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MANCHESTER CITY v MIDDLESBROUGH - BRIGGSY'S VIEW
A complete away performance
After the defeat in Basel we went into the Manchester City game looking for a
morale
boosting win which would ensure we hit the ground running next Thursday.
Mac
gave us the perfect chance to do that by naming a strong line-up. 4-5-1 - Jones,
Parnaby, Ugo, Riggott, Queudrue, Morrison, Cattermole, Rochemback,
Boateng,
Downing and the lone striker Yakubu.
A tricky surface greeted both sides as they came out for the kick off.
After
the early exchanges the first notable chance for either side came after
five
minutes and it fell to Boro. A Downing cross picked out Morrison who
shot
but the shot was blocked by Ben Thatcher before going out for a corner.
Worrying news for Thursday's game came when Queudrue went down after a
Vassell tackle. Queudrue was unable to continue and had to be
substituted
with Andrew Taylor taking his place.
Lee Cattermole conceded a needless free kick and was cautioned for his
troubles. Riera took the free kick that just went wide left of Jones'
goal.
Manchester City had now gone over 200 minutes without scoring. That deadlock
was
nearly broken after twenty minutes when a Riera cross picked out
Sinclair
but excellent defending prevent the City winger from getting a shot on
target. Moments later Vassell was put clean through but Boateng made an
excellent toe poke tackle to prevent Vassell from a free shot on goal.
With a half-hour gone, our backline was holding up very well, knocking out
any
ball that came our way. In a scrappy opening, we were playing the
better
possession but lacking the cutting edge in the final third. Yak needed
more
support. But the pitch conditions weren't helping either team. City's
most
potent attempt on goal came on thirty-five minutes when Riera dragged his
shot
just wide of Jones' goal.
Chris Riggott, after picking up the armband from Southgate, was again
putting
in another commanding performance. A performance his master would be
proud
of. Surely calls for England can't be too far away?
Manchester City were finding it very hard to break us down. We had very much
thrown
down the gauntlet to them to asking them come and break us down.
The deadlock was broken on forty minutes. Rochemback played the ball
left to
Downing, the young winger looked up and played a excellent cross to
Cattermole who had made a surging run into the City box. Cattermole
picked
his spot and put us into the lead. What a goal. That's his first
senior
goal for us and he celebrated by kissing the badge. Excellent!
But what a
cross.
Downing is doing his best to catch the eye of the England manager.
The goal was the last chance of the first half. Booos sent the City
players
off at the break. It was a fairly scrappy half and was very stop and
start,
which took the tempo out of the game.
No changes for Boro at half time.
On
the fifty minute mark Morrison made an excellent surging run from deep
in the City half towards the City box but just as he was about to pull the
trigger Richards made an excellent last ditch tackle.
We continued to get men behind the ball, closing City down and hustling
them.
There was some good hold up play from the Yak before playing in Lee Cattermole and he
forced
two saves from David James before the ball went out for a corner.
City
turned defence into attack, a Sinclair cross picking out Richard Dunne but
happily he couldn't direct his header on target. City seemed to be
starting to
be gaining a bit of momentum but our backline was holding up very well.
On the hour mark a ball down the right put in Morrison who played a
ball
inside to Yakubu. The striker turned but his final effort on goal went
wide
of the target. Moments later Yak had another chance to double the
lead
when he was put in by Downing with a ball down the left. The Yak ran
at
Richards then side stepped the youngster and his casual shot went
just
wide.
We seemed to be growing in confidence now, knocking the ball about very
well.
We were playing with a bank of five across the middle of the park which was
containing City very well and frustrating them. We were quickly turning
defence into attack and the youthful legs of Morrison, Downing and
Cattermole were causing City all sorts of problems.
On the sixty-eighth minute excellent interchanging football by Boro
almost
doubled the lead. Boateng played in Morrison who forced a good save from
David James who palmed it behind for a corner. The resulting corner found
Yakubu who cut inside and fired a powerful drive which just flew over
the
City goal. Moments later more excellent interchanging between Rocky
and
Downing put Downing clear down the left. Morrison had dropped off and
found
space inside the penalty box. Downing showed great vision to pick him
out but
Morrison's shot went high and wide.
The game should have certainly been dead and buried by now but even at 1-0 it was
never
beyond doubt. A long throw from Brad Jones to Yak put him one-on-one
with
Dunne. The Yak knocked the ball past the defender and he was certainly
prevented from going past him as Dunne shot out a hand. The referee
waved
it away. Surely that was a free kick? And if it was, surely Dunne had to
walk?
With fifteen minutes left, City had yet to really test Brad Jones. He was eventually
called
into action coming to collect a Vassell through ball. Downing won a
free
kick down the other end, thirty yards out. The free kick forced a save from
David James who could only palm it behind for a corner.
On eighty
minutes a
great pass from Rochemback found Yakubu wide right. The striker got
inside
and showed great vision to pick out Parnaby but the right back could
only
get a weak shot behind it. That would have been some goal.
The game petered out without City even coming close to getting an
equaliser.
The final whistle was greeted by a huge cheer by the Boro fans who had
been vocal throughout. Most City fans would have been sat at home as the
final whistle sounded. The home end was empty long before the end.
That was the most complete away performance I've seen for
a
long time. We had real balance all over the park. We've now equalled
that
elusive forty point mark, which seems to be a must for any team outside
the
top four. Stuart Pearce mentioned before the game that he believed his
side
could still qualify for Europe via the league. We're now on equal
points as
City with a game in hand. We're six points behind West Ham in eighth,
who
have had a fantastic season by all accounts so maybe we've also got
something to play for in terms of our league placing?
Today's result sets us up nicely for Thursday's game. We must now go
into
the game high on confidence. McClaren has a real headache on his hands
now and it will be interesting to see how he will play it because the lads out there today, certainly put in
a
performance that will make it difficult for any of them to be left out on Thursday.
That's a decision for
Steve Mc
to make and hopefully it'll be the right one on the night and sees us progress
to
the last four of the UEFA Cup.
The average age of the squad that finished the game was a mere twenty
years
of age, with over fifty percent of the players coming via the youth
academy.
That's really pleasing to hear for any football fan and certainly bodes
well
for the future. They showed great maturity and professionalism in
getting
the result today.
All focus now turns to Thursday. We need a full house at the very
least.
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