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MIDDLESBROUGH v BIRMINGHAM, PREMIER LEAGUE, 4th MARCH 2006
FULL-TIME REPORT
The last time that Boro won three Premier League games on the trot was August/September 2004. The third game in that sequence was at home to Birmingham when Mark Viduka scored both goals in a 2-1 win.
Viduka was a surprise starter for Boro today as Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink was ill. Steve McClaren opted for the wing-back system that has brought most of our recent successes.
Schwarzer, Pogatetz, Queudrue, Southgate, Riggott, Parnaby (Davies 19), Mendieta (Doriva 68), Boateng, Cattermole, Viduka (Maccarone 68), Yakubu
Jones, Ehiogu
THE FIRST HALF
It was a quiet start to the match with barely any action to speak of in the first eight minutes and not one shot to comment on from either side.
Boro produced a good build up from defence which culminated in Lee Cattermole clattering a shot wide after he had made a very good run down the left hand side. Just a minute later, Yakubu had an opportunity to open the scoring after nearly getting on the end of a quality ball from Pogatetz.
Both teams were probing now that the game had finally come to life and Cattermole was the victim of a bad challenge from Pennant who really should have been booked for his lunging kick. Boro restarted with some patient build up work and continued to enjoy the lion's share of the possession.
On eighteen minutes Boro won a corner after Mark Viduka had put the Birmingham defence under some pressure after Stuart Parnaby had played in a good looking cross. It was to be Parnaby's last kick of the game as he pulled up with what looked like a pulled hamstring and was replaced by Andrew Davies.
Immediately after the substitution, Yakubu won another corner from which Franck Queudrue got in a header that was comfortably saved by Taylor.
On twenty-three minutes Birmingham produced their best move of the game when Heskey and Butt combined well. Boro's defence were left standing as Heskey was left alone to place his header but he failed to get it on target. It was a let off for Boro as Heskey should definitely have put the Blues one up.
Two minutes later and Heskey once again highlighted the poor communication in Boro's defence as he ran Chris Riggott ragged and had Skippy stretching to claw out another shot which was sent wide for a corner. There was clear unrest in the Boro defence that was made evident by the heated disagreements between keeper and central defender that took place after Heskey's second attempt at goal.
Skippy produced the best save of the day so far when he kept out yet another Heskey strike on the half-hour mark. Birmingham had the upper hand now and Boro were doing little in the way of creating attacking opportunities until Dunn gave away a free-kick from which Boro went forward.
The move went well and the ball fell nicely for Yakubu who has scored more difficult chances this season. He'll have been disappointed not to have netted from this chance and given Boro the lead as all he had to do was tap it in but somehow he sent it wide and the scores remained level.
Thankfully it remained 0-0 on thirty-seven minutes but Jermaine Pennant was left wondering how as he sent in a useful cross that nobody got on the end of. It would have required just one touch from anybody to give Birmingham the lead but the chance went begging and Boro stayed alive.
Boro won a free-kick in shooting range with five minutes to play until half-time which Mendieta blasted into the rows of empty seats behind the Birmingham goal. It summed up what had so far been of the first-half perfectly but with just a minute to go until the break, Boro broke the deadlock.
It was just what Boro needed when Viduka broke free and shimmied and dummied all of his markers and finished superbly well by fooloing Taylor into diving the wrong way before slotting home to totally change the complexion of the game. It was Boro's game to lose now.
MIDDLESBROUGH 1 BIRMINGHAM 0 (Viduka 45)
FIRST HALF FAN REACTION
"It's a very dull affair today but Viduka's changed it all now. We should go on and win this"
Mike Read
THE SECOND HALF
No changes were made for the second half as Boro tried to settle down quickly but the plans were nearly unravelled after three minutes as Birmingham instead broke forward and Melchiot forced Schwarzer into a magnificent diving save.
The team were having problems getting into a rythym as fifteen minutes of the second half passed with very little incident or action to speak of.
Boro briefly came to life after a Nicky Butt inspired Birmingham had failed to trouble us after three or four attempts to make a breakthrough and the passes started to flow a little more freely now.
On sixty-seven minutes, Boro made a double substitution with Doriva replacing Mendieta and Hail Massimo coming on for Mark Viduka. Steve McClaren must have thought he had scored two, not one.
Boro's one goal lead was clearly not enough at this stage as Birmingham were looking more threatening as the minutes went by and certainly we could have done with stepping up the pace of this very uninspiring match.
Birmingham produced a great Heskey inspired move on seventy-five minutes which Damien Johnson got a scoring chance out of but ultimately wasted it. Heskey was the clearest danger to Boro's lead as he demonstrated when pulling easily away from Franck Queudrue. Birmingham showed that they were going all out for a goal when they brought on Mikael Forssell for Johnson and went three up front.
INTO THE RED ZONE
Boro found themselves penned back into their own half as Birmingham's new formation clearly gave them the upper hand.
A stunning tackle from George Boateng saved the day for Boro when the midfield anchor man stopped Campbell in his tracks and the Boro broke forward in an aborted charge led by Franck Queudrue as the crowd tried their hardest to lift the team, urging them on to kill the game off.
Birmingham had to clear their lines in the eighty-fifth as Lee Cattermole did brilliantly well to see off three challenges to his efforts but the cross was found wanting as Hail Massimo waited in the centre for a ball that never arrived.
But Birmingham were not finished yet by any standards and Boro needed all their concentration to keep the opposition at bay as they continued to search for openings right up until the death.
Forssel and Nicky Butt combined well to produce a late opportunity that was wasted and it symbolised perfectly Birmingham's biggest problem this afternoon, the fact that their shooting is poor.
It wasn't a good game by any standards but with three consecutive wins now under our belt and an eleven point gap between us and the drop zone, it was extremely significant. The relegation fears are surely banished now and perhaps we can even start to play some entertaining football in the remaining league matches now that we can relax a little.
FULL-TIME FAN REACTION
"Awful game but I'm well happy with the three points. We'll need to be more together to beat Roma though."
Mike Read
Full Time Whistle: 1652 - Report Online: 1657
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