Man Of The Match: Mustapha Carayol