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TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 2 MIDDLESBROUGH 0
Carling Cup Third Round, Wednesday 26th September 2007
Andy Morgan
Middlesbrough made a myriad of changes, some enforced, some not, for Wednesday's Carling Cup tie at Spurs.
Mark Schwarzer was surprisingly dropped in favour of Brad Jones in goal. Chris Riggott and David Wheater formed the heart of defence as Jonathan Woodgate was ruled out with a groin niggle. Luke Young and Andrew Taylor were on the right and left respectively.
Southgate opted for a five-man midfield with Mohamad Shawky making his Boro debut. He was to combine with Lee Cattermole and Fabio Rochemback in the centre with George Boateng and Stewart Downing on either flank. Youngster Graeme Owens started on the bench, a place given to him largely due to Gary O'Neill being cup-tied.
Boro's only fit regular striker, Dong Gook Lee, was to plough a lone furrow up-front. Southgate drafted in two Academy players, Tom Craddock and Ben Hutchinson, to support the Korean should the Boro need goals.
Jones, Young (Davies 76), Riggott, Wheater, Taylor, Cattermole, Boateng, Rochemback (Owens 74), Shawky (Craddock 46), Downing, Lee, Schwarzer, Hutchinson
THE FIRST HALF
The players made their way out of the tunnel and into a night that wouldn't have looked out of place in a 1970's Hammer Horror Movie. Enter Jermain Defoe as Spurs set the game in motion and immediately attacked. Defoe in particular was lively and he won a free-kick on the edge of the Boro area within the first minute.
From the set-play Gareth Bale shot but Shawky blocked it with his head. The ball broke back to the Spurs man but his shot deflected for a corner, Lee Cattermole turning his effort around the post.
From the set-piece the ball bobbled around the box before a Pascal Chimbonda effort was deflected wide. An in-swinging corner ensued and Michael Dawson connected to it. The ball deflected again for a third successive set-play.
After this corner was cleared Chimbonda volleyed a dangerous ball back across goal but an intelligent clearance from Riggott prevented Defoe from stealing in. Younes Kaboul's resulting shot from distance demonstrated that he was no striker - the ball going hopelessly high and wide.
On four Fabio Rochemback lined the ball up as if he was going to play it square to Lee Cattermole but instead he tried to trick Paul Robinson by attempting a shot from thirty-five yards. The England keeper was up to the effort however, palming the ball away from the corner. Nothing came from the set-piece.
On eight Spurs' mobility undid Boro's backline quicker than Peter Stringfellow with a bra as Defoe set Jermaine Jenas free. Jenas' first touch was competent but his shot was woeful - his side-footed effort hardly challenging Boro goalkeeper Brad Jones. You could tell he used to play for Newcastle.
Three minutes later Spurs threatened again, this time through Defoe. Teemu Tainio's cross found the England front-man on the edge of the area and Jones came bravely off his line to meet him. The Boro keeper kept his composure and managed to smother Defoe's shot.
On fourteen Dawson attacked a Spurs' cross from the right, heading the ball narrowly over the bar. It was a warning for Boro as Dawson was being more prickly than a hedgehog with thrush.
Spurs were dominating proceedings at this stage and on nineteen Bale used his speed against Boateng by receiving a diagonal ball and accelerating away from the Boro midfielder. However in doing so he forced the ball on to his weaker right foot and his effort on goal was easily saved by Jones, despite it being taken from only six yards out.
On twenty-two Young threw himself in front of Defoe before he was about to unleash a shot from twenty yards out. Where Defoe would usually hit the target, the distraction caused him to shoot wide.
Boro were giving balls away more cheaply than a gigolo with herpes and this allowed Spurs to come back at them time and time again. Boro were also not stringing enough passes together and it was this that was hampering them.
On twenty-six another wicked ball from the right allowed Kaboul to steal in with a header. His shot was saved by Jones, who initially spilled it but was glad to see no one following up in the six-yard box.
On twenty-nine Middlesbrough escaped once more. Defoe stole into the area and crossed the ball to Tainio who was six yards out. If he had headed the ball down then Spurs would have broken the deadlock. But he didn't, he headed it straight towards goal. And Jones managed a save.
Our midfield five might as well have been replaced with the Jackson Five they were so lacking in rhythm. Perhaps the Diamond Lights of the big city were over-awing as the players were less in tune than Hoddle and Waddle. Either way they were rabbits in the headlights of Spurs' snarling 4x4s. Or put simply where Boro were rabbits, Spurs were rabid.
On thirty-two Defoe had another shot which this time was blocked by Shawky. The Boro debutant was doing some excellent defending and was keeping his team in the game.
Spurs were getting closer and closer however and luck was starting to go their way. A lucky deflection allowed the ball to loop over Boro's backline and break to Defoe. From the penalty spot, he headed the ball towards goal. He turned to celebrate what he thought would be the opening goal of the game as he didn't expect Jones to tip the ball on to the crossbar. He was sadly disappointed. It was an inspired save from the inspired keeper.
Boro's second shot of the game came on forty-four. Wheater won the initial header from a Downing cross and nodded it down to Riggott. He took the ball on his right foot, then his left, before blasting his effort over the bar from eight yards out. It was a golden opportunity wasted.
The halftime whistle couldn't come soon enough for beleaguered Boro and although Boro's defending had been strong, they had been under the cosh throughout the half. It was to be hoped that the second forty-five would show an improvement.
THE SECOND HALF
Southgate opted for a change of formation in the second half - switching from 4-5-1 to 4-4-2. Shawky can consider himself unlucky that he was replaced by Tom Craddock but Boro needed more attacking options. Meanwhile this was Craddock's second senior Boro appearance, having played on the final day of the 2005-2006 season at Fulham.
Improvements were almost instantaneous. Craddock went out to the right to pick up possession and he passed the ball inside to Downing. Everyone expected the cross but Boro's England international decided to shoot, forcing Robinson into conceding a corner. Nothing came from this.
However normal service quickly resumed - with a repeat of "Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps". Sorry that's BBC3. At the Lane, Spurs broke and Defoe tried another shot but it deflected beyond the by-line for a goal-kick.
On fifty Craddock got in front of Kaboul and forced the Spurs defender into conceding another corner. Rochemback's ball found Craddock at the near-post but it was at an awkward height and the young striker had to resort to hitting the ball clumsily with his thigh. It went high and wide.
A minute later Craddock flummoxed Kaboul again, drawing him towards him with all the exotic charm of a Boro belly dancer. This allowed the striker to win a corner off the Spurs' man. Nothing came from this.
Fifty-five in and Bale had another opportunity from a free-kick. From twenty-five yards he whipped in a ball more wicked than Marks & Spencer's Deluxe Chocolate Dessert (with probably the same amount of tedious heavy breathing). The resulting bounce almost outfoxed Jones. He initially spilt the ball but managed to hang on at the second attempt. Defoe would have been flagged offside anyway.
Three minutes later Downing whipped an equally dangerous ball into the Spurs penalty area. Dawson got up highest however and cleared the danger.
Controversy reigned on the hour as Aaron Lennon went down under the challenge of Wheater in the box. Penalty shouts reverberated around the Lane but the referee was having none of it, believing Wheater had touched the ball before the man. A profitless corner was all Spurs managed to obtain.
A Wheater shot was charged down on sixty-three by Jenas. From this Spurs broke, with Defoe heading the ball down into Boro's six yard box. Boro managed to clear.
On sixty-five Brad Jones was tested again as Defoe headed the ball towards goal from six yards out. Jones caught the effort. This was to be Defoe's last contribution of the game as Martin Jol went against the crowd by deciding to replace him with Robbie Keane in the sixty-seventh minute.
On seventy-one the ambiguity of the offside rule reared its ugly head once more as Spurs broke the deadlock.
The ball was passed down the left towards Aaron Lennon, who was two yards offside. It didn't reach him however and it found Keane, who passed to Gareth Bale. He made no mistake from six yards out. Boro were incensed but the goal stood - the ball had clearly been intended for Lennon who had been offside and this was why Middlesbrough felt aggrieved.
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 1 (Bale, 71) MIDDLESBROUGH 0
And this was just the start as Boro's concentration, like in so many other matches this season, wavered once more. On seventy-four good play from Lennon down the right allowed him to get away from Rochemback too easily. He clipped the ball into the box and Tom Huddlestone headed the ball through Jones' legs for the second goal of the game.
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 2 (Huddlestone, 74) MIDDLESBROUGH 0
Shortly afterwards Rochemback was replaced with Graeme Owens but there was a feeling of too little too late. Two minutes later and Young was replaced by Andrew Davies, Southgate possibly having one eye on Sunday's trip to Everton.
Spurs were happy to run down the clock but on eighty-one the ball fell perfectly for Dong-Gook Lee, who was twenty-five yards out. His connection was woeful however and he blasted his shot high and wide.
The final minutes of the game were as tepid as a plate of Little Chef chips as Spurs were comfortable and Boro could find no answer to their resilience. On eighty-seven David Wheater had a header that flashed just wide of the target but in reality it didn't really matter. The game was dead and buried and everyone was just waiting for Boro's pending elimination.
Entering into stoppage time, Didier Zokora had a great opportunity to score a third for Spurs but his shot was wide of the target. At the other end Downing picked out Lee from a deep position but the Korean couldn't get a toe-poke on it, the ball drifting harmlessly into the arms of Paul Robinson.
In the final minute Downing whipped an out-swinging corner into the box and Wheater connected to it powerfully. His effort glanced narrowly wide. This was the last action of the game and with the referee's shrill whistle, Middlesbrough were knocked out of this year's Carling Cup.
Boro's bold and adventurous second-half approach was undone by a poor refereeing decision. But in reality that is a poor excuse as Spurs deserved their victory. Dominating for an hour, Boro merely matched them for the other thirty.
That's not to say there was not passion and determination from a depleted Boro side but the goal that killed us off, Spurs' second, resulted from another lapse in concentration.
Defensively Middlesbrough were strong but up-front they were toothless. This needs addressing in time for Everton but with injury after injury it is hard to see from where the goals will come. As for this evening - Boro's best route back into Europe has once again been snuffed out.
Man of the Match: Brad Jones. Nervous against Northampton, he was superlative against Spurs. Had it not been for his magnificent first-half saves, particularly from Defoe, Boro would have been dead and buried at half-time.
FAN REACTION
"Not a forward in sight"
Datsun
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