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BORO 2 NORTHAMPTON 0
Carling Cup Second Round, Wednesday 29th August 2007
Andy Morgan
Steve McClaren's first win as Middlesbrough manager came in this very fixture some six years ago. That day Boro beat Northampton Town 3-1 and Gareth Southgate fielded a side determined to emulate this against a lower League outfit who had yet to win a League match this season. There were however a few changes from the side that drew against Newcastle United at the weekend.
Mark Schwarzer was dropped in favour of Brad Jones in goal. Jonathan Woodgate was also rested - the central defence being the untested partnership of David Wheater and Andrew Davies, who was restored to the squad after missing out on Sunday. This meant that Luke Young was on the right and Andrew Taylor on the left of defence. Luke Young was the captain for the evening.
In midfield George Boateng was dropped in favour of Lee Cattermole with Fabio Rochemback supporting. Adam Johnson and Stewart Downing started on the right and left respectively whilst Dong-Gook Lee and Tuncay Sanli formed their first-ever partnership in attack.
Jones, Young (Boateng 71), Davies (Hines 36), Wheater, Taylor, Johnson, Cattermole, Rochemback, Downing (Mido 68), Lee, Sanli, Schwarzer, Craddock
THE FIRST HALF
Boro broke and Tuncay received the ball in the box in the eighth second. He had the opportunity to bring the ball down but Doris' calling, in vain hope that he would not blast the ball in her face, meant that he lost concentration at a vital moment and he failed to control it properly. The half-chance went begging.
On two minutes Dong-Gook Lee received the ball from Andrew Taylor who then passed to Lee Cattermole. His shot was blocked by Northampton's Chris Doig before the ball broke to Downing. He crossed the ball once more but no one could capitalise on it, the ball bobbling away as harmlessly as the tumbleweed after a Tale of the Tape joke.
A minute later Rochemback threaded a ball to Tuncay who tried to check away from Mark Hughes but the Northampton man recovered, defending strongly against the Turkish front-man. The ball came back through a Stewart Downing left-footed cross. Dong-Gook Lee used the pace of the ball to direct his header, driving it down into the ground. He beat the keeper but not the post, his effort glancing narrowly wide.
At the other end Brad Jones made a save from a fierce Brad Johnson strike but this didn't prevent the preverbial wee being spilt by the Boro fans as Ian Henderson headed the ball back towards goal. His effort cannoned off the upright and came back into play. Boro used this to break and Downing had a shot from twenty yards that went narrowly wide. It was certainly end-to-end stuff.
On eight Adam Johnson got across the Northampton defender and connected with a poisonous cross from the right. His header from twelve yards was caught by Mark Bunn who distributed it intelligently for his side.
Johnson came back two minutes later, his first touch equisite as he brought the ball down and whipped past a couple of defenders. Tuncay tried to run across the midfielder but all he succeeded in doing was deflecting Johnson's shot out for a Northampton goal kick. It was a nice idea. A minute later he almost made amends as he lept like a virile salmon in the mating season and forced a fishy save out of Mr Bunn the Baker's Son. Downing took the corner but nothing came of it.
On fifteen Fabio Rochemback's sloppiness almost caused sloppiness in the pants of the Boro faithful. The ball broke to Poul Hubertz but he fluffed his effort. At the other end Dong-Gook Lee launched a speculative attempt from distance that was more hopeful than anything. The Northampton keeper always knew it was going to flash wide.
Around twenty minutes the game had gone the way of a porn actresses over-worked breast implants - a little flat. Despite this, Northampton were coming into the ascendancy. First Hubertz had a header that he flashed over from twelve yards and then Bradley Johnson had a hopeful punt from thirty yards. The ball cannoned off Lee Cattermole but nothing ensued from the resulting corner - Alex Dyer's cross being cleared by Rochemback.
Boro's play had forced Northampton onto the back foot - effectively making them prisoners on a football field. Yet as the prison officers were on strike, the Boro could assert no authority and the game had started to bumble along like a Rowan Atkinson sitcom. Or your average episode of "My Family". On the injury front Andrew Davies needed four stitches to sew up a wound on his forehead. It was to be hoped that the physios had managed to forget the excellent do-it-yourself badger pattern from this week's excellent "Cross Stitching Today" magazine otherwise Davies could end up being badgered by the opposition.
Like an eel with legs, on twenty-nine Alex Dyer wriggled his way through the Boro defence and broke into the box. His well-struck powerful shot was saved by Brad Jones, who thankfully parried away from anyone who could do any damage to Boro's hopes of progressing to the Third Round. But had his shot been a yard either side then, erm, Jones would probably have had to work harder.
Thirty seconds later Northampton had another long range shot, this time through Joe Burnell. This time it went wide, decapitating poor Doris and two of her other friends in the Women's Institute in the process. Either way she now found herself in one hell of a jam. It was to be hoped that she could preserve her life by going to the hospital in order to get out of this pickle but things were certainly looking sticky for the poor woman.
On thirty-four Tuncay tried to set up Lee but Chris Doig blocked. Andrew Davies meanwhile was reintroduced to play but his stitches popped out - very much like Jordan's breasts. He had also clearly been concussed by the collision and so was substituted for Seb Hines on thirty-six.
The feeling in the Boro camp was similar to that of the most timid of teenage virgins - if we could score once then we could score numerous times. Boro were coming out in an attempt to do this. Their efforts however were being frustrated - like the knockbacks delivered by your average buxom blonde. At the other end Hubertz banged into Seb Hines and went down looking for the penalty. It was never a spot-kick however - it was more a shoulder to shoulder altercation that ended in a collapse that the average England batting order would be proud.
On forty-three Downing's delivery from the right eluded Lee and indeed Johnson. The latter tried to slide in and make a connection but like a BT engineer this sadly eluded him and the Boro were forced back to square one. A minute later Downing and Rochemback played a one-two before Downing failed to bring down the Brazilian's ball. A corner ensued but like finding healthy food in Scotland there weren't many options and the chance went begging. And that was the last meaningful action of the half.
THE SECOND HALF
Boro's first shot of the half came after forty-nine seconds when Rochemback was set up by Tuncay. His well-struck shot from twenty-five yards was defended desperately by Mark Hughes and the ball cannoned off the Blackburn manager for a corner. Nothing resulted from this. At the other end Andrew Taylor conceded a needless corner after he couldn't wrap his head around the ball to concede a throw-in. Nothing came of this either excepting a Jones punch that is just the sort of anti-social behaviour that this government seems determined to eliminate. I can see the articles in the "Daily Mail" now.
Northampton broke quickly on forty-nine but Brad Johnson tried to play the difficult ball to Ian Henderson and the ball bobbled kindly into Brad Jones' grateful arms. A minute later Johnson tried a long range effort from a free-kick that sailed into the stump that was once Doris' neck it was so far wide.
On fifty-two Fabio Rochemback got his just reward for his excellent displays on Sunday and tonight. He was foulled by Bradley Jones from about twenty-five yards out. His free-kick was a corker - moving in the air (obviously) and making light work of the Northampton wall by conveniently going around it. The wall's presence did make the keeper blind to the shot however and he was caught desperately flailing as the unstoppable effort nestled in the back of the net. It was a screamer, whilst the Boro fans screamed. Shame ice cream is not sold at the stadium...
MIDDLESBROUGH 1 (Rochemback, 52) NORTHAMPTON TOWN 0
Two minutes later Adam Johnson darted into the box and was nudged off the ball as he was about to pull the trigger. The ball broke to Lee Cattermole who tried to pass to Dong-Gook Lee but he couldn't get a shot in. Boro came back through Rochemback's delicate pass - an excellent piece of vision of the sort that you don't get from Channel Five. He tried to pass to Tuncay but the Turk's first touch was poor and the visitors escaped. At the other end Hubertz had a long-range shot that lacked power. Jones comfortably collected. He also collected comfortably from an Andrew Holt cross on sixty-one.
On sixty-two Adam Johnson read Joe Burnell's short pass and latched on to it. The Boro winger was caught in two minds however and Mark Hughes cleared for a corner. Fabio Rochemback's set-play was deep but good and Dong-Gook Lee got a head to it. The ball broke to David Wheater who tried another spectacular overhead kick that cannoned off the crossbar like a large iron cannony thing. But like a fat man in a curry house the Boro weren't finished as Lee ghosted in front of the defender and headed tamely towards goal.
On sixty-four a strong Stewart Downing run ended in a square ball being delivered to Dong-Gook Lee. The Korean brought the ball down, transferred it on to his right foot and then curled it away from the diving Northampton keeper to score his first ever goal in a Boro shirt. The Boro players and fans celebrated as the relief visibly showed on his face.
MIDDLESBROUGH 2 (Lee, 64) NORTHAMPTON TOWN 0
Northampton responded through a Jason Crowe cross that Sam Aiston headed tamely wide from twelve yards. Three minutes later Brad Jones caught a Daniel Jones cross that was going nowhere in particular. Very much like your average episode of "Sesame Street".
On sixty-nine the enthusiasm of Mido told as he was brought on to replace Stewart Downing after pestering manager Gareth Southgate for long enough. It was good to see so much commitment coming from a Boro player.
Two minutes later Ian Henderson had far too much space and time in the box after Boro's offside appeal had failed to convince the referee. Luke Young, the player who had played Henderson online, was drafted into a last ditch clearance off the line that bounced away to safety. This was Young's last action of the game as Boro captain for the evening was replaced by the regular Boro captain, George Boateng.
On seventy-three Brad Jones was caught flapping more than Big Bird in the mating season as he was forced into conceding a Northampton corner. Hubertz turned and shot, winning another corner in the process after the ball deflected off Johnson. From this set-piece Jones did his best teaching his chicks to fly impression as he failed to collect the ball once more. Luckily the ball broke to a red-shirted player so the Boro keeper did not end up with egg on his face.
From the break Adam Johnson played a strong ball from the right-hand side to which Mido powerfully connected from around the penalty spot. Like an Estonian high-jumper his header rattled the bar.
Like a Catholic procession the game descended into an experience of crosses with neither side in the ascendancy. A Northampton corner was awarded on seventy-five but nothing came of it. Boro broke from the set-play and Fabio Rochemback deceived three Northampton players before he passed to Tuncay who, in a promising position, fluffed his effort. He had done more fluffing today than an extra in a porn movie.
On eighty-one Rochemback took advantage of Northampton's wandering right-back as he passed to Mido. The Egyptian burst into the box but was caught out by the dogged visiting defence. No doubt he growled in frustration.
Two minutes later some neat play from Boro around the Northampton penalty area ended in a Johnson shot that went wide. Like a snake shedding his skin, Lee had peeled off Hughes and connected with Cattermole's delicate pass but failed to make his run count before the ball broke to Johnson who had tried a speculative effort from around twenty yards out.
Mido then made the Northampton keeper work with a strong shot from eighteen yards that forced an equally strong save. Two minutes later Tuncay delivered a strong ball from the left and Mido showed some good strength to beat the visiting defender. He may have been nudged as he shot but either way his effort went wider than the average American gusset. It was worth the effort though - although by now the steaks weren't particularly high.
On eighty-nine Mido passed to Rochemback after Tuncay had dummied. The Brazilian then passed to the Turk who once again fluffed his effort - this time from the edge of the penalty area. His shot was tamer than American porongraphy and Bunn comfortably gathered.
The full-time whistle blew soon after to signify another good performance that should build confidence for the future. Boro survived a few early scares but were generally comfortable as they dispatched Northampton with ease. There will be bigger fish to fry in this competition but Boro did what they needed to do this evening and that's all that matters.
Man of the Match: Fabio Rochemback. Could the Brazilian be the next Emmanuel Pogatetz? After last season's poor form can Rochemback turn on the style for this campaign? Either way he was on fire tonight - rewarded with an excellent goal that can only do wonders for his confidence. He was also involved in most of Boro's positive play and if he can take this forward to subsequent games we could have something special on our hands.
FAN REACTION
"A potential banana skin avoided"
Fiddler on the Smog
"It's a cup we should aim to win. If you play a strong team you can get far. Onwards and upwards"
KrisG
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