Boro squeeze past Stoke

"Oh s-hoyte..."

It might not have been pretty but Boro confirmed their best start in nine seasons by beating Stoke City on Saturday. Tuncay Sanli ensured that this week it was Gareth Southgate's side who stole all the points in the closing minutes.

Tony Pulis' Potters were a different proposition to Liverpool or Spurs. Boro had looked dangerous in their opening games against teams who were prepared to pass the ball and occasionally commit men forward.

Stoke's style was somewhat different. Rory Delap must be the first footballer selected as a specialist throw-in taker. While his mammoth throws did cause the odd moment of uncertainty, Delap's clumsy, leaden footwork was embarrassing. Fuller and Kitson provided a muscular if uncomplicated threat up front while Liam Lawrence was busy in midfield. For the opening half hour, the visitors looked fairly comfortable as Boro struggled to assert their technical superiority.

The game changed after Amdy Faye's two footed lunge on Mohammed Shawky. Faye received a thoroughly deserved red card and Afonso Alves arced the resulting free kick into the top corner. Stoke keeper Thomas Sorenson was reduced to joining the bulk of the 27,627 crowd in slack-jawed appreciation.

Jeremie Aliadiere was bright down the right flank again, crossing for Tuncay to screw a simple finish over the bar. Further frustration came after Griffin tripped Alves in the penalty area. Stewart Downing, scorer of 2 penalties last season, could only smash the ball against the crossbar.

Hardened Boro cynics began to fear the worst. Sure enough, Stoke equalised on a rare excursion into enemy territory. Liam Lawrence curved an inviting cross to the far post beyond the grasp of Ross Turnbull. With Kitson playing close attention, Justin Hoyte deflected the ball into the gaping net for Boro's third own goal in three league games.

Frustration grew on and off the pitch. A clearly irked Mido finally made it onto the pitch with thirteen minutes left as Afonso Alves was surprisingly withdrawn. A reprieve came after another mishit Didier Digard shot. Just as against Spurs, the Frenchman inadvertantly found a red shirt in the area. This time, it was Tuncay who had the space to take the ball down and poke past Sorenson. Stoke looked in vain for a flag - replays showed the Turk was definitely onside.

Boro held on to secure an important if unconvincing win. Despite looking prone to the old insecurities, they showed enough resolve to see off Stoke's resolute challenge. To some extent, some sympathy is due to Stoke who put in a prodiguous effort for no reward. Yet, their tactics limit any such niceties. Their direct style and throw-in fetish is acceptable is unappealing. However, the number of late challenges, often when the ball was no longer in play, was indefensible. Its hard to imagine them lasting more than a year in the top flight. Few will miss them.

Player Ratings

Turnbull 6 Little to do
Hoyte 5 Nervy
Pogatetz 6 Doesn't look entirely comfortable at full back
Wheater 7 Strong in the middle and at right back
Huth 7 Stood up well to Stoke's physical approach
Aliadiere 8 Very bright - constant threat
Downing 7 Awful penalty seemed to hit his confidence a little
Shawky 6 Ineffective before the break. Improved but struggling to resist Digard's challenge
O'Neil 6 Struggled to impose himself
Tuncay 7 Tireless running and composed finish at the death
Alves 8 Beautiful free kick was the high point of a classy display.

Subs

Digard (for Shawky) 7 Much more assertive presence in the middle
Taylor (for Hoyte)
Mido (for Alves)

Boro Must Harry Potters

Be afraid

In the increasingly homogenised Premier League, its not very often we get to welcome a new team from outside the cabal of perennial yo-yo clubs. Yet you have to cast your mind back to August 1997 for Stoke City’s last visit to the Riverside.

Boro had an underwhelming victory over Charlton under their belts before that depressing afternoon. Paul Merson was still making a very sluggish start to his brief Riverside career. Fabrizio Ravanelli marked his final appearance in a Boro shirt with a display of breathtaking lethargy that went unmatched until Yakubu’s leisurely stroll around the JJB twelve months ago.

There had been difficult moments during the relegation season when goals were hard to come by for Rav, chiefly away games and when it was a bit wet. However, he’d still retained enough motivation to deliver the occasional stream of vitriol at passing linesmen or Mikkel Beck. Even Wendy’s belated appearance couldn’t goad Rav into life.

It was the kind of flaccid, bloated display that crept up with alarming regularity through the Robson era. We were horrifyingly, gruesomely bad. Inevitably, with half an hour to go, Paul Stewart scored the only goal. He managed a further two goals that season. In the six years that had passed since leaving Spurs, Stewart’s goal count had barely crept into double figures. His incompetence had stood out in a Liverpool squad containing such luminaries as Torben Piechnik and Istvan Korma. Even Sunderland had washed their hands of him.

It was a fairly unremarkable game but it had a profound influence on me. I’d seen dross before - one of my earliest games was John Gannon’s infamous corner-taking master class against Tranmere. I’d seen ludicrous defeats to cloggers before - it was barely a year since Bolton had scored their only away win of a dismal relegation season with a preposterous 4-1 win at the Riverside. Yet, through a mix of youthful naivety and a blind refusal to accept facts, I’d been able to write them off as isolated incidents.

But this time, as that greying doyen of mediocrity tucked the ball past Ben Roberts, I wasn’t surprised. I half expected it - this was ‘typical Boro’. I’d turned into a miserable old gadgie at the age of 13.

Since then, the ‘inner gadgie’ has never left. I approach games such as today’s with blind panic. Over the years, the list of unexpected nemeses has grown - for every Paul Stewart, there’s another Trevor Benjamin, Gavin McCann or Luke Moore. I really don’t like the look of Richard Cresswell, although that may be to do with more than just the football. I’m also disproportionately concerned by Rory Delap. Sure, we can keep Fernando Torres quiet, but what about a gap-tooted simpleton launching endless throw-ins in the vague direction of goal?

The optimism generated over a bright start to the season only heightens the distance from which we can fall flat on our faces. The battering of Yeovil on Tuesday was a good start - it does suggest some progress when you recall the Notts County fiasco in Southgate’s first season in charge. I’d love to be able to leave my irrational fear of the inept and mediocre behind. After all, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t win comfortably today. Is there?

This article will appear in FMTTM 425.

You can read more of my drivel at http://b17mb.com/articles/2008/08/28/a-striking-problem/.