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MIDDLESBROUGH v MANCHESTER UNITED ANALYSIS AND PLAYER RATINGS 12-3-07
Udayan Mukherjee
FA Cup Quarter Final
The Riverside Stadium
Attendance : 33,308
In front of a full house at the Riverside Stadium, the Boro came within a daft handball and a dubious penalty of going through to the semi finals of the FA Cup. Both sides put in a spirited performance in a match that both sides will argue that they could have won.
The first half was all Manchester United in terms of possession, but it was Boro who fashioned a wonderful chance on eight minutes when Julio Arca played in a stunning reverse pass that sliced open the united defence like a chainsaw through butter. The pass found Downing haring into the box. Downing took a touch which allowed Kuszczak in the United goal to advance and make a great save. It would have been a dream start.
As it happened, United used this as a wake up call and began to assert dominance while Boro couldn't string passes together. A Rooney shot that flashed wide on twenty minutes should have warned the Teessiders about what was to come, but a United break gave the Mancs the lead. A long ball out of defence found Giggs centrally, who meandered towards goal before playing it to Rooney who drifted inside before wrong footing Schwarzer with a right footed effort that flew into the bottom corner.
Although Boro sporadically looked menacing on the break, they struggled to get a foothold in the game, although Yakubu was desperately unlucky when forcing the United goalkeeper into a smart stop away to his left after receiving a flick on from Viduka and turning a United defender brilliantly.
However it was United who remained far in the ascendancy and could have doubled their lead when Ryan Giggs hit a sweet controlled volley against the post. Middlesbrough were struggling at this with the dynamism and fluidity of Manchester United going forward, but were making things worse with passes routinely going astray.
Just as it looked like Boro were happy to go in at half time with just a 1-0 deficit, the Riverside burst into raptures with a quite wonderful equaliser by Super Lee Cattermole. A wonderful ball in by Downing was spilled by Kuszczak and headed back by Arca into the box before Catts produced his moment of magic.
The half-time team talks of both managers had just gone out of the window and it was to be Southgate's doctored speech that seemed to produce the most effect with Boro taking the lead within minutes of the restart with George Boateng heading home to send the Boro fans into delirium. The semi-finals were on, and the goal seemed to galvanise the Boro even more.
The lead could even have been stretched further when delicious build up play from the home side involving Boateng, Viduka and Cattermole lead to an effort by Parnaby that was blazed over. The commentary team on the BBC had earlier commented that Boro could not afford to outplay United, but this is what they were doing.
After a decent period of end to end play, with United beginning to come into the game more, disaster struck for Middlesbrough. A corner from the right hand side was flicked on by Rio Ferdinand a yard away from the face of George Boateng who instinctively but rashly put his hands in front of his face. As it was for United, the decision by referee Rob Styles was inevitable, and although the handball was certainly not deliberate, it was perhaps a correct decision.
If Manchester united had committed the same offence though, would we have had a penalty? The pain on the captain's face and bitter disappointment in the crowd was palpable.
Predictably, the penalty was converted by Ronaldo, a player who had been booed roundly throughout by the Boro faithful. Just as in the previous game against United, a dubious penalty had broken Boro's hearts.
The expected United charge never materialised however as Boro picked themselves up, dusted themselves off and went at the visitors with a renewed determination. Although Southgate brought on more attacking options it was all in vain as United earned themselves a replay.
The aftermath felt like a defeat to many because of the enormity of the task facing us if we are to progress. However, on this evidence, and on the evidence of the past three months, nothing is beyond us and we should into the replay without fear and give it a real go.
Player Ratings
1 Mark Schwarzer - Decent handling throughout, although he may possibly have gotten down to the first goal - 7
2 Stuart Parnaby - The boo boys' favourite target were kept quiet with another great performance from Parnaby. Defending was good, providing a vital block from Larsson and even found time to get forward into the box on a couple of occasions. - 7.5
8 Jonathan Woodgate - Pretty good - 7
12 Emanuel Pogatetz - Solid performance at the back but seemed jittery at times - 6.5
33 Andrew Taylor - Played reasonably well but allowed too many balls from the right hand side to be played in - 6
3 Julio Arca - Wonderful vision to tee up Downing in the first half, Excellent link up play, excellent passing, got stuck in well and set up Lee Cattermole's equaliser. Man of the match Arca was absolutely immense in this game - 9
27 Lee Cattermole - Battling performance by the youngster with a great goal to boot - 8
7 George Boateng - Drove Boro forward in the second half, scored with a very decent headed goal, but conceded a penalty and was slightly disappointing in the first half - 8
19 Stewart Downing - A few decent crosses and a good run into the box early in the game, but Stewie was disappointing in terms of actual involvement. - 6.5
20 Yakubu Aiyegbeni - Threatened on a few occasions and was unlucky not to get his name on the score sheet in the first half - 7
9 Mark Viduka - Hold up play not up to usual high standard, especially in the first half - 6
Subs
James Morrison - Came on and caused a few problems, but not given enough time to make an impact - 6.5
Lee Dong Gook - Came on as a late sub but wasted opportunities by sending poor shots wide when better options were available. Needs longer involvement to bring up his confidence and match sharpness. - 6
Jason Euell - Not given enough time, may not have even had a touch - 6
Sign 'im on ( If we get a feckin' Russin Billionaire in charge)
Cristiano Ronaldo - He may be a horrible little cheating twat, but he is an absolutely wonderful player.
Although we have been written off by most, including many among our number, the chance of making history is still on. By hook or crook, get a ticket, and get along to the replay next Monday. Lets out-sing and out-play the Mancs and get to the semi-finals of the FA Cup.
Up the Boro.
That's all folks.
NOW HAVE YOUR SAY IN THE NEW HOLGATE FORUM
BACK TO UDAYAN MUKHERJEE INDEX
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