Honours Even

Middlesbrough    1        Watford    1

   Kike  49                                                      Deeney  60

 

 

There are two ways Aitor Karanka could view Middlesbrough’s 1-1 draw against Watford, but whether the Spaniard decides to praise the team who were good value for their 1-0 lead, or criticize the side that surrendered it will be an interesting dilemma.     

After taking a deserved lead through Kike’s finish minutes after half time, Boro could count themselves fortunate to escape with a point after substitute Troy Deeney levelled the score. That was followed by a frantic few minutes in which the visitors hit the post and forced Boro keeper Dimi Konstantopulos to make a fingertip save.  



Troy Deeney rescues a point for Watford  

Nonetheless in the overall assessment both managers should see this as a valuable point gained in what is shaping up to be a tight Championship season. Watford remain second only behind leaders Derby on goal difference, Boro may have slipped from third to fifth however they still sit just two points away from the top spot.

Karanka made four changes from the Boro side which lost 2-0 at Wolves in mid-week, captain Grant Leadbitter was suspended after picking up his fifth booking of the season so Adam Clayton took his place in midfield. Elsewhere Kike, Lee Tomlin and Ben Gibson all returned as Jelle Vossen, Adam Reach and Kenneth Omeruo dropped to the bench.

Watford were forced to make a change minutes before kick off after goalkeeper  Heurelho Gomes was injured in the warm up, Jonathan Bond was his replacement. The visitors only other change from their 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest last time out saw Almen Abdi make way for Ikechi Anya.

In the opening exchanges it took Boro a while to adjust to the visitor’s flexible system which appeared to flicker from a 4-3-3 to a 3-5-2, there were even signs of the traditional 4-4-2, with minimum fuss.

However it wasn’t long before Boro found their rhythm and began to pick holes in the visitors’ formation, not least down the left hand side where George Friend was finding acres of space and being allowed to cross in dangerous areas.

The visitors came close when Dániel Tozser’s low shot was deflected wide, however that aside it was Boro who were creating the majority of chances, with Patrick Bamford and Albert Adomah having shots blocked before Friend’s low drive was turned goal bound by Kike forcing Bond into an instinctive save.

Friend continued to be Boro’s main outlet on the left and regularly had the beating of Watford full back Juan Carlos Paredes, with half an hour gone the Boro man flashed a low cross along the penalty area but it lacked a finishing touch, moments later his cross was met by Kike who headed over.

Watford didn’t threaten again until the 33^rd minute when Matej Vydra weaved his way into a shooting position and struck a low effort which required Konstantopulos to react quickly and turn it round the post.

After the break Boro appeared to pick up where they left off and continued to find joy in wide areas. This time it was the other full back Ryan Fredericks whose shot was just off target after some clever play on the edge of the visitors’ box.

Nevertheless Boro went ahead on 49 minutes. Fredericks was again involved cutting inside to find Adam Clayton, who then released Bamford in the left hand side of the Watford penalty area, finally he squared the ball to Kike and the Spanish striker made no mistake in tucking the ball home from close range.

One could have quickly become two when Bamford’s good work left him through on goal however his shot was straight at Bond. Minutes later the hosts were nearly made to pay when a ball into their own penalty was only half cleared, however on the rebound Vydra’s shot sailed over the bar.

Despite that let off Boro appeared to have lost confidence and were gradually being forced back towards their own goal. With an hour gone they paid the price when Anya picked up possession in a dangerous position on the left, his cut back found substitute Deeney who dispatched the chance first time.

Six minutes later Keith Andrews, another Watford sub, had a shot blocked for a corner, two minutes after that centre back Joel Ekstrand flicked a header onto Konstantopulos’ far post as Boro hung on.

Karanka introduced Reach and Vossen late on but neither side could snatch a winner, Fredericks’ cross picked out Kike who failed to hit the target before an ambitious volley from Tomlin was deflected wide. At the other end Tozser’s low free kick had to be pushed wide by the fingertips of Konstantopulos. In the end a draw was probably a fair result.  

Player Ratings

Dimi Konstantopulos   7- Could do little about the goal and made some important saves when required

George Friend   8- Got forward to good effect in the first half and was Boro’s main outlet

Ben Gibson   6- At times a little indecisive when clearing the ball

Daniel Ayala   6.5- Has become Boro’s first choice centre half and living up to it

Ryan Fredericks   7.5- Found more space in the second half and exploited it well

Dean Whitehead   6.5- Shielded the back four, dropped a little deep after Boro’s goal

Adam Clayton   6.5- Battled hard in congested midfield, played a few probing passes   

Albert Adomah   6- Didn’t have a major impact on the game, had to spend most of time helping in the middle of midfield   

Patrick Bamford   6.5- Made a few intelligent runs and set up the goal

Lee Tomlin   6.5- Dropped deep on a number of occasions and played some decent balls forward

Kike   6.5- Took chance for the goal but passed up a few opportunities

Subs

Adam Reach   6.5- Provided extra energy with 18 minutes to go

Jelle Vossen – Only on for the last 8 minutes not enough time to give a fair rating

My Boro Man Of The Match : George Friend