THE AWAY END
SCUNTHORPE UNITED v MIDDLESBROUGH
John Powls; 19 Aug 2009
The Build Up To The Game
Although Boro's start to this Championship season has steel and coal seams - Teesside, Sheffield, South Wales and now Scunny - it also has variety too.
So far, Boro have faced a side that only lost out on promotion at the final hurdle last term and a side that had a creditable first season in The Championship after promotion.
Now they tackled a promoted side in Scunthorpe who won out over Millwall in the League One play-offs.
Column Continues Below...
The websites since the Swansea game have reflected Gate's own sensibly guarded appreciation for what was, nevertheless, a very welcome and enjoyable away win.
The manager's 'feet on the ground' message to his squad after Saturday's welcome away win at Swansea was right on the mark, for three reasons.
Firstly, there were surely lots of positives from that game but there were certainly areas for improvement too and a team less accommodating than The Jacks would surely have exploited them.
Secondly, this Boro squad doesn't handle their own good publicity well. What little they had last season translated itself straight into complacency and that won't do. There was nothing to be complacent about. Gate knew it and wanted his players to know too.
Thirdly, the core of the team that did so well in South Wales - Huth, Wheats, O'Neil, Tuncay and even Johnno - may not be around by the end of August.
Unless there were any more knocks and niggles of the sort that kept Femmer Frenchie Jezza out on Saturday, most expected Gate to go same again for this one. Tuncay - given that his various 'illnesses' have limited his game time - could likely come on from the bench again.
The Boro manager looked to build on the successes from Saturday: goals, the continuity passing and the pressing game high up the pitch.
He also aimed to address the weaknesses: the lack of ruthlessness and the lapses in concentration and application.
If you could draw any conclusions from Scunny's opening two games, you'd say that they were strong on their home turf and just as capable of conceding as well as scoring goals.
This is with their first choice striking pair, Hayes and Hooper, leading the way.
Meanwhile, they had just got month long loan signing Jordan Spence from their London nick-namesakes to strengthen at the back and sold winger Kevan Hurst to Carlisle.
Nigel Adkins's side saw Boro's visit as a chance to take a second big scalp in front of another packed Glanford Park with Boro fans taking their full allocation and more.
The Away End at Glanford, like at The Riverside, is in the South Stand.
'Talking Tactics' Ian Gill was my stringer for this one. His match report follows.
The Game
The ground is relatively modern but small. It has a decent sized car park and is easily reached from the motorway.
The most striking feature was that driving into the ground, it was more like an FA Cup semi-final at a neutral venue, with as many Boro shirts as there were Iron's fans.
As a sop to John and Phil, I had a poison burger with cheese inside the ground - it is surrounded by McDonalds etc but few of the mobile catering establishments frequented by the Powls family.
The pitch is tight and the running track is a misnomer. It's okay for a greyhound but not for the likes of me.
The home end is one of the few standing areas at this level. The rest of the ground is all seater but with only 13 rows of seats, making the capacity about 9,000. We occupied the whole of the away end plus a section alongside the pitch.
As the players warmed up, there was some banter with the away fans with plenty of waves and reciprocated applause.
When the players reappeared, there were signed footballs from the Boro players, which they gave to some kids in the away end/side. It was a nice touch that made some kids' nights.
As the match kicked off, it became clear that the home fans were in awe of the travelling Parmo Army, who cruelly taunted the locals that we had bigger sheds than their ground.
The first half had much skirmishing and no great surprises. Boro were the better team but Scunthorpe were lively up front and posed problems.
There weren't many clear chances but a couple forced good saves from both keepers.
On the half hour, there was a peach of a goal. A great ball from O'Neil was finished with aplomb by Jinky.
Half-time came with the away hordes in good voice and with the locals remarkably silent.
The stewarding was excellent, no heavy handed 'Sit down or else'.
Feedback from John by text was that Sky had said their strikers had given Boro the run around. Live, it didn't have that appearance.
Before the match, we were concerned about their strikers' movement. It was good but they were kept at a distance.
The rules say, apparently, that Boro are not allowed to saw the legs off the opposition any more, like the last time they were in this division. This means that now we have to minimise the impact.
Further communications had me saying that Boro needed another goal quickly to put the game to bed. John replied, "Just like at Swansea."
The second half started with a bang. A surging run into the box by Williams brought a challenge that resulted in a penalty. From my position at the side of the pitch, it looked like the defender - O'Connor - got the ball, but from behind.
The protest went on and, as the defender was booked for protesting that he got the ball, the ref made the signal that it was a scissor tackle.
Clearly he thought it was dangerous and contact with the ball was irrelevant. It shows that the officials know the rules better than we do - and have better eyesight too!
It didn't matter - it was a penalty and Jinky grabbed the ball.
Murphy made a good save but Jinky was off for the rebound like a scalded hare, only to be felled by the keeper. Another penalty.
I received another John-text telling me that Sky thought the first was soft and the keeper should have gone walkies for the second.
Wenger-like, I was sitting in the wrong position to make a judgement on the veracity of the decisions.
Jinky buried the second penalty and the scoreboard said 2-0.
The rest of the half, about 40 minutes, had lots of pressure from Scunthorpe and sterling defending from Boro - including two goal line clearances plus several saves and blocks.
There were also several chances to put the game well and truly to bed but Boro failed to do so. Emnes was sublime and wasteful at the same time.
We had another Tuncay cameo - his farewell tour is lasting longer than Sinatra's!
Arca came on and immediately missed a ball to put Boro under pressure as the game petered out.
One thing that struck me was that after Boro's second goal, Jinky and Yeates swopped wings and things stayed that way during a period of real pressure from Scunthorpe.
It was hard to know whether it was a case of Scunny grabbing or us surrendering the initiative. Maybe it was deliberate in order to compress the game or to try and combat the opposition.
Whatever the reason, it was another stern test overcome and three valuable points.
The stars? Jinky, Huth, Wheater, O'Neil and Coyne. Emnes delighted and infuriated in equal measure, Lita looked to be finding his feet.
As I left the ground, my last John-text read "Boro second in the table."
Later
Late evening finish? Mid-week? Couldn't care less? The published and broadcast media outside Teesside continued to do their best to ignore The Championship in general and Boro in particular.
Doubtless they'll stir themselves for Sid James' tonight!
From the so-called 'new media' post match coverage, Gate had again judged his comments well.
He was right to focus on the team aspects of this win that included the collective attitude, organisation and endeavour that he and his coaches must also take some credit for.
The manager's decision to go 'same again' for this game must also have helped that cause. Some individuals had also listened to the advice they were given after the Swansea game.
No doubt Gate will have relished his plans working out last night and have told his squad to enjoy this win and their league position but to turn up ready to apply themselves again in preparation for Donny at the weekend, repeating his 'feet on the ground' mantra.
He will also harbour concerns that we all share about hanging on to key players, moving others on and bringing in re-inforcements before the end of the month.
Now, when did Boro last win three in a row?
The Away End will return after the second round Carling Cup tie at Nottingham Forest on 25 August.
paul, August 19, 2009 at 9:48 pm Clearly the burger poisened your thoughts of the game 2! Scunny scared borough simple as!
We were unlucky on whole! Rightly so you were favourites but when one player costs more than our club you can only one one expectation! Our keeper should not have been sent of the player was going away from goal! Huth should have gone 2! But ref bottled it just like penalty! Middlesborough will go back up! but hopefully their fans will have more respect for premiership teams than little old scunthorpe!!lol
