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 1 WEST HAM 0, Premier League, Saturday 11th November 2006 Boro went into this game on the back of two gutless away days at Manchester City and Watford and were once more desperate for points. Yet they went into this game hoping that they could register their third successive victory at home, after defeating Everton and Newcastle United in the last two matches at the Riverside. To this end Middlesbrough adopted a 4-5-1 formation for the visit of West Ham, who had only taken one point on their travels all season. This gave the Boro more balance than they have had in recent weeks, but it did mean that Yakubu was to plough a lone furrow up front after Massimo Maccarone was once again dropped. Andrew Taylor came back in at right-back whilst Pogatetz was shifted back to centre-back, his best position this season. He was to partner Jonathan Woodgate after Robert Huth had to settle for a place on the bench. In midfield James Morrison returned on the right whilst Stewart Downing was on the left. Boateng, Rochemback and Cattermole formed a combative three-man unit in the centre. This meant Jason Euell found himself amongst the substitutes. The Boro had a lot to prove to the home faithful this afternoon and the hope was that a five main midfield would bolster our poorest department. However desire, grit and determination were more important virtues that needed to be shown and the hope was that Southgate could send the lads out motivated for this important six-pointer. Schwarzer, Davies, Woodgate, Pogatetz, Taylor, Morrison, Cattermole, Rochemback (Maccarone 68), Boateng, Downing (Huth 90), Yakubu, Jones, Mendieta, Euell THE FIRST HALF West Ham's first shot came in the third minute after a deft touch from forty-year old Teddy Sheringham. He laid it on to the left side of his right boot but thankfully thrashed at the ball wildly, blasting the ball over the bar. However it was worrying that this chance was borne from Boro's inability to clear the ball in the first place. The opening was nervy as both sides played some neat passing work but lacked penetration. On five Yakubu was in space with Morrison in support. The Boro youngster showed some good ball control but the chance went begging. After this Andrew Taylor crossed the ball to Fabio Rochemback who, like Sheringham three minutes earlier, blasted his effort well over the crossbar. One half-chance each. Boro were getting balls in from both wings and this pressure earned the home side a corner in the seventh minute. The ball was whipped in by Downing and Emmanuel Pogatetz connected with it but it hit the back of his head and looped over the goal. By ten minutes the game descended into one of keep-ball. The game was scrappy with both sides unsure how to get the better of the other. The game was about as exciting as dental extraction at this point with the Boro unable to pass a moving ball. This let West Ham nick the ball off them but they couldn't do anything with it either. Attacks were being made by both sides but they were either snuffed out on the edge of the penalty area or blasted hideously high and wide. On sixteen Yakubu was pulled back by James Collins, which gave the Boro a set play from forty yards out. This gave Collins the first booking of the game. Fabio Rochemback tried his luck from the free-kick but all he could do was to blast it at Nigel Reo-Coker, his ball barely lifting off the ground. On nineteen there was an ounce of excitement when Mark Schwarzer almost set Yakubu off on a run. But the ball skidded on the greasy service and went harmlessly to Robert Green before the lumbering striker could catch up with it. On twenty-one Morrison cut in from the right-side and shimmied his way past two West Ham players. His shot from twenty-five yards resulted in a comfortable save from the West Ham keeper but this was a rare bit of incisive play in the opening quarter of the game. There was only one good type of passing going on at this stage and that was the passing of wind by the fans after downing a couple of steak pies. There were stray balls everywhere, with West Ham being guiltier of not being able to string a move together than Boro, who weren't really bothering. When a move could be crafted it all too frequently broke down in the final third, with the resulting ball bobbling harmlessly to the opposing keeper. On twenty-eight however Yakubu burst through the heart of West Ham's defence and, going along, struck a shot that won his side a corner. The delivery was accurate but it was comfortably cleared by Sheringham. West Ham broke from this forcing Jonathan Woodgate into a world class defensive header from a threatening Reo-Coker cross. Red shirts then began to charge forward with Yakubu, Downing and Morrison leading the way. This ended in Downing thumping a shot towards Green's goal. Green responded in parrying the ball around the post for a corner but nothing came from the resulting dead-ball situation. The game was scrappier than a portion of scraps served in some scrappy newspaper as both sides were continually losing possession in the centre of the park. The industry was there but then it always is to the east of the Riverside. Meanwhile on the pitch the Boro were battling but both sides were bereft of quality and putting the 'stale' into stalemate. The game came into life in injury time when Yakubu found himself in front of goal around ten yards out. But the tackle came in from Daniel Gabbidon winning a corner for the Boro. This was wasted and the game ended with some neat passing in midfield but very little penetration. FIRST HALF FAN REACTION "Game needs a goal but can't see from where" Westham THE SECOND HALF There were no changes to either side at half time as both sides came out with the hope that they could pass the ball better in the second half. West Ham were out of the traps quicker with Andrew Taylor being called into the challenge but ultimately the careless passing that characterised the first half continued into the second. On forty-nine Fabio Rochemback hit the ball across the keeper from an acute angle. His shot went narrowly wide but it was a promising effort in the early stage of the half. From this West Ham broke with Schwarzer flapping at the Matthew Etherington inspired near-post cross. To be fair to the keeper he was under pressure from Marlon Harewood but it was a scare for Boro, and perhaps a sign that the game was becoming slightly more open. Pogatetz and Rochemback combined after Pogatetz broke from defence on fifty-one. Eventually Pogatetz was blown for offside but this was very promising from a Boro side who in the first half had been more impotent than a neutered dog living in a nuclear plant. On fifty-four there was a scare for Boro after Stewart Downing was scythed by Jonathan Spector. Thankfully Downing escaped unscathed and took the free-kick but it was wasted by the Boro Academy player. West Ham broke from this, with the ball being played into Sheringham. He laid it on a plate to Harewood who hit a pearly shot but thankfully one that went over the bar. The play was better in the second half, more intricate and with better passing. The Boro were more incisive, with Downing, Morrison and Yakubu combining well. Yet on sixty, despite a move showing some promise, bad passing once more caused it to break down. The Boro were starting to apply more pressure and West Ham tried to counter this by replacing Marlon Harewood with Argentinian Carlos Teves. On sixty-three a deft flick from Morrison flummoxed the West Ham back four, allowing Yakubu to run through them and pick up the ball. His header was miscued however and the chance went begging. At the other end Teves was causing the Boro some problems, forcing Pogatetz into conceding a corner by deflecting his shot. Nothing came of the corner however as the Boro broke. But West Ham came back with another Teves blocked shot. This allowed the Boro to break and resulted in Boro winning a free-kick. Downing took it but it was poor, falling harmlessly out of play. On sixty-seven a good ball from Rochemback found Yakubu in the box but West Ham's defence was up to the challenge posed by the Nigerian. After this Maccarone came on for Rochemback as the Boro reverted to a 4-4-2 formation in the hope of nicking a goal. Boro had some sustained pressure on seventy as Downing whipped in two balls with a corner in between. Robert Green did well to keep out a hungry Pogatetz the last time as the Austrian bared down on the West Ham keeper. On seventy-three Downing left Yossi Benayoun for dead with a cheeky flick. All the defender could do was pull back the Boro midfielder, conceding a free-kick on the edge of the box. Downing himself took it and the West Ham defence cleared the ball over the bar under pressure. From the resulting Downing corner, the ball broke to Maccarone from a cushioned Cattermole header. The Italian took it around the keeper but in the process he had made the angle between him and the goal somewhat acute. He was twelve yards out but up to the challenge as he stuck the ball into the back of the net from the right hand side of the penalty area, giving Middlesbrough the lead. Middlesbrough 1 (Maccarone 74) West Ham 0 West Ham sensed an impending defeat that they could ill afford and came at the Boro like a greyhound on heat bounding out of the traps. This left them exposed at the back and allowed the Boro to break with men over. However Yakubu failed to pick out Cattermole in this run of play, resulting in a missed opportunity. The football had suddenly become more flowing since the goal went in, with both sides going at it. The moves still kept breaking down in the final third however, with West Ham in particular guilty of being profligate on the edge of the opposing area. On eighty-two Carlton Cole replaced Benayoun in Alan Pardew's attempt to salvage something from the game. INTO THE RED ZONE On eighty-four Yakubu got the ball on the inside left and whipped in a cross. It almost deflected of a West Ham defender into the path of Maccarone but in the end went out for a corner. On eighty-eight Teves attacked for West Ham but Woodgate was more than up to it. West Ham were attacking slightly more than the Boro at this stage but were offering little of genuine threat, resorting to the tactic of hoofing it towards Boro's goal and hoping. In an attempt to run the clock down and also to hold on to our lead, Robert Huth replaced Stewart Downing. Boro then found themselves on a two-on-two situation with Yakubu and Morrison but this was spurned by the latter who launched a weak shot into the grateful arms of Robert Green. And that was that. The Boro registered their third successive home League win, banishing the poor away performances at Manchester City and Watford whilst West Ham were still to find their first away win of the season. Boro may have been a little lucky today but they offered more in front of goal and the passion and determination was there once more. It was not a vintage performance, at least not in the first half, but Boro did shade it and just about deserved the win. But with Liverpool, Aston Villa and then Manchester United to come, there is still a long way to go. FULL TIME FAN REACTION "GERRRRRRIIINNNN" Jasboro "WOO-HOOO" LillibetM SEND THIS TO A FRIEND BACK TO WEST HAM MATCH PROGRAMME INDEX
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