Boro's Run Goes On

Middlesbrough   1     Charlton   0

                                       Ledesma 16

January has traditionally been the month when Boro’s season begins to unravel, but not this time around, in fact it’s been quite the opposite.

Their almost faultless run since Christmas, of five wins and 1 draw, have drastically changed all expectations for this second half of the season, with Boro making the leap from relegation candidates to one of the many teams in with a shout of making the play-offs.

Ledesma's strike makes it five wins in six for Boro

Aitor Karanka has re-formed a team from the back; Boro’s victories have been built on solid defensive displays, an area which was something of a problem at the start of the season, however they have how kept five clean sheets in their last six games.

 Saturday’s 1-0 victory over Charlton was a prime example of grinding out a result on a day when Boro weren’t at their best.  As Karanka later said “it was the sort of game we would have lost in the past, today is a game when the referee blows his whistle you are happy.”    

Emmanuel Ledesma’s first half strike proved to be the difference in a match which provided few goal scoring opportunities and offered little spectacle, nevertheless the result was vital to keep Boro’s momentum going.

It’s a victory which moves Boro up to ninth place in the table, five points adrift from sixth place Reading. Furthermore nicely sets up next week’s clash at top of the table Leicester who have won their last six in the league.

Karanka made two changes from the side that won 2-0 at Blackpool a week ago. Mustapha Carayol scored both of those goals after coming off the bench, which clearly prompted his return to the starting line up as he replaced the injured Albert Adomah.

The other change saw Curtis Main replace Lukas Jutkiewitz as the lone striker. Karanka set out his usual 4-2-3-1 formation with Grant Leadbitter and Dean Whitehead occupying the holding midfield spots behind Marvin Emnes and Ledesma who joined Carayol further forward.

Jonathan Woodgate and Kei Kamara were both fit again and started on the bench, while there was no place at all for either Kenneth Omeruo or Nathaniel Chalobah who have both signed on loan from Chelsea in the last fortnight.

Charlton made three changes from the side that drew their FA Cup tie with Oxford in mid-week, goalkeeper Yohann Thuram-Ulien, on loan from Standard Liege, made his debut while Dale Stephens and Callum Harriott also came in.

After the recent run of results Boro fans expected nothing less than a victory against a Charlton twam who haven’t won since Boxing Day. It was visitors though who passed up the first opportunity as a mistake on the edge of the Boro penalty area allowed Yann Kermorgant the chance to shoot from range, however he could only clear the cross bar.    

With seven minutes played Boro carved out their first chance and should have made it count, Main’s attempted pass to Carayol hit Charlton defender Michael Morrison and fell kindly back into the striker’s path, however with a clear sight of goal Main could only drag his shot wide of the far post.

Boro went close again when Emnes blasted the ball into the side netting from a tight angle on thirteen minutes, but it was moments later that the breakthrough was made.

Ledesma received the ball mid way inside the Charlton half on the right, with space to shoot he cut onto his favoured left foot before curling his effort low into the bottom right corner beating Thuram-Ulien his near post.

The Charlton keeper probably should have done better with that one and he again looked unconvincing moments later, this time it was Carayol who cut in from the left to fire his shot on target, the ball was heading down the middle of the goal however Thuram-Ulien elected to use his foot to block it away.

Overall Boro probably deserved their advantage at half time, however after the break it took them a while to get going again. Charlton had rarely threatened Shay Given’s goal before the interval, they could have drawn level five minutes after the re-start but Richard Wood’s shot was off target.

Although the visitors struggled to maintain the pressure, Boro were beginning to see less and less of the ball. A second goal would have killed things off; Carayol forced another save from Thuram-Ulienm as the hosts couldn’t prevent a nervy finish.

Karanka introduced Jutkiewitz who replaced Emnes with half an hour remaining, as Boro fell into the habit of sitting back. Charlton did have the ball in the net with twenty minutes remaining however it was chalked off when substitute Simon Church fouled Given while the Boro keeper had the ball in both hands.

As the match reached its climax both sides became guilty of some late tackles, first Whitehead and Ledesma were shown the yellow card, but it was the visitors who rode their luck when Rhoys Wiggins was given a straight red with six minutes to go.

Boro should have been home and dry but couldn’t land the killer blow, first Jutkiewitz was denied from a tight angle by Thuram-Ulienm before a goal mouth scramble saw more opportunities go begging.

After five minutes of injury time Charlton had a golden chance to draw level. A late cross into the Boro box had to be punched away by Given, the ball fell to Stephens who smashed a full blooded shot on target however the Irish keeper was once again on hand to make a world class save giving Boro all three points.

The full time whistle was welcomed with the chants of “there’s only one Shay Given” whose late contribution mean Boro have now taken 16 points out of a possible 18.

Player Ratings

Shay Given   7.5- Didn’t have much to do but came up with two vital saves at the end

George Friend   7.5- Defended well, joining in with attacks when he could

Rhys Williams   7.5- Looks settled once again at centre half,  started moves from the back 

Daniel Ayala   7.5- Solid performance, as the Charlton forwards had a quiet afternoon 

Jozsef Varga   7- Made a early error but recovered, overall another solid game at right back

Dean Whitehead   7-Won majority of tackles providing protection for the defence

Grant Leadbitter (C)   7- Kept the team ticking in midfield

Mustapha Carayol   6- Dipped in and out of the game, occasionally testing the keeper

Emmanuel Ledesma   7- Produced the moment of quality to win the match, but went off the boil slightly in the second half 

Marvin Emnes   5- Struggled to get on the ball and really have an impact on the game

Curtis Main   5.5- Passed up good opportunity in the first half, worked hard with little reward

Subs

Lukas Jutkiewitz   5.5- Came on with 30 minutes to go but didn’t have a huge impact

Not enough time to give players fair rating

Richard Smallwood – Came with 10 minutes remaining steadied the midfield

Kei Kamara – Came off the bench to make first appearance since December 

My Boro Man Of The Match Rhys Williams