|
 |
MIDDLESBROUGH 2 PORTSMOUTH 0 - MATCH REPORT
Barclays Premier League, Saturday 3rd May 2008, The Riverside
Andy Morgan
The main team news going into today's game was the return of Mark Schwarzer in goal after a two week lay-off.
Chris Riggott made a return in the centre of defence and was to partner David Wheater. Luke Young and Emmanuel Pogatetz were on the right and left respectively.
In the midfield we saw the return of the Tippy Tappy Twins - Julio Arca and Fabio Rochemback - whilst George Boateng was on the right. Stewart Downing was on the left.
Up front, Boro fielded Afonso Alves and Tuncay, with Jeremie Aliadiere being relegated to the bench.
Schwarzer, Young, Wheater, Riggott, Pogatetz, Boateng (Cattermole 88), Rochemback, Arca, Downing, Tuncay, Alves (Aliadiere 60), Turnbull, Johnson, Taylor
THE FIRST HALF
The first foray of the game came from Portsmouth. The Boro were sat too deep and Hermann Hreidarsson got a flick on. The home side managed to clear but had it not been for his contact, Papa Bouba Diop could have been in on goal.
A minute later, a Lassana Diarra cross was received by Milan Baros. His shot from twelve yards out was blocked by David Wheater. The ball broke to Glen Johnson who had time on the edge of the box to steady himself. His effort blasted across goal and all that was needed was the slightest Pompey contact to bury the ball beyond Schwarzer.
Boro's first break came soon after when Luke Young banged the ball forward to Tuncay. He reacted quickly to a strong challenge and passed to Alves who forced a save out of Jamie Ashdown in the Portsmouth goal.
On nineteen, a switch of play from left to right from Distin to Mvuemba eventually set up Baros but he rushed his shot when he was in space, blasting Doris' spectacles straight off her face.
The Boro's next shot came on twenty-one. Arca hit the ball over Johnson and if Downing had gotten the right connection on it, he would have scored goal of the season. Sadly he didn't and he hit Doris' twin sister straight in the jowly chops, smashing her meat pie all over her powdered nose.
The home side were tremendously edgy and this was part of the problem. They didn't seem to have the gumption to attack Portsmouth and because of this, the visitors had had the best of a tepid and flat affair thus far.
On twenty-five, Sol Campbell denied Fabio Rochemback a shot on goal. Boateng crossed the ball to Downing and he headed into the Brazilian's path. Instead of blasting the ball on his laces, Rochemback took a touch to get the ball onto his strong foot. This was how the chance went begging.
The Boro were coming out of their shell and Tuncay was unlucky not to connect to a Pogatetz cross. Pompey cleared though.
A minute later, the Pompey defence opened up for Alves. The Brazilian ran at Sol Campbell and Sylvain Distin before blasting a shot goalwards. It went narrowly wide.
The game was there for the taking but no one seemed to be wanting to take it. Portsmouth were poor and the Boro were doing little better. In fact, this was one of the worst games of a poor season so far.
George Boateng was doing wonders in the right wing role, launching balls into the box with aplomb. The Pompey defence was up to it though. However, they were the only ones in the stadium who were up, the rest of us having fallen asleep a while ago.
The first corner of the came was awarded to Portsmouth on thirty-seven. A Hreidarsson effort had been blocked by Arca and went out for the dead ball play. From the corner, the ball was curled in by Glen Johnson, expert painter and decorator, but Schwarzer caught comfortably.
At the other end, the Boro were awarded two corners, both from excellent Boateng balls. From the second, Rochemback's outswinger was met by Chris Riggott at the back post and he headed the ball beyond Ashton. It was the breakthrough the Boro needed whilst Portsmouth assistant Tony Adams was heard to utter "fucking Boateng" on the dugout.
MIDDLESBROUGH 1 (Riggott, 40) PORTSMOUTH 0
This was the last outstanding action of the half as the game soon returned to its natural turgid state. However the last kick of the forty-five resulted in Rochemback punting a free kick into the box and Riggott failing to connect properly.
THE SECOND HALF
In the opening exchanges of the second half, Downing poked the ball to Tuncay and the Turk's tanacity took the ball beyond the by-line as Distin was forced into conceding the corner. Nothing came from the corner apart from a throw-in though.
On fifty, the ball fell to Rochemback and he passed to Tuncay. His shot went wide but it took a deflection, resulting in another corner being rewarded. Perhaps Rochemback should have had a blast himself as he was free and twenty-five yards out but alas he didn't.
From the corner, yet another corner resulted as Boateng whipped another ball in that was put behind by Hreidarsson.
From this second flag play, Boro scored their second goal. Downing's in-swinger was met by Tuncay who got across Glen Johnson. He used the pace of the ball to head it beyond Ashdown. The question that had to be asked now was: Could the Boro make it three for the first time this season? (The answer was invariably "No").
MIDDLESBROUGH 2 (Tuncay, 53) PORTSMOUTH 0
In response, Niko Kranjcar had a shot on fifty-six. Wheater saw the danger and dashed out from defence as he was shooting. This allowed the Croat's shot to go wide from a deflection. The Boro cleared the corner.
Riggott denied Jermain Defoe a couple of minutes later by intercepting a weighted pass intended for the former Spurs man. He would have had a clear shot at Schwarzer had the block not been made.
A minute later a Kranjcar free-kick from thirty yards out flashed narrowly wide of the target. Schwarzer had it covered though but he didn't need to do anything.
Boro made a change on the hour - Alves for Jeremie Aliadiere. The Frenchman slotted straight into attack.
The visitors were coming into the game and Kranjcar was having their best opportunities. His effort on sixty-three, on the edge of the area, was curled ever so narrowly wide. A minute later, Distin had a shot that was blocked by Riggott.
On sixty-nine Downing blasted the ball over the bar from a good position, knocking Doris' coffee out of her hand, scalding her husband with the hot sticky liquid in the process.
Three minutes later came a Portsmouth corner after David Wheater was injured. There was too much power on it though and it went out for a Pompey throw.
Thirty seconds later, another corner was conceded but Portsmouth did little with this too and Boro were awarded a goal kick.
Downing should have made it 3-0 on seventy-six. Arca and Tuncay crafted the best move of the game as the former tricked the Portsmouth defence into passing to the Turk before he eventually did. The ball then broke to Rochemback who passed the ball to the England international but he took it first time instead of taking a touch. Ashdown saved. Nothing came from the corner.
On eighty-eight Lee Cattermole replaced the hard-working George Boateng on the right of midfield.
The game had descended inton a running down the clock exercise for Boro as both sides had little clear threat in front of goal during the last fifteen minutes. However this didn't matter as Boro secured the win they needed to secure their Premiership survival for another season.
That's not to say we should be delirious. It is a sad indictment that the Boro were ever in this position but now we are safe, it is time for reflection.
There is no doubting we have slipped backwards in the last two years and next year we must get it right. We need to be a regular top ten side rather than one happy with mid-table.
However tonight is a night to revel in Premier League safety. We have done it - perhaps the hard way - but we have done it nonetheless.
Man of the Match: Chris Riggott. He won everything in defence and justified his selection with a goal. A great return for a great defender.
FAN REACTION
"Another shit season over"
Anti-BORIS
"The season ticket queue will longer now"
Lord Sherington
BACK TO BORO v POMPEY MATCH PROGRAMME INDEX
A GUARANTEED PROFIT OF AT LEAST £41.00 ON THE UEFA CUP FINAL
Did you know that it is possible to win money on Wednesday evening's Uefa Cup Final between Rangers and Zenit St Petersburg, whatever the result?
The game kicks off at 7.45pm and we can guarantee you a profit of at least £41.00, whatever the result of the match. All you have to do is follow the simple instructions below and then sit back and enjoy the game. At full-time (ninety minutes), you will be at least £41.00 better off, whatever the result of the match.
We must point out that if you want to take this bet, you should do it now because if the odds change, then the figures here will be invalidated. If they have changed, let us know and we will rework the bet for you.
You can still do this if you have a Betfair account but your overall profit will be reduced by £25.00 as you won't receive the £25.00 cashback as an existing account holder.
If you are unsure about this bet, you are most welcome to call us on 01642 223229 and we will help you as much as we can.
We're going to lay out a total of £80.00 on the Rangers v Zenit St Petersburg match and we will collect £122.63 if Rangers win, £123.90 if Zenit St Petersburg win and £121.00 if it's a draw. That's a minimum profit of 51%, a much higher interest rate than you will get in any high street bank.
Here's how it's done. Just follow these simple instructions.
1. Open an account with Coral. It is really important that you enter the bonus code of CORALTD when prompted. This is to ensure that you receive your bonus.
Open an account with Betfair. It is really important that you enter the promotional code of BFB425 when prompted. This is to ensure that you receive your bonus.
Open an account with Extrabet
 .
This shouldn't take you any longer than a few minutes.
2. Make the following deposits into your new accounts.
Deposit £20.00 into your new Coral account.
Deposit £26.00 into your new Betfair account.
Deposit £34.00 into your Extrabet account.
3. Now make the following bets.
Place £20.00 on the draw at 3.20 (11/5) with Coral.
Coral will now add a £10.00 bonus to your account. Place this on the draw as well. You will now have £30.00 riding on the draw.
Back Rangers with £26.00 at 3.9 (14/5) (or higher if available) with Betfair.
Place £34.00 on Zenit St Petersburg at 2.13 (11/10) with Extrabet .
Extrabet match your first bet up to £25 so you will now have £59.00 riding on Zenit St Petersburg.
The £25.00 matched bet will not show in your account but you can read all about how it works on the Extrabet site. It's the purple box that says '£25 FREE BET FOR NEW CUSTOMERS' on the top right hand side. Click here to visit the Extrabet site.
If you are unsure about placing these bets, please feel free to mail us or call us on 01642 223229 and we will talk you through it, no problem at all. There is no such thing as a stupid question.
You have temporarily laid out a total of £80.00 on the Rangers v Zenit St Petersburg match. I stress, temporarily... Now sit back, crack a beer open and enjoy the match.
4. Here's what happens at the end of the game.
If it's a draw, you collect £121.00. That's £96.00 from Coral plus a £25.00 cashback from Betfair.
If Rangers win, you collect £122.63. That's £97.63 from Betfair plus a £25.00 cashback from Betfair.
If Zenit St Petersburg win you collect £123.90. That's £98.90 from Extrabet plus a £25.00 cashback from Betfair.
5. This means that the worst case scenario on the Rangers v Zenit St Petersburg match is a draw and you make £41.00 profit. However, if Rangers win you make £42.63 and if Zenit St Petersburg win you make £43.90. That's a minimum profit of 51%, a much better rate of interest that you would get at any high street bank or building society.
6. It is absolutely vital that you click on the links on this page to open the accounts with the two bookies and enter the correct bonus codes or you may not qualify for the bonuses.
Also, before you place your bets, you should check that the odds haven't changed. If they have, let us know by mail or phone us on 01642 223229 and we will rework the bet for you.
Please feel free to contact us or phone us on 01642 223229 if you have any questions at all about this bet and we will help you as much as we can.
Please note that the bonuses are valid for new customers only so if you already have an account with one or more of the bookies we are using, you won't be able to do this. If that is the case, mail us or phone us on 01642 223229 and we'll create an alternative bet for you using different bookies.
This method of betting was used very successfully during the 2006 World Cup and you can read all about how it was done right here.
We guarantee this bet
It's understandable that some people will not believe that it is possible to do this. "What's the catch?" I hear you asking. My answer to that question is that we have been publishing arbitrage bets for four seasons now and literally hundreds of people have profited from following the advice on these pages.
Only twice has our refund guarantee been triggered and that was when we did all the figures wrong and sent refunds out to those who had followed our advice and made a small loss.
Our refund guarantee works like this. If this bet doesn't work like we say it will and you end up out of pocket, we will refund your losses. Simple as that.
That means that you simply cannot lose on this, whatever happens and even if we messed up the numbers.
The only stipulation here is that you must click on the links on this page to be eligible for the refund guarantee, not that you'll be needing to claim anyway. Just enjoy the profit and stay posted for many more of these throughout the season.
|
|
|
|
