Wednesday 4 March 2015

Impressive Victory For Boro

Middlesbrough    3        Millwall    0
                             Bamford  26  Kike  30 
                                     Vossen  78
 
 
 
It was an attacking move which almost completed the perfect night on Teesside, as Middlesbrough full back George Friend threaded the ball through to team mate Albert Adomah before charging into the box for the return pass, sure enough it came, only for Millwall keeper David Forde to deny Friend a deserved goal. Nevertheless substitute Jelle Vossen was on hand to tap in the rebound. 3 goals to the good, 3 points and a spot at the top of the league. You can’t really argue with that.


Bamford and Kike were both back amongst the goals
The only thing which could have improved this comfortable 3-0 victory would have been if Friend had smashed the ball home when it fell to him on the edge of the penalty area to end a robust performance on the scoresheet. Moments later he drove forward again, taking on several Millwall players in the process, before returning to his orthodox left back position with a rich applause from the home fans ringing in his ears.

Of course Boro fans won’t really care about the nature of their goals as a win over a relegation-threatened Millwall side was all that mattered here. In fact Vossen’s goal capped off a good days work from the Boro strikers following first half goals from Patrick Bamford and Kike.

From the outside this appeared a game Boro had to win, at home to a side at the wrong end of the table. Their victory may have moved them to the summit of the Championship after Derby’s shock defeat to Brighton; however there remains just six points between Aitor Karanka’s side and 7th place Ipswich Town who are currently outside the play-offs.

A slip up here would have been unthinkable, especially after recent defeats to Leeds and Sheffield Wednesday had threatened to derail Boro’s push for promotion.  In truth Karanka’s side never looked like coming unstuck once Bamford fired them ahead and they can now move on to trickier away fixtures at Nottingham Forest, Derby and Bournemouth with heads held high.

It was simply a case of back to basics, as Karanka made four changes from the team which lost to Wednesday at the weekend and reverted back to his traditional 4-2-3-1 formation. 

That included a return for Friend who was relentless all game, Leadbitter who added stability in midfield with regular partner Adam Clayton and Lee Tomlin whose presence added an extra punch to the attack. Right back Ryan Fredericks also returned and with the exception of the injured Daniel Ayala it could be agreed that this was Boro’s strongest side.

Despite his team’s position Millwall manager Ian Holloway named an unchanged side from the one which lost at Rotherham on Saturday and had things been different his side could have taken the lead here, when striker Lee Gregory burst through the Boro defence to latch onto a loose ball but his low effort was saved by the feet of Boro keeper Dimi Konstantopulos.

That was the only real highlight for Holloways’ side, seconds earlier Kike had headed a chance straight at Forde and on 26 minutes Boro moved in front. A flowing exchange from the left saw Adomah knock a pass inside to Tomlin who send a low cross into the box, a clever dummy from Kike left Bamford free at the back post and he made no mistake, side footing a first time shot high past Forde.     

Boro sensed blood.  And four minutes later they doubled their lead however there was a little more fortune when Kike finally bundled the ball over the line. With half an hour gone Bamford showed astute judgement to control Clayton’s pass over the top of the Millwall defence, before brushing the ball to his left to Kike who didn’t make the cleanest connection, nevertheless the ball bobbled over Forde and into the net.

That was Kike’s first goal since his memorable finish at Manchester City and Karanka admitted it was a relief that his forwards were finding the net again.    

“Patrick, Kike and Jelle and we needed their goals because if you look at the teams below us in the table, their strikers are scoring" said the Boro manager after the game.

“I knew when our strikers start to score goals that it is going to make the difference because we’re a very consistent team, all of them have scored and we’ve won the game.”

In contrast Holloway could only watch, wishing he had the same sort of riches as his opposite number. This result kept the Lions six points from safety in 22nd place, their only chances here came from long range shooting, the closest coming when Diego Fabbrini hammered wide.

Even so the most likely outcome remain a Boro third, on 51 minutes Adomah flashed a low cross into the box but there was no one to apply the finishing touch. Minutes later Kike’s shot was blocked before Leadbitter’s curling free kick was turned goal bound by Adomah but Forde held his effort.

Millwall almost set up a nervy finish when substitute Ed Upson shot from distance but couldn’t hit the target, any hopes of a comeback were dashed almost immediately when Vossen completed the scoring to move Boro top of the league with eleven games to go.

Player Ratings

Dimi Konstantopulos   7- Made a vital save at 0-0 but didn’t face much after that

Ryan Fredericks   7- Snubbed out any danger defensively and joined in attacks

Ben Gibson   7- Looked comfortable cutting out passes and crosses

Tomas Kalas   7- Was put under some early pressure but held firm

George Friend   8- Was relentless running up and down the left channel all game

Adam Clayton   7.5- Won challenges and played some effective passes forward

Grant Leadbitter   7- Work may have gone unnoticed but added stability in midfield

Patrick Bamford   7- Moved back out to the right, took goal well

Albert Adomah   7.5- Has had a quick return to form in recent weeks, linked up well with Friend

Lee Tomlin   6.5- Still showed moments of quality, but gave the ball away a couple of times

Kike   7- Worked hard and held the ball up well at times

Subs   

Jelle Vossen   6.5- Came on for the last 17 minutes and got on the scoresheet

Adam Forshaw – Came on for the last 8 minutes, can’t give a fair rating

Yanic Wildschut - Came on for the last 8 minutes, can’t give a fair rating

My Boro Man Of The Match: George Friend

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