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MIDDLESBROUGH v BIRMINGHAM, BRIGGSY'S ANALYSIS
We got our first hat-trick of Premier League wins since August 2004 yesterday and incidentally the final game in that sequence of twenty months ago was also against Birmingham.
We lined up with a 3-5-2 wingback system and the team was Schwarzer, Riggott, Queudrue, Southgate, Pogo, Parnaby, Mendy, Cattermole, Boateng, Viduka and Yakubu.
After a scrappy opening it was Lee Cattermole who made the first chance of the game with a driving forward run, only to see his shot go wide when he got a clear sight of goal. Birmingham seemed to be content with Boro playing in front of them as they were pretty deep.
But Birmingham showed they weren't just spectators when they had a glorious chance to take the lead after Heskey lost his marker only to see his header go wide from close range.
Birmingham went from strength to strength and could have opened the scoring again moments later when Dunn made a forward run into the box, only to see his shot excellently saved by Mark Schwarzer. This came as a wake up call as we went down the other end and created our best chance of the half. A flick on header from Viduka saw Yakubu lose his marker and shot just wide of goal at the second attempt. It seemed harder to miss than score.
The injured Parnaby was replaced by Davies, who I thought unbalanced our team and we seemed ineffective down that right side from then on. But in all fairness to Davies he isn't a wing back.
The goal came just before the interval, after Cattermole turned his marker and played a pin point pass to Viduka's feet who then turned Alex Bruce, dummied the keeper and slotted it home with his left foot. It was a quality goal. The goal came at a fortunate time for us but had deadly implications. There was no question which team went in the happier at the break.
Schwarzer was again called into action just after the break when Dunn has a fantastic chance to bring the scores level with a header from close range, only to see Schwarzer make another great save. Birmingham now must have been wondering if it was going to be one of those games. With West Brom losing to Chelsea earlier in the day, they had a chance to move out of the bottom three.
Birmingham switched to a 3-4-3 formation with Boro sticking to 3-5-2. The Brummies were clearly going for it and were going to prove to be a handful for our back three. Despite all Birmingham's attempts to get back in the game we held firm. It was almost all hands to the pump at the end with Yakubu providing the restbite at the other end with his excellent hold up play.
The performance was far from pleasing on the eye, though the desire for the win was clearly evident. That for me was the biggest league win of the season because it put to bed any lingering worries of relegation. Hopefully now the pressure is off we can relax and start playing quality football like we know we can. But we must not become complacent.
I see that the boo-boys are now moaning about the lack of entertainment at the Riverside and winning 'ugly' doesn't appeal to them. Weren't they entertained earlier this season when the Riverside saw more goals than at any other Premiership ground? No it was the dive down the league table that they then had complaints with.
Now we've gone back to basics, tightening up the defence and playing to our strengths. We've not only won three Premiership games on the bounce we've kept three clean sheets in our last three. Surely the boo-boys can have no complaints? Football is a results based business and should be just that.
Less than a week to go to what is billed as one of the biggest games in our history. I for one cannot wait. What an eventful twenty years we've had. We've had it all from heartbreak to delirium to the mediocre. Although I'm sadly too young to have seen some of the good times and the bad, I certainly acknowledge them. You have to know where you've came from to appreciate where you're going.
Next week is another mile stone in Steve Gibson's vision for the club. Many other teams mock us for a lack of history, but we're making history now. We're just late bloomers. And not many teams can say that. We've been on the up for many years and we're still on the up.
We've got the potential to go as far as we want but as we've all learned football can be a cruel game, and it can just as easily turn the other way. This is why we should enjoy this golden age of the club. Fallen Boro fans could only dream of what has happened at this football club over recent years and we've got it on our doorstep. So let's embrace it and support it. And roar the Boro lions to victory over the Italian fairies.
Forza Boro
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