Murray Back In Major Final

You don’t become a Grand Slam Champion unless you’re made of stern stuff and at the moment there aren’t many tougher than Andy Murray.

Is he back to the man who made history by becoming the first British male to win Wimbledon since Fred Perry in 1936? Quite possibly. Is he a different proposition from the player who was humiliated by Roger Federer at the ATP world tour finals back in November? Most definitely.

Murray reaches his first major final since Wimbledon in 2013

Murray has never won the Australian Open but his victory over Tomas Berdych in Thursday’s first semi-final has given the Brit a real chance of adding a third major title to his growing list of honours.

He looks fitter, quicker, even tougher than he did when he claimed his maiden Grand Slam at the US Open back in 2012, and after a fair share of criticism there are signs that his game is finally starting to blossom working with coach Amélie Mauresmo.

Victory over Berdych wasn’t easy and it took a gruelling 3 hours 26 minutes for Murray to chop down the giant Czech, winning 6-7(6) 6-0 6-3 7-5 to reach Sunday’s final where he will meet either Novak Djokovic or Stanislas Wawrinka.

In many ways this is the ideal scenario for Murray, who will compete in his first major final with Mauresmo at the helm. He hasn’t been pushed to the limit over five sets; however he has been tested by the likes of Berdych and Grigor Dimitrov who have forced the Brit to be on top of his game.

Before this semi-final match up a lot was made about Berdych’s coach Dani Vallverdu who was working with Murray until November last year.

Early on it was the Czech who dominated. From the very first game he pursued the Murray serve with his sledgehammer forehand and aggressive approach, while he held his own serve with relative ease.

But Murray is a fighter, and firmly dug in his heels to cope with the Berdych bombardment. In the eighth game the Czech finally broke to lead 5-3; however when serving for the set Murray pounded back with vengeance to force a breaker.

That may have gone Berdych’s way but Murray’s response was immaculate. In the second set he surged on the attack taking it without dropping a game, as Berdych had no answer to Murray’s dainty slice or fierce forehand from the back of the court.

This was Murray at his aggressive best and there was no let-up in sets three and four. Berdych’s serve was less dominant as the match went on and he appeared to have fewer and fewer weapons compared to the variety in Murray’s armoury.

The Brit broke Berdych in the sixth game of the third to lead 4-2 before taking a 2 sets to 1 lead. He then landed the knockout blow at 5-5 in the fourth and with the final in sights he finished with an ace. He is a Grand Slam champion and once again he is showing us why.

 

 

Djokovic Remains The Man To Beat In Melbourne

Novak Djokovic is through to his fifth Australian Open Semi-final. Surprised? Not really, this is the man who has been on the cusp of domination in men’s tennis over the last few years.



At 27 Djokovic is just one Grand Slam away from joining the likes of Andre Agassi, Ivan Lendl and Jimmy Connors on eight majors. At this stage of the tournament the stats certainly make good reading for the Serb, every time Djokovic has reached the last four in Melbourne he has gone on to win the tournament.

Djokovic is still yet to drop a set in this year's competition



Of course it’s no guarantee, and if Djokovic is to win his eighth major title in the next few days he will have to overcome last year’s champion Stanislas Wawrinka, the man who stopped him last year, before a potential final with either Andy Murray or Tomas Berdych. Nevertheless it would take a brave soul to bet against sensational Serb.

For the opening set his quarter-final victory over giant Canadian Milos Raonic was far from vintage Djokovic, however once a first set tie break was in the bag he quickly raced to a 7-6(5) 6-4 6-2 victory in just 2 hours

At 24 Raonic is regarded as one of the game’s big prospects. At 6ft 6 that’s in more ways than one, however against Djokovic the Canadian appeared a little one dimensional and after dropping the first set his chances were significantly reduced.

For the first hour or so Djokovic was not at his best, his timing was off and there were traces of anxiety as Raonic’s serve prevented the world number one from building up any sort of rhythm from the back of the court.

Djokovic, regarded as the best returner in the game, knew only too well about this, a few weeks ago he had lost to another giant sever Ivo Karlovic at a tournament in Doha, this was different though and after taking the first set on a tie break he set about unpicking the Raonic serve.

Just like flicking on a light switch Djokovic was suddenly at his ruthless best, breaking Raonic in the first game of the second set to put the outcome in little doubt. The fact that Raonic didn’t even reach break point over the course of the match spoke volumes about how professional Djokovic was on his own serve, while in the baseline exchanges the Canadian’s game never looked like matching up to that of the Serb.

The single break was all that was required for Djokovic to convincingly take the second set, Raonic had never come back from two sets down in his career and that never looked like happening here as he was broke twice in the third to concede the match.

Djokovic will next be in action on Friday where he will face Wawrinka in a repeat of last year’s epic quarter final, which the Swiss won. Tomorrow its Murray verses Berdych in the first semi-final as the first slam of the year reaches its climax.  

Murray Tames Kyrgios To Reach Last Four

Andy Murray is still without doubt one of the favourites when it comes to winning Grand Slams in men’s tennis and in the last few days the Brit has successfully swatted away the exuberance and energy of the games next generation.

Murray prepares for his fifth semi-final in Australia 

Murray’s victories over fast rising stars, Grigor Dimitrov and Nick Kyrgios, not only earned the British number one a place in his fifth Australian Open semi-final, it also proved that he remains ahead of the up and coming talent who are attempting to overthrow those at the top.

Not that Murray is looking over his shoulder, far from it, and at 27 his best years may still be to come. There’s no doubt he suffered, by his standards, a miniature lull after winning the Wimbledon title at the peak of his power in 2013, but that’s more than understandable after having back surgery straight after. He seems to be over that now and a rejuvenated Murray appears back on course.

His straight sets quarter final victory over home favourite Kyrgios was impressive, not least because he gave the vibrant Australian crowd little to get their teeth into, prevailing  6-3 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 in 2 hours 5 minutes.

Kyrgios was dangerous, vigorous, a 6ft 4 toreador, who at just 19 years of age was the first Australian to reach a quarter final in Melbourne since LLeyton Hewitt in 2005. He stunned Rafeal Nadal at Wimbledon last year and came back to beat Andres Seppi from two sets down in the previous round, Murray knew he wasn’t in for an easy ride.

Nevertheless Murray was on it from the off and after Kyrgios won the first two points of the match, on Murray’s serve, it then took until the middle of the third set for the Aussie to finally reach break point.

Murray made his move in the sixth game, his effective chip returns helped neutralise and break the monstrous Kyrgios serve, then Murray had the answers from the back of the court.   

But Kyrgios is naturally very quick between points and can easily build up a flowing rhythm. Murray was wise to that. His crafty slices and measured attacks not only helped slow Kyrgios down but at times even had the Australian running around like a puppet on a string.

However, as demonstrated in the last round Kyrgios is not the sort of character to lie down easily. In the second set he regrouped, approached the net more and forced a pivotal tie break.

Murray’s serve had remained untouchable, but if Kyrgios levelled at one set all the crowd would have roared behind him. Murray didn’t let them.

He won a decisive breaker by seven points to five and despite losing serve for the first time in the third set he recovered to reach Thursday’s semi-final, where he will meet seventh seed Tomas Berdych who beat Nadal in 6-2 6-0 7-6(5).

In the first Women’s semi Maria Sharapova will face Ekaterina Makarova after both won in straight sets.

Boro Stun City On Dramatic Cup Day

Manchester City    0        Middlesbrough    2

                                                                                               Bamford  53  Kike  90+3 

 

Aitor Karanka and his players marched over to their 5,500 fans at the full time whistle as heroes, victors, gladiators who had just done battle and returned triumphant.

Patrick Bamford celebrates Boro's opener

They had just done the unthinkable by beating Manchester City, the Premier League Champions, at the Etihad Stadium and now they had the chance to lap up their entitled and hard-earned reward.

In 94 incredible minutes Boro defended like warriors as they shut out the likes of Sergio Aguero and David Silva, two of the most highly rated players in the Premier League, while at the other end they even had chances to add to an impressive 2-0 victory.

Yes the stats will say City had 65% possession and that they spent a majority of the first half camped on the edge of Boro’s penalty area, but even the most diehard City fan couldn’t argue that the best chances fell Boro’s way.

Following Patrick Bamford 53^rd minute opener, which sent the travelling fans ballistic, the visitors could quite easily have scored more. Lee Tomlin’s effort hit the inside of the post, Grant Leadbitter’s shot was blocked off the line and Jelle Vossen’s volley was saved by Willy Caballero.

In contrast City’s chances were not quite so clear cut. For all their intricate passes in and around the opposition penalty area they were, on the whole, reduced to a reel of long range shots which were usually met by a courageous block by a Boro defender or a smart save from keeper Tomas Mejias.

That laid the building blocks for an incredible Boro victory, which was sealed in the third minute of stoppage time when the ball broke to substitute Kike and with only the keeper to beat he slotted the ball home from close range to spark wild celebration in the away end.

The worrying thing for City manager Manual Pellegrini was that barring the goalkeeper, another central defender and the absent Yaya Toure this was arguably City’s strongest team, which should cause concern for the Pellegrini whose side face Chelsea in a decisive Premier League showdown next weekend.      

To be fair to the City manager he made no excuses in his post-match press conference stating that Boro deserved “to go through” and that his side got “nervous” after falling behind.

When asked about the clubs ludicrous decision to take a trip to their training camp in Abu Dhabi and not arrive back until late hours of Friday night, the City manager again refused to make excuses, at least in doing so he prevented a the situation becoming even more farcical than it already was.

Nevertheless take nothing away from Boro whose surge under Karanka is becoming more impressive by the day. They once again lived up to their label as the best defence in the Championship with centre back Ben Gibson and Daniel Ayala making tackle after tackle, block after block, whenever someone was forced out of position there was a teammate on hand to cover.

They were just the backbone, and everyone one of the Boro starting eleven could easily receive equal praise.  Lee Tomlin was the main catalyst in the Boro attack, as he Bamford, Vossen and Adomah caused havoc running at the City defence.

Grant Leadbitter and ex-City youth graduate Adam Clayton produced a shift and a half in the heart of midfield, full backs George Friend and Dean Whitehead stood their ground all game, with Mejias acting as the brink wall in the Boro goal.      

Karanka, the mastermind behind the operation later expressed how he was “proud of the players, the crowd, the fans, the staff and the club” and all must face a reality check with an away trip to Brentford next weekend. Nevertheless with more performances yesterday, trips to places like the Etihad won’t be too far away. 

  

 

Battling Boro Move Back In To Top Two

Middlesbrough    2        Cardiff City    1

                             Bamford 63  Tomlin 79                                                Jones 86

There are a number of ways to try to escape the gripping clutches of the SkyBet Championship, at the moment Middlesbrough are attempting to do it with sheer grit and determination.

They beat Cardiff City on the bitterest of Tuesday nights at the Riverside to move back into the automatic promotion places following goals from Patrick Bamford and Lee Tomlin in a 2-1 victory, where Cardiff striker Kenwyne Jones recorded a late consolation for the visitors.

Patrick Bamford celebrates his 8th league goal of the season

Like Saturday’s victory over Huddersfield it was a case of patience for the home fans who witnessed a frustrating stalemate for 60 odd minutes, before they began to turn the conclusive screw on Cardiff, in the end they were worthy winners.  

In terms of the league, the signs continue to look bright for Aitor Karanka’s side, Jones’ goal in the 86^th minutes was the first conceded by Boro in the league for over seven hours of football. It was only the 18^th they have let in all season, making them by some way the best defence in the division so far.

That seems to be the nature of Karanka’s management style, disciplined, measured and its very rare he will set up a side to try and outscore the opposition, instead he prefers organisation and likes to make Boro difficult to beat.

At the moment the balance of his team appears just right and in the last two home games we’ve seen Karanka as a man determined to persevere with his system rather than rush into changes.

That was the case here. Boro hadn’t exactly pummelled the Cardiff goal before Bamford’s opener just past the hour mark. Yet Karanka hadn’t flinched and just like against Huddersfield, his side wore the opposition down before pouncing with purpose.

Grant Leadbitter and Adam Clayton were once again full of fight and character, giving nothing away in the heart of midfield, similarly Daniel Ayala and Ben Gibson won header after header in their duels with the Cardiff forwards. On the whole the visitors lacked quality for a side relegated from the Premier League less than a year ago.

Karanka made just the single change from the side which beat Huddersfield last time out with Adam Reach coming in for Albert Adomah who dropped to the bench. Partrick Bamford once again started on the right with Reach operating on the left and Lee Tomlin in behind Kike upfront.

Cardiff manager Russell Slade made two changes from his side's 3-2 defeat away to Norwich at the weekend. Matthew Connolly replaced Scott Malone while Kadeem Harris, one of the goal scorers at the Carrow Road came in for Adam Le Fondre who was named among the substitutes.

As the in-form side it was Boro who flew out of the traps and nearly opened the scoring straight from the kick off. Tomas Kalas fed the ball down the right channel to Bamford who then cut the ball back to Kike inside the area; however the Spainish striker delayed his shot and was quickly closed down.

After taking 15 minutes to recharge their batteries the hosts threatened again. Bamford, who was causing all sorts of problems for the visitors defence, took on a shot from range which City keeper Simon Moore spilled in front of him. In an attempt to correct his error Moore leapt at the feet of Kike to prevent a certain tap in, there were appeals for a penalty but referee Geoff Eltringham turned them down.

Cardiff were beginning to find their feet as they began to test Boro goalkeeper Dimi Konstantopulos, however they were routine saves at best and the greater chances still fell the way of the hosts, with Ayala heading a corner into the hands of Moore before Friend nodded one wide of the post.

In many ways it had been an ordinary half of football from Boro who needed to notch up a gear or two in the attacking third of the pitch. The visitor’s best chance fell to Harris on 58 minutes when he moved in from the right and forced Konstantopulos to save his low effort at full stretch, it wasn’t the first time in the last few days the Boro keeper had bailed his side out of trouble.

Nevertheless they soon repaid him. On 63 minutes Reach charged to the by-line on the left hand side before cutting the ball back across the area to pick out Bamford whose original shot was blocked. However he spent no time to recompose himself and tucked away the rebound.

Prior to the goal both Leadbitter and Clayton had picked up bookings for their dogged performances in midfield, their efforts helped revitalise the home crowd who nearly saw their side double their lead when Bamford’s cross was headed wide by Kike.

The Boro striker was handed another chance moments later when Clayton sent him through on goal but Moore denied him. Even so Boro extended their lead on 79 minutes when Reach zipped the ball into the box where Tomlin arrived late to double Boro’s lead.

Boro had dealt well with Cardiff’s direct balls into the box; Craig Noone’s long range shot with 10 minutes to go was comfortably saved by Konstantopulos and summed up their frustration.

Yet there was still time for a climactic finish when Joe Ralls crossed the ball to fellow substitute Jones who headed in with four minutes to go. But Boro held on and can now make the anticipated trip to Manchester City in the FA Cup on Saturday with nothing to lose.     

Player Ratings

Dimi Konstantopulos   7- Not required as much as on Saturday but reliable when needed

Tomas Kalas   7- Good defensively, crossing needs some work     

Daniel Ayala   8- Won everything in the air, rock solid

Ben Gibson   7- Coped well with Cardiff’s direct approach

George Friend   6- Quiet by his standards wasn’t able to get forward as much

Adam Reach   7- Provided two decisive crosses which became assists

Grant Leadbitter   8- Picked up loose balls in midfield and won the ball well, drove the team forward

Adam Clayton   7- Kept the ball moving while searching for the right pass

Patrick Bamford   8- Was a menace for Cardiff out wide, ran at players, deserved his goal

Lee Tomlin   6.5- Quiet game before his goal

Kike   6- Struggled to move Cardiff centre backs out

Subs

Albert Adomah   6- Looked lively for a brief cameo

Jelle Vossen – Only on for 6 minutes not enough time to give a fair rating

Dean Whitehead – Replaced Kalas in stoppage time not enough time to give a fair rating

My Boro Man Of The Match : Patrick Bamford 

A Fresh Start For Murray

If the likes of Manchester United and Louis Van Gaal are allowed to have a season of “transition” then surely it’s only fair that the face of British tennis, Andy Murray, is entitled to a similar allowance.

A straight sets win for Andy Murray in round one

By the high standards of the British number one 2014 was a difficult year, that’s if you can call reaching the quarter final stage of all four Grand Slams and qualifying for the season ending Championships in London a difficult year.

If nothing else it was twelve months of change for Murray who parted company with coach Ivan Lendel in March before going separate ways from fitness trainer Jezz Green and hitting partner Daniel Vallverdu later in the year.

Nevertheless Murray arrives in Melbourne for the first Grand Slam of 2015 in great shape and since his crushing 6-0 6-1 defeat at the hands of Roger Federer in November, Murray has recorded an equally emphatic 6-2 6-0 victory over Rafael Nadal in an exhibition event in Abu Dhabi before winning all three of his singles matches at this year’s Hopman Cup.

His regular stop at his winter training camp in Miami has allowed Murray to regroup and reassess  his goals with current coach Amélie Mauresmo as the Brit looks to rediscover the sort of form which earned him two Grand Slam titles and an Olympic gold medal.

However if Murray is to add a first Australian Open title to his growing list of titles, the Brit will have to be on the  top of his game over the next fortnight. In the fourth round Murray could come up against the fast rising star Grigor Dimitrov who beat him at Wimbledon last year,  that could be followed by a rematch with Federer in the quarter finals.     

For now they will be at the back of Murray’s mind and he will be fully focused on his second round opponent Marinko Matosevic after beating Indian qualifier Yuki Bhambri 6-3 6-4 7-6(3) in his  opening match on Monday.

Murray may have been the clear favourite against Bhambri, a man who had to win three matches just to reach the first round and was the lowest ranked player in the men’s draw. Nevertheless the world 317 managed to muster up an intriguing match.

A graduate from Nick Bollettieri’s academy Bhambri wasn’t afraid to strike the ball early from the back of the court or approach the net on numerous occasions where he showed some creative touch.

After losing the first two sets by a single break the Indian lead 4-1 in the third, however his lead was short lived as Murray’s more consistent game allowed him back into the match, which he closed out in 2 hours 12 minutes after a third set breaker.

Elsewhere in the men’s draw there were straight set victories for Federer, Dimitrov and Nadal.  On the Women’s side there were first round victories for Maria Sharapova and Simona Halep, however fifth seed Anna Ivanovic and ninth seed Angelique Kerber crashed out.

Arsenal Stun City To Dent Title Bid

Manchester City    0        Arsenal    2

                                                                                                     Cazorla  23 (Pen)   Giroud  66

At last Arsenal have won away from home in a big game against a one of their title rivals. Who would have thought that when they conceded six at the Etihad Stadium last season?

Their 2-0 victory over Manchester City this afternoon was one full of discipline, resolve and professionalism, not exactly words you would have associated with the Arsenal side which were leaking goals in these sort of fixtures last season.

Olivier Giroud celebrates Arsenal's second goal

This was a team reformed from the one which lost 6-3 to City in this fixture last season and it was clear that Arsène Wenger had learnt from his previous mistakes.  

Arsenal didn’t beat City, the premier league Champions, by playing the traditional “Arsenal way” under Wenger. They left the Etihad having had just 35% possession, it’s hard to think of a time they had less, yet ultimately they got the job done.

They were compact in midfield, sharp on the counter attack and astutely stopped the likes of David Sliva and Sergio Aguero in City’s boisterous and at times lethal attack.

Santi Cazorla never stopped running and his energy in midfield epitomized Arsenal’s performance. He converted a penalty after 23 minutes to set the visitors on their way; his pinpoint free kick onto the head of Olivier Giroud to set up Arsenal’s second was simply the icing on the cake.

But this wasn’t just about one man and was a day where many Arsenal players stepped into the plate in a battling workmanlike performance. Francis Coquelin was unmovable in front of the back four; Laurent Koscielny brought a calming influence to the defence. But perhaps the most impressive thing of all was that keeper David Ospina barely had a shot to save; it was the type of game where everyone played their part.

“We played high up in their half (of the pitch)and very deep in our half and it worked well because we wanted to make space very tight especially in front of the box where Silva is so influential and we did it well.” Said Wenger after the match.

In contrast this was a denting result for City who now find themselves five points adrift from leaders Chelsea in the race for the title, making the game between the top two at Stamford Bridge in a fortnight’s time even more important for Manuel Pellegrini’s side.

“We must be clear that we didn’t play well” said Pellegrini after the game “We had a lot of possession and recovered the ball well but after that we didn’t have the ideas to be a creative team against a team like Arsenal who defended very well.”

The hosts were behind inside 23 minutes when Arsenal full back Nacho Monreal broke forward from and attempted a quick give and go with Giroud inside the City area. When the return pass came his way he was blocked by Vincent Kompany and referee Mike Dean pointed straight to the spot.  Joe Hart may have guessed the right way but Carzorla’s penalty was hard, low and out of reach.

City’s response was to throw on Stevan Jovetic in place of James Milner at half time, within a minute of the restart they’d had their first shot on target when Aguero cut in onto his left foot forcing Ospina to turn the ball wide.

The muted City attacks were beginning to pick up steam, on 50 minutes Jesus Navas’ stinging shot had to be beaten away by Ospina, nine minutes later City’s Spanish winger flashed a low cross across the penalty area where Koscielny made a crucial touch to prevent Aguero scoring an equaliser.

For a 10 minute spell the game abruptly became end to end, Ramsey could have doubled Arsenal’s lead after a measured Arsenal counter attack however the Welsh midfielder blazed over the cross bar from inside the area. In their bid for an equaliser City turned to the services of Frank Lampard who replaced Fernandinho on 62 minutes.  

Nevertheless the deficit was doubled four minutes later. Cazorla’s free kick into the heart of the City box oozed with quality and Giroud was on hand to flick his header past Hart after escaping the weak marking from City midfielder Fernando.

Even for City at the Etihad this had become a mountainous task, with one last throw of the dice Pellegrini through on Edin Dzeko to try to salvage a point but the newly formed Arsenal were proving a tough nut to crack.

Navas’ tame shot was comfortably saved by Ospina before Jovetic scuffed an effort wide inside the Arsenal’s penalty area but that was as close as it got and Arsenal closed out a memorable victory.

Man Of The Match : Santi Cazorla

 

Boro Back On Track After Frantic Finish

Middlesbrough    2        Huddersfield    0

                           Tomlin  61,  90+4

 

 

It’s quite astounding just how many emotions a crowd can go through in the space of four added minutes. Agony, hope, elation and that’s not all the Boro fans experienced in the time between the fourth official holding up his board and the referee’s full time whistle.



Lee Tomlin celebrates his two goals

It took until the fourth of those prolonged minutes for Lee Tomlin to finally put the game beyond any doubt with his second goal of the match stretching Boro’s unbeaten run to four league games after victory over Huddersfield Town.

Nevertheless don’t be fooled on what may look a convincing 2-0 victory, moments earlier Boro keeper Dimi Konstantopulos had been forced to make a series of outstanding saves before Daniel Ayala cleared off the line, a comfortable home win this was not.

Boro were not at their brimming best and this was no question a level below the sort of home performances displayed against the likes of Derby and Norwich, however, with the end of the season moving into sight it’s now simply a case of any win will do.     

In the overall assessment Aitor Karanka should take the positives going into Tuesday night’s game against Cardiff. For starters his side have ended a mini goal drought after failing to register at Blackburn and Reading, the defence once again looked solid and for a good part of 80 minutes Boro were worthy of their 1-0 lead as they chipped away at a Huddersfield side content to defend for large spells.

“It was another tough game but we can’t keep suffering in the way we suffered when we have had chances to score two or three in the first half” said Karanka after the game. “We won and it was an important three points. I’m very pleased because we kept going to the end, but we could have done it before then”

“Now we have to think about Tuesday (against Cardiff), but I’m very pleased with my players because they were brilliant.”

The chances Karanka were referring to could have been a major talking point if Boro had failed to take all three points, strikers Patrick Bamford and Kike went another game without scoring, the latter hasn’t found the net since early December.

The Boro side showed three changes from the side which was held to a goalless draw at Reading last weekend. In attack Kike and Lee Tomlin were recalled to replace Jelle Vossen and Adam Reach who both dropped to the bench, while Bamford was shifted over to the right wing. Adam Clayton also returned to face his former club following his one game suspension, with Dean Whitehead making way.

Huddersfield made just the single change from the team which won at home to Watford last Saturday.  Jonathan Hogg came into midfield where he lined up alongside ex-Boro player Jacob Butterfield.

The opening exchanges belonged to Boro and with just five minutes gone Kike saw his low shot from the edge of the area rebound off the post, four minutes later Leadbitter released Bamford through on goal but his touch was heavy due to the pressure from Huddersfield keeper Alex Smithies.

The visitor’s game plan was clearly to stay tight at the back and try to hit Boro on the counter attack, but on 17 minutes they nearly fell behind again when George Friend sent a header wide from Leadbitter’s inviting corner.

After 23 minutes Huddersfield manager Chris Powell was forced into an early change when striker James Vaughan had to come off injured, Oscar Gorburn took his place. In the 36^th minute the Riverside stood in unity with a minutes applause for Boro fan Craig "Spuggy" who recently lost his battle with cancer.

For the majority of the half Boro’s football was patient but lacked a cutting edge to open the scoring. It took until the start of the second half for them to reapply any serious pressure, seconds after the restart Bamford cut the ball back to Kike who wasted a golden opportunity, minutes later Tomlin fired over from the edge of the box.

Butterfield was by far Town’s biggest threat and was finding space in front of Boro’s backline. Nevertheless it was the hosts who took the lead just after the hour mark when Kike teed up Tomlin on the edge of the area and the Boro playmaker fired the ball past Smithies who stood little chance.

It was unsurprising Huddersfield’s response came through Butterfield whose vicious effort from range forced a spectacular save from Boro keeper Dimi Konstantopulos. At the other end Smithies parried away Adomah’s effort from a tight angle.

With ten minutes to go it was Boro who began to hang on for dear life and were only saved by the width of the post when Nahki Wells cut in from the right and was allowed to shoot unchallenged.

Karanka introduced Vossen and Reach to the action to try to weather the storm but in the final few minute’s things became frantic. Konstantopulos was forced to make two vital saves, the second a stinging shot from Gorburn which arrived through a crowd of player. Moments later Ayala became the last-gasp hero when he cleared off the line following a Huddersfield counter attack.

But it was to be Boro’s day, they broke away in the dying seconds after Smithies had gone up for Huddersfield corner, Tomlin led the charge and with time to spare he rolled the ball into the unguarded net. Relief at last for the Riverside crowd who will do it all again against Cardiff on Tuesday night.

Player Ratings

Dimi Konstantopulos   8- Won the points in the last few minutes with some top saves

Tomas Kalas   6.5- Got into some good areas but at times his crossing let him down

Daniel Ayala   8- Didn’t put a foot wrong all game and put his body on the line on numerous occasions

Ben Gibson   7- Made some good interceptions early on

George Friend   6.5- Was a threat going forward in the first half

Adam Clayton   7- Swept up the danger well in midfield

Grant Leadbitter   6.5- Battled away as Boro pushed for a breakthrough

Albert Adomah   5.5- Was a peripheral figure for most of the game

Patrick Bamford   6- Enjoyed more success when he was moved to the centre

Lee Tomin   7.5- Proved to be the match winner after great strike

Kike   6- Struggled to have an impact for large spells

Subs

Adam Reach   6- Came on for the last 18 minutes to add fresh legs

Jelle Vossen – Came on for the last 7 minutes not enough time to give a fair rating

My Boro Man Of The Match : Daniel Ayala

        

      

 

 

 

 

 

 

United Clinch A Point On A Windy Day In Stoke

Stoke    1        Manchester United   

                        Shawcross 2                                              Falcao  26

 

Louis Van Gaal may have been in charge of Manchester United for over half a season now, but as many will agree, a manager has never been fully baptised into the uniqueness of English football until they’ve come up against a windy day in Stoke.

Radamel Falcao celebrates United's equaliser

For now three points at the Britannia Stadium remains a box unticked in the list of credentials Van Gaal’s United, who in his words aspire to become Premier League Champions in the next three years, nevertheless their 1-1 draw yesterday afternoon can still be seen as a good point gained and a result which extends their unbeaten run to 10 games.

Even so things could easily have been different, and on the day clubs began lining up their business in the January transfer market, United’s defensive frailties were once again a pressing issue.

Their three man backline was breached inside two minutes when Stoke captain Ryan Shawcross headed home the first goal of 2015, while direct balls up to Peter Crouch caused continuous havoc in the visitor’s penalty area. In Van Gaal’s assessment United “were simply not good enough.”

It could have been worse. Stoke could quite easily have had a penalty when Chris Smalling appeared to handle the ball in the area and Crouch saw his header rebound off the post, all after Radamel Falcao’s first half equaliser.

A classic to start the year, this was not, a dogged and tenacious Stoke performance, it certainly was. And to those pessimists who bang on about Stoke’s “long ball” tactics bear in mind this was only the Potter’s third set piece goal of the season, simply a case of playing to their strengths in tough conditions.

A Stoke victory wouldn’t have fashioned too many complaints, for starters they had double the amount of shots as their visitors who spent most of their time building up play harmlessly in their own half.

But let’s not forget this is still a United in “transition” and who lost at this ground a year ago. In their last 10 games they have picked up 24 points, that’s almost double the amount they achieved in the first ten games of the season. Progress under Van Gaal is clear to see.

A wretched 2014 was as good as forgotten about, however from Stoke first corner 2015 began in a similar fashion. United must have known about the aerial threats of Crouch and Shawcross and yet, somehow, the two Stoke giants found themselves unmarked to open the scoring, with Crouch winning the original header allowing Shawcross to turn the ball in.

One nearly became two with 19 minutes gone. Erik Pieters’ long clearance twisted and turned in the blustery conditions, United defender Jonny Evans made a mess of it by letting the ball bounce and Stoke forward Mame Biram Diouf nicked in to create a golden opportunity, but he couldn’t even hit the target.

The United side from a year ago may have buckled at that point, under Van Gaal they are quickly rebuilding with sterner stuff. On 26 minutes they were level. Wayne Rooney’s corner was flicked on by Michael Carrick and Falcao bundled the ball past Asmir Begovic.

From there United did their best to try and build up some threatening steam; however Begovic was rarely tested and had a quiet afternoon. Stoke dug their heels in until half time and looked comfortable by United’s slow build up play around the centre circle.

It took until the 64^th minute for another real change of note, when Phil Jones almost turned Jonathan Walters cross into his own net. By that point Stoke were on top and from the resulting corner Crouch’s header hit the dangling arm of Smalling but referee Michael Oliver waved play on. Five minutes later Crouch hit the post from Marko Arnautovic’s free kick, all after the lively Falcao had been surprisingly replaced by Ander Herrera.

That allowed Rooney to join Van Persie upfront, with Adnan Januzaj also coming on in place of Luke Shaw at left wing back. With 15 minutes to go United lost Ashley Young to a hamstring injury forcing Van Gaal to bring on Rafael, the only change to the outcome appeared to be a Stoke winner.

With 9 minutes to go Mark Hughes introduced Oussama Assaidi and deep into stoppage time the Stoke winger cut in from the left to shoot, however De Gea saved comfortably and the points were shared.

Man Of The Match : Ryan Shawcross