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MIDDLESBROUGH v FULHAM FULL TIME REPORT 20-11-05
Mark Viduka was, ahem, injured for this one, as was his Aussie counterpart Mark Schwarzer, along with Gazka Mendieta. It was still a strong line-up though and the successful 5-3-2 formation was retained.
Jones, Parnaby, Queudrue, Southgate, Riggott, Pogatetz, Morrison, Boateng, Rochemback, Hasselbaink, Yakubu
Knight, Bates, Doriva, Nemeth, Maccarone
THE FIRST HALF
It was a scrappy beginning to the game and Boro needlessly gave away an early free-kick that Fulham would have taken the lead from had Captain Gareth not made a wonder tackle.
Rochemback made three fouls in the first two minutes, two on Papa Bouba Diop and one on Zat Knight. All three were unnecesssary and the midfielder could easily have seen red for the third as his studs were showing as he made the challenge.
Boro started to attack but created nothing of interest and it was Boro on the back foot after eight minutes as Sylvain Legwinski played in Collins John from the left wing who pulled a startling shot out of the bag to give Fulham the lead they deserved.
MIDDLESBROUGH 0 FULHAM 1 (John 9)
It was to Boro's credit that we tried hard to get back into it and produced striking chances for both forwards but we lacked the cutting edge in the final third and when Fulham did break forward, we looked shaky in defence.
The best chance up to this point for Boro came when Parnaby played a great ball to Jimmy Floyd in the box but he completely missed the shot and a great opportunity to equalise went begging.
On twenty minutes, Boro left themselves badly exposed in defence again and Fulham streamed forward to take advanatge of Chris Riggott's poorly timed pass. They failed to capitalise but the writing was starting to appear on the wall now and the fear was that another Charlton-esque performance was in the making.
Boro did break forward on occasions and produced a couple of scoring chances but Rochemback, quality player that he is, is simply not a goal-scorer. It will come as no surprise at all when he smashes one of the distinctive Boro-themed red and white LED bulbs in the new scoreboard.
The new scoreboard with it's distinctive Boro-themed red and white LED bulbs was telling a sorry story at this stage of the game and the nil next to Boro's name looked unlikely to change, barring accident or miracle.
The first-half performance from Boro contradicted the quality of the names in the squad and could only be described as shoddy. The crowd's disappointment at the whistle was as evident as the poor passing and lack of bite displayed by the side.
FIRST HALF FAN REACTION
"I'm leaving the ground and it's only half-time. I'd have been better off taking the wife shopping."
Mal Green. Soon to be ex-season ticket holder.
THE SECOND HALF
Boro switched to a flat back four for the second half with The Lizard replacing Manu Pogatetz and taking up a midfield position. It had little impact in the first ten minutes of the second half which was shaping up to be just as poor as the first from the Boro point of view.
And the day so far was summed up by what seemed like a scoring formality but once again, JFH fluffed his shot. It did spur Boro on slighty though but a hard won corner was wasted and it was all the way back to Shodsville, Arizona.
Boro should have gone two down just before the hour mark as Collins John beat two Boro defenders and laid on a chance for Brian McBride who hit the inside of the post. It seemed like just a matter of time now before the Cottagers finished us off.
But how things can turn round in a short space of time. Against the run of play, Boro had started to awaken and from the first clear cut chance that we had, we actually got an equaliser, James Morrison doing tremendously well to stay calm under pressure and slot home to put us right back in it...
MIDDLESBROUGH 1 FULHAM 1 (Morrison 64)
The equaliser woke the crowd up who in turn roared the team on as the attacking movements started to be a regular thing. Several consecutive offensives ended when Hasselbaink volleyed a shot that nearly broke a window on Southfield Road.
It was the catalyst for Boro to sit back for a minute and cue Papa Boupa Diop who hit the target with a header and restored Fulham's lead.
MIDDLESBROUGH 1 FULHAM 2 (Diop 70)
Fulham immediately switched to 5-4-1 and Boro now had the space in midfield to create chances, which they did, three times in four minutes. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink missed every one of them and despite one being called offside, the confidence that comes naturally to a great striker was just not there.
But a captain's moment from Gareth put us back in the game again, although whether we deserved it at this stage was questionable. Gareth took the ball past two defenders and found Hasselbaink umarked. Once again the striker mis-hit his shot but he was fortunate that it richocheted off Yakubu and landed in the back of the net.
MIDDLESBROUGH 2 FULHAM 2 (Yakubu 76)
Finally, Boro were fired up and playing with meaning and what had been another poor afternoon had transformed into a day where we had a great chance of coming away with all three points.
INTO THE RED ZONE
At last, finally and not before time, Jimmy found his shooting boots. Or his glass eye or whatever was making him miss so badly early on.It was a sweetly taken shot and it should go a long way towards restoring whatever was missing earlier.
MIDDLESBROUGH 3 FULHAM 2 (Hasselbaink 82)
French Franck kept us in it with a great block just after the goal and Doriva replaced JFH. Boro were now playing with a five man midfield, an obvious attempt to stifle the game and keep hold of the lead.
The final few minutes were frantic with neither team giving up the chase and both determined to snatch the sixth goal of the game.
Three minutes stoppage time were added on but by then, the tempo had slowed right down with Boro frustrating Fulham and simply running down the clock. Three consecutive corners took up a significant proportion of the added on time and that ensured that Boro took the points. Against the run of play.
FULL TIME FAN REACTION
"We get out of jail there alright but credit to the team for the comeback."
Mike Reid
"We made hard work of that but the team is not playing well and winning and that is a good sign."
John Bell
Final Whistle - 1756 : Report Online - 1759
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