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Town 0-0 Middlesbrough - Half-Time
Friday, 4th Dec 2015 20:39

The Blues’ home game with Middlesbrough remains 0-0 at the break with Town having had the better of the first half.

Town named an unchanged XI but with David McGoldrick returning to the bench after recovering from his groin injury.

Winger Tommy Oar missed out on a place amongst the subs having picked up a knock in training, while Adam McDonnell replaced Joe Robinson in the 18. Former Blues skipper Grant Leadbitter started and skippered the Teessiders.

The game got under way but was very quickly halted when Ainsley Maitland-Niles required treatment for a head injury after George Friend arrived late as they went for the same aerial ball.

Town, playing a 4-4-2 formation with Freddie Sears on the left, threatened for the first time in the fifth minute when Maitland-Niles cut the ball across from the right to the former Colchester man, whose shot from a tight angle at the near post was blocked by Adam Clayton.

There was a big scare for the Blues following the resultant corner when Cole Skuse inadvertently found Stewart Downing with a pass back towards Chambers on halfway. Fortunately for Town the Blues skipper held his ground and blocked the former England international’s shot.

Brett Pitman hit a low strike which Boro keeper Dimitrios Konstantopoulos claimed without trouble in the ninth minute, then at the other end Dean Gerken was similarly unruffled by Blues nemesis David Nugent’s first effort of the game.

On 14 the Teessiders broke quickly down the left, Albert Adomah crossed and Christian Stuani volleyed into the ground and into Gerken’s arms from a tight angle on the right.

The Blues first seriously tested Konstatopoulos in the 23rd minute when Pitman sent Daryl Murphy away on the right. The Irish international chased the ball to the byline then played it back to the ex-Bournemouth man, who hit a powerful shot from the edge of the area which the Boro keeper palmed away.

Town went close again on 28 when Pitman crossed from the left to the far post to Chambers, but Konstantopoulos reacted quickly to block his header and then paw the ball behind as the Blues captain looked to get to the rebound.

Boro defender Ben Gibson picked up the game’s first yellow card for pulling back Pitman midway inside the visitors’ half five minutes before the break. The Blues striker took the freekick himself but shot well over.

Neither side created another chance before referee Tim Robinson brought the half to an end.

Town were warmly applauded off having had the better of their second-placed opponents and the best of the game’s few chances.

Boro keeper Konstantopoulos had done well to stop Pitman’s strike and Chambers’s header, while at the other end the Town defence had prevented David Nugent from being able to add to his 14 goals in 13 games against the Blues and his nine in seven at Portman Road, athough the visitors had looked a threat on the break.

Town: Gerken, Chambers (c), Smith, Berra, Knudsen, Skuse, Maitland-Niles, Douglas, Sears, Murphy, Pitman. Subs: Bialkowski, Malarczyk, Parr, Tabb, Coke, McDonnell, McGoldrick.

MIddlesbrough: Konstantopoulos, Nsue, Ayala, Gibson, Friend, Leadbitter (c), Clayton, Stuani, Downing, Adomah, Nugent. Subs: Mejias, Amorebieta, Kike, Kalas, Fabbrini, Forshaw, Zuculini. Referee: Tim Robinson (West Sussex).


Photo: Action Images



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Tractorboy1985 added 21:34 - Dec 4
Now people might stand up and realise we are a mid table champ club with Knudsen chambers skuse coke.. And shall I go on... 3 wins against p&ss poor opposition and we come crashing back down to earth!
4

Global_Blue added 21:39 - Dec 4
0-2 down and being played off the park in the second half. Knudsen is simply not good enough at this level and Douglas seems lost. I hope MM is angry about the display tonight, because I am. There's been some sloppy play out there. We have no creativity in centre midfield and other than Murphy and Sears we look thin on real quality. We've done well of late, but quality teams like Boro are always going to show us for what we are - mediocre at best. Boro have gone and got real quality players, as have other top teams, we seem to think we can get by with lots of effort and running about. We are deluded if we think we're good enough to challenge for promotion (top two or play-offs) with this team and tactics. What is worse is that Boro could justifiably have won by a couple more. The sooner we get Bishop, Bru and Fraser back the better. Let's hope it's not too late.
5

marco007 added 21:40 - Dec 4
Just about as poor as it gets! Totally brainless game
We are lacking in creativity and pace and against a solid defence lumping and throwing balls into the box is just food and drink to the Bro centre halves. Why on earth was AMN taken off for Coke??? Game over as soon as he went off.
At best we are mid table, but Premier League?? Don't make me laugh.
Desperately need Fraser, Bish, Bru and a fit Didz or we are sliding down the table
Zzzzzzzzzzzz
1

Global_Blue added 21:40 - Dec 4
I should add Gerken, thank god he played well tonight.
1

Keaneish added 21:45 - Dec 4
Marco007 - AMN was taken off because he was flagging and kept switching off. He was arguably at fault for their first in the first phase of play for not tracking back.
0

dagenhamtown added 21:47 - Dec 4
Oh my good god what a disgraceful second half so much lack of quality it is unreal.knusden I'm afraid not good enough and our lack of creatability in midfield is appalling. We are simply not good enough long balls boring football and lack of pace out wide so gutted also gerken top class again
1

Notts_tractor added 21:56 - Dec 4
Wake up call or what? We have played nothing but dross the last few games; this was a decent team and we had absolutely no clue. Quite honestly, if Boro had gone for it from the off it could have been far worse. But for some reason they gave us some (wholly unwarranted) respect and we matched them in the first half. But after they scored it was just so depressing how we lacked any spark of creativity or energy to hit back. Let's face it folks, we are, and have been for ten long, dreary years, Average Nothingness FC
1

MrDiddle added 22:09 - Dec 4
Unfortunately it just wasn't our night tonight.

AMN seemed to have had something knocked out of him after that clash of heads in the first minute, and I don't think he was at full pelt after that. Having said that I thought we were the better team in the first half, Murph was everywhere and Pitman and Chambers were unlucky not to have scored.

I thought for the first goal, Tommy Smith could have done a bit more to try and stop Adamoah - sadly after that we never really got back into the groove, and then bloody Nugent scored. Sooner that bloke retires the better! Knudsen is work in progress. He'll get better the more he plays, but showed his inexperience tonight.

Again Gerks warranted his place in the team. Made a couple of cracking saves today (as did the Boro keeper).

It's crap whenever we lose, but lets keep our heads lads this was not the terrible performance some of you are making it out to be.



2


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