Town’s hopes of winning automatic promotion would appear to hang by a thread after they were defeated 4-1 at Middlesbrough. Boro went in front through Daniel Ayala in the fourth minute in an incident which saw Blues keeper Dean Gerken stretchered off, Daryl Murphy equalised with his 23rd goal of the season on 11 and Albert Adomah restored the Teessiders’ lead on the half hour, before Patrick Bamford sealed the victory after the break with goals on 64 and 79.

Teddy Bishop replaced Richard Chaplow in an otherwise unchanged Town side with the on-loan Millwall man dropping to the bench.

Bishop started in the centre of midfield with Jay Tabb moving to the left and Jonny Parr to the right.

Gerken, whose wife gave birth yesterday, continued in goal with Bartosz Bialkowski on the bench with Paddy Kenny also having made the trip.

Kevin Bru was back on amongst the subs after his knee injury, while Stephen Hunt travelled having recovered from his hamstring problem but was not in the 18. David McGoldrick remained in Suffolk but is likely to be in the squad for the home game against Bolton on Tuesday.

Boro were the first to threaten in the third minute when Daniel Ayala chipped a quick freekick behind the Blues’ backline to Adam Reach, but skipper Luke Chambers did superbly to get back to stab the ball away from the midfielder. Referee Mike Jones waved away Boro claims for a penalty.

But from the resultant corner on the left, the home side went in front. The flag-kick was played short to Adam Clayton, who sent the ball over and former Norwich man Ayala headed home.

As Ayala scored, Blues keeper Gerken clashed heads with George Friend and Christophe Berra and required seven minutes of treatment on the pitch before eventually being carried off on a stretcher with his neck in his brace while being administered oxygen. Bartosz Bialkowski took over in goal.

Before Gerken had made it to the tunnel, the Blues were on terms. Tyrone Mings’s header found Parr midway inside the Boro half and the Norwegian turned and brought the ball forward before hitting a powerful shot to Dimi Konstantopoulos’s left.

The keeper got across to save but parried the ball back towards the centre of his goal, from where Murphy stabbed his 23rd goal of the season into the roof of the net.

It had been a remarkable start to the game with Town’s goal having come only 26 seconds of actual playing time after Boro’s.

The Blues were a whisker from going in front in the 21st minute when Tabb cut the ball back from the left and it fell to Murphy, who hit a powerful strike on the turn which struck Freddie Sears before trickling onto the post and into Konstantopoulos’s arms.

After Jonathan Woodgate had replaced goalscorer Ayala - who had been a pre-match doubt with a thigh injury - Cole Skuse smashed a low shot which was deflected wide. From Tabb’s left-sided corner, Murphy headed over.

Tommy Smith picked up the game’s first booking for a foul on Tomas Kalas in the 28th minute, Chambers heading clear former Blues skipper Grant Leadbitter’s lofted freekick.

But two minutes later the home side were back in front. After a well-worked corner on the left, the ball eventually found Adomah on the edge of the box and, as Mings sought to close him down, the Ghanaian international hit a low strike which caught Berra on its way past Bialkowski and into the net.

Bishop’s 33rd minute strike was claimed comfortably by Konstantopoulos, then three minutes later Murphy headed another Tabb corner from the left over the bar.

Town threatened again on 39 from another Tabb left-sided flag-kick. After Mings had failed to get enough on his header, Berra returned the ball from the right and Sears’s hooked effort was blocked.

As the half moved into its final five minutes Adomah shot over from the Boro left, then Bishop screwed an effort wide from the edge of the area after another Blues corner, again on the left.

Town continued to look the more threatening side. With a minute of scheduled first-half time remaining Bishop skipped across the Boro area but saw his effort snuffed out, then Sears following up had his strike blocked.

As the half moved into eight minutes of injury time Bishop was shown his first senior yellow card for catching Friend as they challenged for an aerial ball.

The second of two Bishop corners from the right culminated in Berra’s over-head kick running through to Konstantopoulos, then Patrick Bamford claimed a penalty when challenged by Berra but referee Jones waved away his lengthy protests. Replays suggested the on-loan Chelsea man had a good case.

Just before the whistle finally came, Adomah hit a shot on the turn which was blocked by Mings.

On the balance of the half Town shouldn’t have been behind having been on top for the most part. However, after failing to defend Boro’s only two corners, they could hardly complain about the scoreline.

Having gone behind to Ayala’s goal and lost Gerken to his injury, the Blues reacted well, although Konstantopoulos will feel he ought to have done better with Parr’s shot which led to Murphy’s goal.

After conceding the second goal, the Blues had looked the more likely scorers, although without creating any clear-cut opportunities.

The Blues started the second half on the front, Mings over-hitting an early cross from the left beyond Murphy.

There was a scare for the Blues in the 53rd minute when Reach almost profited from a moment of hesitation between Bialkowski and Chambers but the Boro man was adjudged to have used his hand and his shot had in any case been blocked.

Middlesbrough centre-half Ben Gibson was booked for pulling back Murphy as the Town scorer turned and took the ball away from him in the 55th minute. Sears curled the resultant 25-yard freekick well wide.

The first quarter of an hour had been much the same as the end of the first period with the Blues on top but without creating anything significant, however, on 64 the home side increased their lead.

After a Town ball forward had been cleared and hooked on by Leadbitter, Jelle Vossen deftly sent Bamford away behind the Blues’ backline. The England U21 kept his cool and dummied his way past Bialkowski before tapping the ball into the net.

After Boro had switched Adam Forshaw for Vossen, Chris Wood took over from Tabb for the Blues.

On 73 Reach was booked for a late tackle on Bishop, then two minutes later Clayton hit an effort from distance which flew over.

Bishop played a shot corner on the right to Parr on 78 but the Norwegian’s shot was blocked.

With 11 minutes left on the clock Boro’s fourth goal sealed the result. Bamford dummied a long ball and broke away from Smith before hitting a low shot across Bialkowski and into the net to make it 4-1.

Town were by now looking shellshocked and Adomah wasn’t far from making it 5-1 with a shot from the left which flew wide. At the other end, Murphy cut the ball back to Sears from the right but the former Colchester man diverted it against a defender and behind.

Bamford should have made it five and completed his hat-trick in the 86th minute when Adomah brought the ball forward from halfway and fed him to his left, but the Chelsea loanee shot over.

Luke Varney, who had replaced Bishop for the final six minutes, headed wide from Murphy’s cross from the right, then at the other end Boro sub Forshaw ought to have done better with an Adomah cross, but headed well wide.

As the match moved into three minutes of additional time, Bamford smashed high and wide. Not long afterwards referee Jones put the Blues out of their misery.

Despite the eventual scoreline, the Blues had been in the game up until the hour mark having had a fair amount of the ball, albeit without creating anything which would have tested Konstantopoulos. Town failed to seriously threaten from their 13 corners while Boro scored their first two goals from their total of three.

Bamford’s first goal all but settled the game, the fourth added some gloss and in the end the home side might have won by even more having had plenty of chances in the final minutes with the Blues looking uncharacteristically dishevelled.

It was little consolation that Murphy, who was watched by Ireland assistant manager and former Blues boss Roy Keane, became the first Town player to score more than 22 league goals in a season since Ray Crawford in 1962/63.

The Blues are now eight points behind Boro, who move to the top, with the rest of the challengers in action later this afternoon. Town’s chances of returning to the Premier League after a 13-year absence would now appear to be reliant on winning the play-offs.

Middlesbrough: Konstantopoulos, Kalas, Ayala (Woodgate 24), Gibson, Friend, Leadbitter (Nsue 88) (c), Clayton, Adomah, Reach, Bamford, Vossen (Forshaw 68). Unused: Ripley, Whitehead, Tomlin, Kike.

Town: Gerken (Bialkowski 10), Chambers (c), Mings, Smith, Berra, Skuse, Bishop (Varney 84), Parr, Tabb (Wood 69), Murphy, Sears. Unused: Clarke, Anderson, Chaplow, Bru. Referee: Mike Jones (Chester). Attendance: 18,909 (Town: 444).

Photo: Action Images

bluefeast added 14:54 - Mar 14 Mins failed for the first boro goal as he lost his marker ,he then ambled out and did not make a ground level block against Adamah for the 2nd boro goal. This is why we were 2.1 down at half time. We have not done defensive basics since December. Time to drop smith and mings to the bench.Next point why have we signed wood and barney ,to players not good enough , ireckon that sent the wrong message. Next point ,how to destroy an in form striker in one week. MM take a look at what your asking sears to do. Hes a box player so ffs play a team with crossers of the ball. next point ,we have flair wingers but they are not up to henshall etc ,so MM they were your signings ,i guess your coaching methods have destroyed their confidence. Current for for 2015 has us second bottom. I suppose thats not MMs fault ether.JOKE

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ChrisFelix added 14:55 - Mar 14 Bamford showed what we are missing
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Gforce added 14:55 - Mar 14 Sorry to say our form is so bad 8th or 9th place beckons. I think we are looking to create a record no-one will ever beat 20 years in the championship !
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RudolphHucker added 14:55 - Mar 14 Unfortunately, MM is too stubborn to realise that Tommy Smith is very lacking in confidence at the moment. He was at fault for goals we conceded today and that has been the case since the 1-0 defeat to Derby in Jan. Then there are the regular starters of Tabb and Skuse who are both very average at best. Parr needs to be played at RB, not at RM, yet still gets played as a wide man despite the fact our defence has been very shaky over the last 2 months, and we still play with this "attacking wing backs" approach, which as today has shown once again, does not work. And unlike Derby, we didn't think to ourselves we are in a very good position let's get another couple of class signings in for the remainder of the season and really go for it, instead we bring in Varney who can't make the Blackburn team on an emergency loan. I'm not being gloomy as we have had a very good season but we have bottled it at such a crucial stage of the season. Midfield is almost non existent, defence is so poor despite setting up with 5 at the back like every game and still Tabb gets in the team despite contributing the square root of FA all season, but of course MM knows best about "class Tabby"!

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prebbs007 added 14:56 - Mar 14 Same AGAIN Mick. You pick sh1t team you get sh1t result. Chambers out of position. Smith mugged all game long he is a liability. Tabb is a joke. Only yourself to blame Mick. Your stubbornness and backing of your favourites has cost us our best chance for years. Along work ME keeping his hand in his pocket. Oh well. Another year of championship hoof ball to look forward to. Put all you down marks on this post you do gooders who accept mediocrity but you know what I say is right !!!

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Blue_Meanie added 14:56 - Mar 14 Bonkers league innit??? No Mick, just your team selections and formations.
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Michael11 added 14:56 - Mar 14 Another pathetic performance! The players should pay the 444 fans for their match ticket. They gave up a lot of time and money to watch that shower of s**t when they could've stayed at homd. One thing I just can't understand is Mick's stubborness to move from negative tactics with defensive players when the team have no idea how to defend! Firstly, I hope Gerken's ok but never plays for us again. Mings thinks hes big time and doesn't need to try anymore. Chambers is absolutely awful at right back and just don't get me started on Jay Tabb!! I really do now believe we're just an average side who have massively punched above our weight all season. I think for the team we have, the play-offs should be a pipe dream!

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bgexile added 14:58 - Mar 14 It's supposed to be Blue & White on here... but it's become very Black & White. Either 'we'll beat everyone...' or we're 'gutless and spineless'. FFS it's a very tight league...margins are tiny. We got straight back in it and then hit the post. If that'd gone in, who knows? Mings had a mare. Parr was superb. Rest were ok...yes, Smith got done for the last one, but it was all over by then. COYB

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NoelTheDub added 15:00 - Mar 14 This is page 1 of 7 or 8 talking about the same bull sh#t every bloody week.I criticize our hoof ball style now I know why MM plays this way we have only 2 or 3 players that like a ball at there feet.Embarrassing again and the same issues smacking MM in the face.Our width and pace are in the stands or playing elsewhere yes Mick you take responsibility today and been beat 4 1 by boro dosent surprise me its the way we fell to bits and you did not address the problems we could all see today and longtime back.Ive enjoyed this season and yes i would have taking this at the start but there was a great chance to hijack a playoff spot and I believe you have blowing it by sticking to you sterile tactics fortune favours the brave in this division and we are far from that but it your call..

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Cloddyseedbed added 15:00 - Mar 14 Good 1st half, poor 2nd. Ist half we competed well but both full backs let wide players in behind too easily. Berra and Smith looked edgy. Smith looked once again well out of his comfort zone and needs rescuing. Thought Tabb, Parr and Bishop played well also Skuse did some fine work winning the ball back. 2nd half a shambles, McCarthy just said on sky he will take the blame and so he should, not only for round pegs in square holes once again at the back but every time we conceed, put another striker on. Whats that all about, what management tactics is that? just puts us under more pressure at the back with only hoof as an outlet. Tactics played a big part in loosing today, that and Smith and Mings not having a good day - yet again. Chambers still not a right back and outpaced and caught out of position too easily. The amount of possession we had in the 1st half we should have not lost the game. Were Middlesborough much better than us - no. We made more mistakes defending and that cost us the game. Has McCarthy's tactics let us down. On this one I think so. I would love Parr to play left back and right back instead of Chambers and Mings, but we would really miss his great performances in midfield too. Shame he hasn't got a twin brother or he's one of triplets with equal ability.

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itfc1981 added 15:00 - Mar 14 Phil could have mentioned Smith stepping up alone and trying to catch Bamford offside for their 3rd, he was alone at fault for that goal.
2

TractorCam added 15:01 - Mar 14 Well at least we gave it a good go first half, is my prediction for the post match conference
2

Kesgraveblue92 added 15:01 - Mar 14 Mings awful again, lost his man for the first goal, can not pass and continuously got beaten by his opposite number. Parr at left back in his place is a must for Tuesday, but then again he was our best player today, playing in midfield. Another worrying thing is our inability to defend set pieces or long balls at the moment. The watertight defence of earlier in the season seems to have sprung a serious leak. We had so many corners but could not convert any of them. At a loss as to what has gone wrong since the beginning of the year. The season is not over just yet but anything less than 4 points from the next 2 games I fear it will be shortly.

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BlueArmy01 added 15:04 - Mar 14 P*ss poor Mings dreadful, outswinging corners with no pace dreadful, please don't let Tabb ever take another one Bishops were no better......Smith looks well off form needs to be managed as to not destroy fragile confidence but at the same time needs to be dropped. Just gutted, but I cant jump on McCarthy as we are probably over achieving with a largely average squad. Scrape into the playoff.....fingers crossed.

0

carlo88 added 15:04 - Mar 14 ^^^Paulthebluealien Start a petition to refund your journey today? What is it with football fans these days, every time they lose they want a refund. We were beaten by a better team, we did try but weren't good enough. Twit
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itfc1981 added 15:05 - Mar 14 Sorry Smith not stepping up :)
0

roytheboy added 15:12 - Mar 14 Shameful performance, we never looked like coming back, even at 2-1 down, a massive lack of quality, far too much playing the ball in the air, usually resulting in us giving away possession, where is the accuracy ? where is the quality ? you're in charge Mick so will you please sort it out quickly.
3

Andy32Cracknell added 15:12 - Mar 14 One word for that RUBBISH
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itfc1981 added 15:12 - Mar 14 #NoParrRBNoPlayOffsNOPointPostingThoughAsMickWillAlwaysPickSmith.
2

Stato added 15:12 - Mar 14 I think we need another big lump up front, another little fella in the centre of the park, and another speedy winger for the bench and a few more fans to cheer on the Mccarthy dross regardless of performances on the pitch
2

bluefeast added 15:13 - Mar 14 TWTD please can you start as a media outlet writing match reports that actually reflect positives and negatives as opposed to on the fence nonsense. The fact you don't mention Mings at fault for first two goals and Smith at fault for the next two shows what a lets not pi55 Mick Mcarthy off attitude the whole suffolk media has.
3

Gforce added 15:13 - Mar 14 Sorry to say our form is so bad 8th or 9th place beckons. I think we are looking to create a record no-one will ever beat 20 years in the championship !
3

gorse added 15:17 - Mar 14 Well hopefully that'll bring on the changes in defence, especially as Boro should have had 2 first half penalties (impossible for ref to spot the first tho). Parr was great, Skuse definitely broke into a sprint once although failed to cover nearly enough (e.g. Smith's booking) as per Norwich. Positives covered.
1

cowboynickblue added 15:17 - Mar 14 What worries me more than anything is that mm cant see whats so obvious to everyone else. Which is smith is playing s**t and has been for a while and mings cant defend and going forward his final ball is poor. We don't have a number 1 gk. Berra I feel sorry for trying to defend by having cover for mings to his left and cover smith to his right all that plus having no confidence in his gk. I will let everyone else talk about the fact that we have wingers on the bench but insist in playing the wrong people. oh and we wont make the playoffs be lucky to finish 8th. Up the town

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bluefeast added 15:19 - Mar 14 Bourmouth and watford winning already.The rest of the top 6 have inventive managers ,we dont do we. Has he only got one defensive formation in his head.FFs MM wake up..
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