Middlesbrough 1 Tottenham 1 - Match Report
By Andy Morgan
November 3 2007
Gareth Southgate went into this relegation six-pointer devoid of some of his important stars. Mido did not recover from a groin strain so Jeremie Aliadiere and Tuncay Sanli started in attack. The other important absence was that of Jonathan Woodgate with a tight hamstring so David Wheater partnered Chris Riggott at the back. Luke Young and Andrew Taylor played on the right and left respectively.
November 3 2007
Gareth Southgate went into this relegation six-pointer devoid of some of his important stars. Mido did not recover from a groin strain so Jeremie Aliadiere and Tuncay Sanli started in attack. The other important absence was that of Jonathan Woodgate with a tight hamstring so David Wheater partnered Chris Riggott at the back. Luke Young and Andrew Taylor played on the right and left respectively.
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Middlesbrough's midfield consisted of Fabio Rochemback and Lee Cattermole in the centre, with George Boateng once again on the bench. Gary O'Neil and Stewart Downing started on the right and left respectively, with the former as Boro's captain. Schwarzer, Young, Wheater, Riggott, Taylor, O'Neil, Cattermole, Rochemback (Boateng 76), Downing, Aliadiere (Lee 76), Sanli (Hutchinson 71), Turnbull, Hines THE FIRST HALF Unsurprisingly Spurs had the first forays into opposition territory but had very little penetration, with Luke Young in particular standing firm. But enough of the innuendo - after all Roary is the only fluffer allowed down at the Riverside. The first dangerous attack came from Gary O'Neil. He took a throw-in quickly and outfoxed the Spurs backline by passing to Tuncay. He darted between two Spurs defenders and crossed a dangerous ball into the box. Stewart Downing only narrowly failed to connect to it to put the home side 1-0 up. This sparked the crowd into life as they started to enthuse their team onwards. On twelve Rochemback saw the opportunity to drop a diagonal over Younes Kaboul but it had too much pace on it and Tuncay could not reach it. On fourteen Rochemback played the ball wide to O'Neil whose touch and delivery into the box was perfect. Michael Dawson managed a strong defensive error under pressure from Aliadiere and Downing. Spurs had escaped like a bear from a trap. On eighteen the Brazilian had one of his (in)famous long-range shots that went high and wide. Still, there was some good build-up play leading up to this and the Boro were looking impressive. The first corner of the match came on twenty-one and it went to Spurs after some steady defending from Andrew Taylor. Nothing came of this after Darre Bent's layoff was about as mis-directed as Jade Goody going on Celebrity Big Brother. Aliadiere showed his pace after Rochemback's ball was slightly too long. Kaboul conceded the corner and Downing's cross was subsequently cleared. The ball fell to O'Neil who tried a long range pearler but it would only be his teeth that would be bright and shiny. Middlesbrough were dominating the game, particularly in midfield. Rochemback and O'Neil were putting themselves about and this was stifling Spurs whilst simultaneously creating opportunities for the home side. The game petered into nothingness around the half-hour mark. Spurs had a spell of possession but their crossing was of too low quality and it rarely threatened Boro's steadfast backline. Luke Young in particular was making strong challenges against his former club. On thirty-four Spurs scored out of nothing. Steed Malbranque passed to Darren Bent and Chris Riggott decided to stand off him. The Spurs striker darted towards the box and unleashed a shot from eighteen-yards that beat Schwarzer to his left as he didn't have that post covered. The Boro were unlucky to be down but it was yet another sloppy goal to concede. MIDDLESBROUGH 0 TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 1 (Bent, 34) On thirty-eight Spurs were flying by the seat of their capacious pants as Gary O'Neil had two efforts that they had to doggedly defend. In many ways life was a bitch for the Boro as they struggled to get another foothold in the game. A minute later however Downing's cross was sniffed out by Dawson before Tuncay could steal in. This did little to rouse the crowd however, who were now quieter than a protest organised by the National Agrophobic's Society. On forty-one more nerves from Paul Robinson almost gifted Boro an equaliser. A shot from O'Neil was only parried into Downing's path but he could do little with his cross and Spurs cleared. Spurs were quite clearly shaky in defence and were there to be tested. Spurs had their tails up at this stage and were in the ascendancy. On forty-four they almost had their second after Jermaine Defoe's pace allowed him to break through the Boro's defence. He crossed the ball into the Boro area and Bent connected from close range. Thankfully the ball skimmed the right side of the post. This was the last action of the first half, which was once more greeted with boos by the Boro faithful. THE SECOND HALF Boro came out hoping to equalise early but Spurs almost grabbed their second in the opening two minutes. Malbranque got in front of Taylor but the Boro defence rallied and conceded a corner after an Aaron Lennon shot from eighteen yards. Spurs could not profit from this. On forty-eight Rochemback crossed the ball into the Spurs box from a dead-ball situation. Aliadiere got enough on the ball to head it towards goal but Robinson tipped it behind. From the corner the Spurs defence were at sixes, sevens, eights and nines and only managed to concede another corner after some sustained Boro pressure. Kaboul cleared from this second corner. The Boro were as rampant as Roary in the mating season. Or when he had just had his suit dry-cleaned. Apparently he loves the Lenor freshness. On fifty-one Luke Young scored his first goal for the Boro. And what a goal! An intelligent ball from Gary O'Neil set up the former-Spurs man who tricked Malbranque by threatening to take the shot early. He waited a brief second and powered his shot beyond Robinson from twenty-five yards. If Roary was rampant before - he'd be on an ASBO by now. MIDDLESBROUGH 1 (Young, 51) TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 1 Spurs tried to come back quickly. The Boro conceded a free-kick thirty yards out allowing Kaboul a shot. It took a deflection off the Boro wall and went behind for a corner. Schwarzer caught the ball as it floated into the box. On fifty-six O'Neil forced Dawson into a mistake, forcing the concession of a throw-in. A minute later Andrew Taylor darted into the box and forced a corner. Nothing came of this as it was too close to the keeper but the earlier pressure was encouraging from the home side. I was thinking of writing part of this match report in Spanish so you could have the Spurs' dressing room experience. But then I realised I spoke no Spanish. Lo siento, es malo. Juande Ramos did decide to change his front-line however - replacing Darren Bent and Jermaine Defoe with Dimitar Berbatov and Robbie Keane, who always seems to score against us. On fifty-nine Chimbonda was sloppy, his back-pass to Robinson not having enough pace on it. Tuncay tried to take advantage but he was not quick enough. If only it was Aliadiere... A slip from Michael Dawson allowed Alidiere to steal in on sixty-two. He had the opportunity to pass to Tuncay but he took it further wide. In doing so, Dawson appeared to handle and Boro had a good penalty claim but the referee waved away the appeals. Towards the half-way mark of the second half, the game calmed down and started to resemble Strictly Come Dancing. Only without Bruce Forsyth. Thankfully. On sixty-five O'Neil's tenacity won the ball from Malbranque after he had initially lost it. A corner was conceded but nothing resulted. The game was more nervy than your average STI clinic as neither side felt they could take hold of proceedings. The match was as tepid as your average wedding buffet but on seventy Andrew Taylor's outfoxing of Aaron Lennon thwarted his run but conceced a corner. Schwarzer caught from this. Boro's first change was Ben Hutchinson for Tuncay, who had run his socks, shorts and shirt off for the team. Indeed he might as well have been naked and maybe this was why he was so annoyed to be replaced. On seventy-four Aliadiere attempted a cross but his inability to distinguish between Downing and Hutchinson meant he was in two minds. This allowed Spurs to clear. A minute later O'Neil skipped on to the ball but could not release Aliadiere. The ball rolled to Robinson but his clearance was poor. On seventy-six Rochemback was replaced with George Boateng and Dong Gook Lee came on for Aliadiere. Sadly the Korean was greeted to booing from certain quarters and after a tough week, that's all he needs. Meanwhile the replacement of Rochemback for Boateng suggested a worrying defensive reaction to a game the Boro really needed to win. On eighty Berbatov's shot from thirty yards sailed harmlessly into the away fans as Riggott made a mistake by passing to him. It was a let-off for Boro but one I'm sure the Spurs have seen all too frequently. On eighty-five Jermaine Jenas tried a shot that Riggott had to block. He almost scored an own-goal in the process but he conceded a corner instead. Spurs got nothing from this. Spurs came at the Boro in the closing stages of the day. Lennon almost had a shot that through O'Neil's tenacity, was blocked. The away side came back at the Boro however but they managed to break down their attacks. Spurs kept coming at the Boro but their defence stood firm and as the final whistle blew, the Boro had earned a point. But was it enough? The boos that resonated around the Riverside Stadium suggested differently but does Steve Gibson deserve this? Granted it was a game the Boro needed to win but it was never going to be easy. At this stage a point gained is a point gained and in all honesty, Spurs are in a false position. Hopefully we can build on this and get a result at Bolton. FAN REACTION "Since when has a 1-1 draw against a side in the bottom three been a good result" Mikelinho
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