Three In A Row

Middlesbrough     4        Brentford     0

                         Leadbitter  35  Adomah  50 

                              Bamford  68  Kike  89

Boro’s ongoing quest for promotion notched up another gear as they recorded their third straight victory in the Championship and climb into the top six.

On an almost perfect afternoon, manager Aitor Karanka watched with delight as his captain Grant Leadbitter scored another 30 yard screamer and striker Partrick Bamford opened his Boro account in an emphatic 4-0 victory over Brentford.  The only downside came seven minutes from time when Dean Whitehead received a harsh looking red card for a challenge on Alan Judge.

Albert Adomah celebrates his first goal of the season

Nevertheless Karanka can proudly look back on a very fine team performance which demonstrated the vast competition for places in a very healthy looking squad. New right back Ryan Fredericks, on loan from Tottenham, didn’t look an inch out of place; Emilo Nsue now appears a useful Championship player, while last season’s player of the season Albert Adomah is finally re-finding his form.

Add into the equation Jelle Vossen who made his home debut and Kike, who came off the bench to score his fourth goal of the season, then you’re left with a rich Boro following now re-engrossed with the very idea of promotion.   

Boro’s strong away contingent can now travel to Liverpool for a Capital One cup tie on Tuesday night with seemingly nothing to lose; an upset there would surely send optimism through the roof.

Following back to back away wins at Huddersfield and Cardiff, Karanka’s side were welcomed by a buoyant Riverside crowd who were fully expecting three points against a Brentford side who were promoted from League One last season.

The Boro manager made five changes from the side which started at Cardiff on Tuesday night; one was enforced following Damia Abella’s long term injury, which allowed Fredericks to make his Boro debut at right back.

Elsewhere Dean Whitehead replaced Adam Clayton who dropped to the bench and Nsue came in for Adam Reach on the left side of midfield. Upfront Kike also had to play the role of substitute as Bamford received his chance, in defence Ben Gibson started in place of Dani Ayala who was suspended after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season.

In truth Boro dominated from start to finish but for 35 minutes there was touch of doubt that it could be one of those days. The hosts played some attractive football in the opening half hour but didn’t pose a serious test to David Button in the Brentford goal.

With less than a minute played Bamford fired over the cross bar, a few minutes later Vossen’s header was straight at Button. In contrast the visitors offered very little going forward and it appeared only a matter of time before Boro took the lead, however when Nsue and Adomah passed up further opportunities the deadlock continued.

In the end it took something special to open the scoring, and who else, but Boro’s Mr Reliable and captain Grant Leadbitter. He received possession about 30 yards from goal and with space to shoot the Boro skipper unleashed another one of his long range firecrackers which flew past Button high into the keeper’s top right corner.

That set the tone for a joyous afternoon for the home fans who leapt off their seats and remained in good spirits throughout the 90 minutes.

Momentum could have swung after the break but Boro quickly made sure it didn’t. Five minutes after the re-start Vossen threaded a nicely weighted ball through to Nsue, his low cross was the ideal invitation for Adomah to burst into the penalty area and tuck away his first goal of the season from close range.

It was like the shackles had been blown off, from then on Boro played with confidence and at times arrogance like all the top teams do. The icing on the cake would have been a goal for either Vossen or Bamford, on 57 minutes the latter came close when Adomah’s cross from the left was only inches away from Bamford’s outstretched leg.

But it wasn’t long before the striker was celebrating his first ever Boro goal, a short corner to Nsue, whose crossing was impressive all game, was delivered into the area where Bamford’s glancing header nestled into the net off the far post with just over 20 minutes to go.

Nsue deserved a goal for his contribution and nearly claimed one a few minutes later, but Button was able to tip his shot from the edge of the area over the bar. With 71 minutes gone Clayton was introduced as Leadbitter was withdrawn and received a standing ovation for another immaculate performance.

Brentford did have the occasional chance but couldn’t find a passage back into the game, when the score was still 2-0 Andre Gray wriggled through the Boro defence however keeper Dimi Konstantopulos made an instinctive save from close range. On the hour mark a deflected shot from Jota Peleteiro forced another save from the Greek keeper but that was about as good as it got for the visitors.  

The only sour note for Karanka came on 83 minutes when Whitehead was dismissed after lunging in for a challenge with Judge, the Boro midfielder was late yet it came as a huge shock when referee Jeremy Simpson unveiled a straight red card.

Even with ten men Boro added a fourth when substitute Kike sealed a great all round performance, his delicate chip from inside the area sailed over Button to seal Boro’s third victory on the bounce.

 

Player Ratings

Dimi Konstantopulos   8- Not much action but made important saves when he had to  

George Friend   8- Joined in with attacks at times, defended very well

Ben Gibson   7- Dealt with little threat posed by the opposition’s attack

Kenneth Omeruo   7- Cleared the danger without any nonsense, solid game

Ryan Fredericks   9- Consistently won the ball in deep areas and drove forward, outstanding debut  

Dean Whitehead   7- Provided good protection in front of the back four, unfortunate to get sent off at the end

Grant Leadbitter   9- Controlled the midfield, won the ball well, great range of passing and another wonder goal

Emilo Nsue   8.5- Constantly found space on the left, crossing was excellent, by far best Boro performance to date   

Albert Adomah   8- Looks back to player from last season, ran at defenders in dangerous areas

Jelle Vossen   7- Good linked up with midfield, couldn’t top it off with a goal

Patrick Bamford   7- Scored his first goal for the club should give him confidence

Subs

Adam Clayton   6.5- Impressed for a 20 minute spell, passing opened up Brentford defence

Kike   7- Added forth goal of the season after coming on as a second half sub

Adam Reach – Came on for the last 5 minutes not enough time to give a fair rating

My Boro Man Of The Match : Grant Leadbitter