Boro Denied By Controversial Goal

Middlesbrough  1     Nottingham Forest   1

                             Carayol  53                                                         Henderson 80

Boro may have scored their first goal for seven games on Saturday, but they remain far from the finished package.

Victory over Nottingham Forest last night would have only disguised  what was on the whole a disappointing display from a Boro side who should have been brimming with confidence following their 2-0 victory over Ipswich at the weekend.

Henderson's goal ten minutes from time denies Boro victory 

The hosts probably didn’t deserve the win but neither did they deserve the misfortune that prevented it. After taking the lead through Mustapha Carayol’s second half strike Boro looked set to pick up all three points for the second time in four days, only to be undone by another controversial referee decision when Forest striker Darius Henderson appeared to bundle the ball in using his hand.

Despite that, Boro can have no complaints about the final result in what was an anti-climax to Saturday’s performance. Forest, who came into the game off the back three successive defeats, failed to capitalise on their dominant first half showing and in the end just managed to scrape a point to keep their play-off bid on track.

  On last nights’ evidence Forest are a team worthy of their current play-off position, yet for large spells Boro were able to resist the waves of pressure that came their way, Henderson’s goal ten minutes from time was the first goal Boro have conceded at the Riverside for 11 hours 54 minutes, a statistic which shows just how difficult Aitor Karanka’s side are to beat.

At 1-0 Boro’s counter attacking style created chances for them to double their lead but they couldn’t convert them. Their lack of conviction upfront appears to have already ended their play-off aspirations this campaign and still looks the difference between Boro and the top six.

For the first time since his appointment in November Karanka named an unchanged side from the previous match. The only changes from Saturday’s victory over Ipswich were on the bench where Albert Adomah returned along with Dean Whitehead who was suspended at the weekend.

Forest boss Billy Davis was serving a five match touchline ban, his side showed two changes from the team which lost at Barnsley on Saturday, Greg Halford and Kevin Gomis made way for Danny Collins and ex-Boro midfielder Jonathan Greening.

The opening exchanges played out like a game of chess as the two sides bided their time to make a move. Set pieces looked to be both team’s greatest weapons. On ten minutes Forest defender Jamaal Lascelles headed wide from the visitor’s first corner. Minutes later it was Boro’s turn, Carayol managed to steer his header on target but Lascelles was placed to clear it on the line.

Despite their poor run of form Forest were showing few signs of a team low in confidence, their passing was crisp as they kept possession for long spells. In contrast Boro struggled to retain the ball and were spending a majority of their time camped in their own half.

Before long the visitors began to turn their possession into chances, with twenty minutes played Jamie Paterson’s low cross from the left found fellow forward Jamie Mackie whose shot required a block from Boro captain Grant Leadbitter.

Boro’s defence continued to stand firm but twelve minutes later Forest really should have opened the scoring. Djamel Abdoun, who was a threat for the visitors all game, crossed from the left to provide Simon Cox with a free header however it was tamely directed in to the gloves of Boro keeper Dimi Konstantopoulos.

The crowd needed a lift and ironically it came from a Boro injury, Lee Tomlin had been one of the host’s most creative players before he limped off ten minutes before half time. His departure saw the introduction of top scorer Adomah who received a warm welcome.

There was still time for both sides to threaten the deadlock before the break. Abdoun latched on to a loose pass from Boro’s Nathaniel Chalobah however his low shot from range was easily held by Konstantopoulos. Minutes before the interval Carayol cut inside from the left to hit a skimming shot along the ground which whistled inches wide of Forest keeper Karl Darlow’s near post.

That late effort prompted the majority to applaud at half time, but overall Forest had been the better side and Boro needed to improve.

A miss-kick from Darlow when attempting to clear the ball from a back pass at the start of the second half resulted in a roar of jeers from the home fans behind the goal and Boro’s first corner of the half, however that was as far as the danger went.

Boro had been waiting for their chance on the counter attack all evening, which came in the fifty-third minute. With Forest busy appealing for a penalty a one end the hosts piled forward, Adomah led the charge as he dribbled deep into the Forest half, he picked out Carayol to his left who then took over cutting inside to curl the ball inside Darlow’s far post.

Forest saw another chance go begging when Cox’s shot was denied by Ben Gibson’s last ditch challenge. Boro should have been out of sight when Leadbitter broke forward and found Carayol in an almost identical position to where he scored the goal, once again he cut inside his full back but this time he placed his shot wide.

With an hour gone Karanka brought on Whitehead in place of Ledesma with the idea of protecting the defence. Forest introduced Andy Reid with twenty minutes to go before a double change saw strikers Henderson and Matt Derbyshire join the action, and the subs soon paid off.

A long ball forward into the Boro half caught right back Jozsef Varga off guard allowing Reid to advance on the left, his low cross across the box was met by Henderson who when lunging forward appeared  turn the ball in using his hand. The Boro appeals were ones of anger but referee Roger East wasn’t going to change his mind.

Kei Kamara for Carayol was Boro’s final substitution and the striker nearly played a key role in a Boro winner when his flick on fell at the feet of Graham whose effort from close range could only find the post leaving Boro to wonder what might have been. 

Player Ratings

Dimi Konstantopoulos   6.5- Made some important saves to keep Boro level

Joszsef Varga   6.5- Stuck to his duties at right back but caught out for the goal late on

Kenneth Omeruo   7- Dealt with the danger caused by Forest attack

Ben Gibson   7.5- Put in some important tackles and cleared the danger when he had to

George Friend   7- Got forward to good effect but at time his final product let him down

Nathaniel Chalobah   6- Failed to impose himself on the game with any great effect

Grant Leadbitter (C)   6- Struggled to impose himself on the game as Forest dominated for large parts  

Emmanuel Ledesma   5.5- struggled to get in to the game, subbed in the second half

Mustapha Carayol   7- Again looked Boro’s brightest spark, but failed to convert chance to go 2-0 up

Lee Tomlin   6- Struggled to get in the game, showed signs of what he can do before going off injured

Danny Graham   5.5- Failed to hold the ball up, at times looked a lost figure upfront

Subs

Albert Adomah   6.5- Added extra pace on the wing after coming on in the first half

Dean Whitehead   6- Came on with 30 minutes to go to sure up the midfield

Kei Kamara- Came on with 7 minutes to go not enough time to give a fair rating

My Boro Man Of The Match: Ben Gibson