Tweet
After the awfulness of Preston, I thought Middlesborough would be a potential worry.
The signs weren't good. We haven't been particularly great away since January, we hadn't ever scored at the Riverside, Boro had scored 3 on the road to Millwall and Swansea - a team that Boro had stuck three goals past when the Welsh travelled there- had closed the points differential between us and them to just two points.
I was wrong.
Middlesborough were crap. While Boro fans can point to Scott McDonald's miss early on that would have given them easy, we could easily had gone into the break 3-1 up had Taarrabt not got too much under his lob and had Helguson's half chance not gone in.
The second half was all us. Routledge's wonderful cross was capitalised by Helguson with a cracking header to make it 2-0, and when Taarabt was fouled in the box, he pushed Helguson aside- the only controversy of a very un-controversial day - to score his first away goal since Palace away.
Anyway.....
THE GOOD
Hall/Shittu
The great thing about both players is that they don't let the ball bounce and seem to know how to get the ball away. It would be difficult to drop either one of them as they've gone 2 games with a clean sheet, and dealt with the speedy Lita comfortably. Leicester will be a different challenge - particularly against the pacy Yakubu.
Helguson
Battled his way until he asked to substituted. Fantastic header in the second half pretty much sealed the game for us, but he was fantasy.
Faurlin/ Derry
Both players ran the midfield in the second half. Both were fantastic. Faurlin got booked early for an untidy challenge, but thankfully, Derry didn't. We will need both so, so much in this run-in.
Hill
Against the pacy Ben Hair, he struggled. But as ever, he got back, got the ball away and for the second game in a row, looked pretty good going forward. A pleasing thing to see- considering the crap I've given him.
Routledge
In a game where Taarabt didn't have the best of games, Routledge was fantastic on the left, destroying his opposite number. The cross for Helguson's header was absolutely fantastic. He also showed a bit of sportsmanship in injury time when he could have broken and gone for a fourth, he passed it back. A classy move.
The fans
While we didn't take that many (about 800), we were vocal and supportive all the way through the game - even during the first half when Middlesborough applied some pressure. Certainly better than the complacent Preston 'fan' performance. Oh, and we managed to chat "Sean Derry My Lord" for about 10 minutes, which was great. The bedlam after the three goals was fantastic, and it was nice to hear the Boro fans saying we were "noisy" (apart from the woman who asked me if I was at Loftus Road last season when they beat us 5-1, which was a nice reminder of how far we've come)
THE BAD
The ref
While it's understandable that Faurlin and Hall were booked for their challenges, some of the tackles that were going in on our players - particularly two on Taarabt and one on Routledge in the space of a minute that were absolutely horrific - and should have warranted cards. One of the challenges - that undoubtedly won't be repeated - was over the top and could have crippled Adel. I mind if you're consistently good or consistently bad ref - as long as you are consistent.
Boro
They were awful. 'Nuff said.
The ugly
Taarabt and the pen
When Taarabt was fouled, he grabbed the ball and despite Helguson and Derry trying to persuade him otherwise, he refused to let Helguson take what could have been a hat-trick scoring penalty. It was a little bit of a sour note. Of course, it went in, but still.....
Onwards and upwards.
The signs weren't good. We haven't been particularly great away since January, we hadn't ever scored at the Riverside, Boro had scored 3 on the road to Millwall and Swansea - a team that Boro had stuck three goals past when the Welsh travelled there- had closed the points differential between us and them to just two points.
I was wrong.
Middlesborough were crap. While Boro fans can point to Scott McDonald's miss early on that would have given them easy, we could easily had gone into the break 3-1 up had Taarrabt not got too much under his lob and had Helguson's half chance not gone in.
The second half was all us. Routledge's wonderful cross was capitalised by Helguson with a cracking header to make it 2-0, and when Taarabt was fouled in the box, he pushed Helguson aside- the only controversy of a very un-controversial day - to score his first away goal since Palace away.
Anyway.....
THE GOOD
Hall/Shittu
The great thing about both players is that they don't let the ball bounce and seem to know how to get the ball away. It would be difficult to drop either one of them as they've gone 2 games with a clean sheet, and dealt with the speedy Lita comfortably. Leicester will be a different challenge - particularly against the pacy Yakubu.
Helguson
Battled his way until he asked to substituted. Fantastic header in the second half pretty much sealed the game for us, but he was fantasy.
Faurlin/ Derry
Both players ran the midfield in the second half. Both were fantastic. Faurlin got booked early for an untidy challenge, but thankfully, Derry didn't. We will need both so, so much in this run-in.
Hill
Against the pacy Ben Hair, he struggled. But as ever, he got back, got the ball away and for the second game in a row, looked pretty good going forward. A pleasing thing to see- considering the crap I've given him.
Routledge
In a game where Taarabt didn't have the best of games, Routledge was fantastic on the left, destroying his opposite number. The cross for Helguson's header was absolutely fantastic. He also showed a bit of sportsmanship in injury time when he could have broken and gone for a fourth, he passed it back. A classy move.
The fans
While we didn't take that many (about 800), we were vocal and supportive all the way through the game - even during the first half when Middlesborough applied some pressure. Certainly better than the complacent Preston 'fan' performance. Oh, and we managed to chat "Sean Derry My Lord" for about 10 minutes, which was great. The bedlam after the three goals was fantastic, and it was nice to hear the Boro fans saying we were "noisy" (apart from the woman who asked me if I was at Loftus Road last season when they beat us 5-1, which was a nice reminder of how far we've come)
THE BAD
The ref
While it's understandable that Faurlin and Hall were booked for their challenges, some of the tackles that were going in on our players - particularly two on Taarabt and one on Routledge in the space of a minute that were absolutely horrific - and should have warranted cards. One of the challenges - that undoubtedly won't be repeated - was over the top and could have crippled Adel. I mind if you're consistently good or consistently bad ref - as long as you are consistent.
Boro
They were awful. 'Nuff said.
The ugly
Taarabt and the pen
When Taarabt was fouled, he grabbed the ball and despite Helguson and Derry trying to persuade him otherwise, he refused to let Helguson take what could have been a hat-trick scoring penalty. It was a little bit of a sour note. Of course, it went in, but still.....
Onwards and upwards.
Hopefully the only one I will miss now is Barnsley which has fallen on a Tuesday....!
Comment