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.
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| Patrick Bamford celebrates his 8th league goal of the season |
In terms of the league, the signs continue to look bright
for Aitor Karanka’s side, Jones’ goal in the 86th minutes was the
first conceded by Boro in the league for over seven hours of football. It was only
the 18th 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
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