Six Unbeaten

Middlesbrough    2        Fulham    0

                                    Reach  46    Adomah  82

 

 

Adam Reach and Albert Adomah cost Middlesbrough twelve times less than what Fulham paid for summer signing Ross McCormack, but on this occasion money didn’t buy success.



Boro’s 2-0 victory at the Riverside on Saturday may not have been as easy or straight forward as the score line suggests, however it does conclude that Aitor Karanka’s Boro will occupy a place in the top six going into next week’s international break.

Adam Reach Puts Boro Ahead After Half Time



Second half goals from Reach, a graduate from Boro’s youth academy, and Adomah a £1 million signing from Bristol City last year, proved the difference in a hard-fought Championship win over manager-less Fulham, who remain in the bottom three following a disappointing start.

The visitors were dangerous, nothing that you wouldn’t expect from a side relegated from the Premier League last year and at times Boro rode their luck a little. Yet at the back Fulham looked a little soft centred, going forward the Boro’s defence always seemed to have them in check.  

Karanka opted to make four changes following Tuesday’s 1-1 draw with Blackpool with George Friend and Kenneth Omeruo returning to the back four in place of Ben Gibson and James Husband. Adomah was back from a suspension and replaced Emmanuel Ledesma while Kike was prepared as the lone striker over Jelle Vossen who started on the bench and Patrick Bamford who didn’t.

Fulham had made a slow start to the new season but came into this match off the back of two wins in a row. They were unchanged from the side which thrashed Bolton 4-0 in mid-week, with £12 million striker Ross McCormack leading the line alongside Hugo Rodallega, Scott Parker and Bryan Ruiz were also included .

It was the hosts who carved out the first real chance of note. Spanish striker Kike started the move when he fed the ball out to Ryan Fredericks on the right, his following cross picked out Adomah inside the penalty area who flicked the ball onto the inside post with Fulham goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli well beaten.

For the remainder of the first half the majority of Boro’s attacks came down the opposite side through Reach and George Friend. With 20 minutes gone Reach beat his full back before squaring the ball to Kike in the box, his shot was on target however a deflection off a Fulham defender took any sort of sting out of it.

Despite Boro’s chances it was the visitors who were dominating possession, with Karakna’s side spending large periods camped in their own half. At times it was frustrating for the home supporters that their side weren’t imposing themselves on the game, nevertheless Fulham weren’t creating many clear cut chances and emotions stayed in check.

Fulham’s best chance came when McCormack dinked a ball through to Rodallega, but Boro keeper Dimi Konstantopulos was quick off his line to collect the loose ball. The host’s continued to create a few chances on the break; the most memorable when Reach’s cross evaded Kike ten minutes before half time, though in truth it was a half with few opportunities and was a match which could only improve as a spectacle.

45 seconds after half time it did. For the first time in the match Boro put pressure on the Fulham defence and in the blink of an eye it cracked. Direct from the kick-off the hosts quickly found Adomah on the right hand side, his cross was met by a weak attempt at an overhead kick from Lee Tomlin; however the ball fell nicely for Reach who reacted quickest to poke the ball home.

A second nearly followed for the Boro winger when his header, from another Adomah cross, rebounded off the far post, his first goal hadn’t even been announced on the tannoy.

A second goal would have been a welcome buffer for Boro fans and with half an hour to go it soon became a real backs against the wall job. With 60 minutes gone Fulham defender Tim Hoogland hit the cross bar from a corner, five minutes later Rodallega squandered a glorious opening firing a volley into the stands when he was through on goal.

Karanka did his best to try and weather the storm with Vossen replacing Tomlin however the chances continued to fall the visitor’s way. With 18 minutes to go the Boro penalty area went on red alert due to chaotic goal mouth scramble. The ball finally fell to Lasse Christensen whose shot required a spectacular goal line clearance from Daniel Ayala to maintain Boro’s advantage.

The visitors went close again when McCormack’s free kick demanded a virtuous save from Konstantopulos. The anxious finish was spared eight minutes from time when Vossen released Adomah on the counter attack, after a well worked one- two deep inside the Fulham half the Ghanaian international finish the move and in many ways the match with a neat finish.

Vossen was unlucky not to mark the day with his first Boro goal, his closest effort being a late header which was cleared off the line. However in the bigger picture this was a strong result for Karanka’s side against a team slowly growing in confidence. The international break provides another chance to regroup before they go again at Brighton in a fortnight’s time.

Player Ratings    

Dimi Konstantopulos   7.5- Made some important saves a key moments, never lacking confidence

Ryan Fredericks   7.5- Another tidy game at right back defensively very sound

Daniel Ayala   8.5- Literally put his body on the line, won headers and gave an all-round good performance

Kenneth Omeruo   7.5- Gave McCormack and Rodallega very little

George Friend   7.5- Slotted nicely back into the side, got forward at times but most of his work was defensive

Grant Leadbitter (C)   7.5- Did a lot of the dirty work in midfield which sometimes goes unnoticed

Adam Clayton   7- Played some decent passes across midfield, imposed himself more in the second half

Albert Adomah   8- Great going forward, questions defensively but in the end proved the match winner

Adam Reach   8.5- Crossing was a threat, appeared regularly in the box and added a goal to his name

Lee Tomlin   6- Struggled to hold the ball up run at the Fulham back line

Kike   7.5- Link up play improved and produced clear play to set up the second goal

Subs

Jelle Vossen   6.5- Unlucky not to score on numerous occasions

Dean Whitehead - Came on with 7 minutes to go not enough time to give a fair rating   

Emilo Nsue- Came on in stoppage time not enough time to give a fair rating

My Boro Man Of The Match : Daniel Ayala