BACK TO ARCHIVE INDEX © All written site content is copyright ComeOnBoro.com 2004-2007, unless otherwise stated, and is not to be used without prior permission.	MIDDLESBROUGH 3 SHEFFIELD UNITED 1, Premier League, Mon 1 Jan 2007 Middlesbrough's defeat at Ewood Park on Saturday gave this relegation six-pointer even greater significance, with the game being must-win for both sides. Southgate made two changes from the side that lost at Blackburn - Abel Xavier started at right-back instead of Andrew Davies whilst Julio Arca played instead of James Morrison in the midfield. The rest of the side remained unchanged - Jonathan Woodgate and Emmanuel Pogatetz formed the centre of defence whilst Julio Arca and George Boateng made up central midfield. Stewart Downing was on the left, Lee Cattermole on the right whilst Yakubu and Mark Viduka formed a two-pronged attack. Schwarzer, Xavier, Woodgate (Parnaby 33), Pogatetz, Taylor, Cattermole, Boateng, Arca (Morrison 85), Downing, Yakubu, Viduka, Jones, Christie, Euell THE FIRST HALF The Boro started brightly, with a Downing attack forced Sheffield United into conceding a corner. Cattermole attacked the in-swinger and it was cleared by the away side. On four Yakubu rolled his marker and rifled the ball towards goal after he had received the ball from Xavier. The ball took a wicked deflection off United's back-line, winning the Boro a corner. Nothing came of this. A minute later, Boateng linked up with Arca who hit it sweetly with his left foot from twenty yards out. The ball flashed agonisingly wide as his low hard shot flashed past the keeper and just outside the post. Over the next ten minutes the game was pretty even but with little penetration from either side. Jagielka was causing problems for Boro with his movement but generally there was little threat from both sides as any moves broke down before they reached the final third. Sheffield United started to creep back into the game on twenty after Boro had dominated the early stages. The home side were giving the ball away too easily due to poor passing and this was frustrating the Boro fans. The Riverside was like a cauldron, except a cauldron that contained the sludgy remnants of a witches' brew as the game had descended into a scrappy affair. Stewart Downing wasted a free-kick on twenty-two from about twenty-five yards out as he failed to curl it up and over the wall. On twenty-five Arca had his third shot of the game, and again failed to test the keeper. He launched the ball from twenty yards out but it went comfortably wide, much to the cheers of the travelling faithful. Mark Schwarzer made a good full-stretch save on twenty-seven after a Keith Gillespie free-kick from twenty-five yards out. Hulse's header from the corner went wide as Xavier put pressure on the lumbering frontman. Jonathan Woodgate was struggling on the half-hour after a nothing challenge inexplicably caused a problem with his left knee. The Boro kept playing however and a flowing interchange between Xavier and Cattermole allowed Viduka to steal through. The Australian passed it to Yakubu and he blasted the ball over the bar. Boro were dealt a massive blow with the forced retirement of Woodgate on thirty-three. Stewart Parnaby came on to replace him, with Xavier moving across to centre-half and the Academy player slotting into his traditional right-back berth. On thirty-six Boro's most consistent passing movement allowed Viduka to burst into the box after he had been set up by Arca. He danced by two Sheffield United players, nut-megged another and launched a rasping shot into the back of the United net. The crowd went wild as Boro took the advantage. Middlesbrough 1 (Viduka, 36) Sheffield United 0 Boro were starting to terrorise the Sheffield backline. Viduka fed the ball to Downing who chipped it back into the box. Yakubu ran on to it but failed to connect. A melee ensued in the box and it was eventually cleared by the away side. But Sheffield United broke, a Jagielka shot being launched high and not particularly handsome judging by the opposition player. The half was in danger of fizzling out like New Year's champagne on January the second. But like a champagne cork, the game exploded on forty-four as Chris Foy gave United a penalty after Pogatetz was judged to have fouled Hulse in the box. It was a harsh decision but it was the sixth penalty the Boro had conceded in eight games. Jagielka, the persistent thorn in Roary's paw, stepped up to take the penalty and buried it deep in the bottom-left of the goal. The subdued away fans burst into life whilst the Boro support booed the referee for such a poor decision. Middlesbrough 1 Sheffield United 1 (Jagielka (pen), 45) The Boro aimed to strike back immediately, with Mark Viduka running into the box like a lumbering juggernaut with engine trouble. Initially he outfoxed the United defence but Claude Davis managed to recover, sliding in to rob the striker of the ball, conceding a corner in the process. Nothing resulted from the set-play and United broke, ripping Boro apart down the left-hand side. A Stephen Quinn cross was headed out by Andrew Taylor when Hulse could have had a simple header from one yard out. The away side were then given a free-header from the resulting corner, forcing Julio Arca to clear the ball off the line as the Boro were reeling from the penalty decision. The whistle then blew to the sound of boos, thankfully for the Boro fans as their side had started to lose their concentration. It wasn't good enough and needed to improve in the second half. THE SECOND HALF On forty-seven Boro pressure forced Downing to go to ground in the penalty area. The crowd bayed at Mr Foy for another weak penalty decision but he was having none of it. The Boro continued to attack however, with Arca being the most instrumental in these embryonic stages. Chris Morgan bravely headed the ball away from the United penalty area as Xavier threatened to connect with a Downing corner. In the end, Xavier connected with Jagielka's head, which in a way, does resemble a football. Composure wasn't the watchword as frustration started to set in. Sheffield United had started to press and the Boro fans were frustrated at their side ineptitude. Passing was proving to be a problem as more balls were being lost than at the gelding section of the local vets. But Boro broke and Yakubu had a dig from twenty-five yards. The ball sailed over the bar but it was close. The Boro fans started to lift the roof as Boro started to be more full-blooded in their play, grinding more than a Seventies' disco dancer with chronic priapism. On fifty-six frustration broke through as Boro's creative play wasn't paying dividends. A Downing cross failed to find Arca and the crowd screamed their annoyance at the sluggish play. The Boro were stalling more often than a Reliant Robin with diesel trouble as the half had failed to kick off. Yakubu and Viduka were struggling from a lack of service due to the weakness of our midfield whilst the fans were struggling to stay awake amidst this so called 'entertainment'. On the hour, Yakubu put a good cross in for Downing, who powered a header towards goal. The ball flashed wide but it was an opportunity, albeit a desperate one. Neil Warnock was waving his arms about like an epileptic windmill on acid, probably as frustrated as the rest of us. Meanwhile both sides were nullifying each other once more, defending solidly and absorbing each other's woeful attacking play. The Boro momentum was starting to build up albeit as slowly as an ocean liner. The game needed a spark or hopefully an arsonist so we can forget that this ever took place. Boro won a corner on sixty-six however and the home players poured forward. Downing's left-foot delivery was easily punched by the keeper and Downing played it back in. United conceded another corner. The flailing keeper punched this corner clear and Sheffield United broke with a five against three advantage. Luckily the ball fell comfortably to Schwarzer. Viduka and Yakubu were working expertly in tandem and from Schwarzer's ball they managed to conceive a goal from nowhere. The ball broke to Viduka and he launched a shot at Gerrard's goal from the edge of the box. Gerrard may have got a slight touch but Yakubu made no mistake from all of one yard, bundling the ball over the line. The crowd went wide, the strikers hugged each other and all was happy down by the Riverside. Middlesbrough 2 (Yakubu, 69) Sheffield United 1 The Boro scented more blood and a minute later the ball was again in the back of United's net. Mark Viduka's goal was ruled out for offside however, allowing the away side off the hook. Some ragged defending from both sides later eventually allowed the Viduka and Yakubu show to demonstrate another turn. Yakubu turned Chris Morgan, his marker, in the box after receiving the ball via a delicate chip from his strike partner. The Nigerian was felled and this time Mr Foy could not deny it was a penalty. The Yak stood up to take it and sent the keeper the wrong way, increasing the Boro's advantage. Middlesbrough 3 (Yakubu (pen), 76) Sheffield United 1 On seventy-nine a Stewart Downing cross caused all sorts of problems in the United penalty area, the ball eventually breaking to Viduka. He rasped a strong shot towards goal but it was blocked by Morgan. On eighty-five Boro replaced Julio Arca with James Morrison. This saw Lee Cattermole shift into central midfield from the right to accommodate his fellow Youth Academy player. The Boro were in the ascendancy at this stage without really doing all that much. A few weak crosses were being hit into the United box but it was very much a game of keep-ball at this stage. And that was very much it. The whistle blew very much to the relief of the home faithful. It was a strong if not entirely convincing performance but one that should give Middlesbrough confidence. A win in a fortnight against lowly Charlton would see us pull away from the drop-zone and consolidate ourselves in mid-table. Then the pressure could be off. FULL TIME FAN REACTION "Great result today. Boro did well. Nice to see Ashton United pick up three points against Mossley" Marktheborofan SEND THIS TO A FRIEND BACK TO SHEFFIELD UNITED MATCH PROGRAMME INDEX
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