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.
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| 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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