I didn't understand the tactic of their number five endlessly tapping goalkicks six inches for their keeper to wallop the ball upfield.
they were trying so suck us in so we press them and they pass round us. Mayenda and Rigg were so disciplined though that they weren’t getting sucked in, so they had to go long
Not sure Smug, could have seen Hume's Ritchie Pitt challenge differently but at times his other decision making was strange ie the Mundle penalty not given.
Because it was weird to call him out on it, that’s all. Managers never talk about the decisions that went for them, just against them. And you know that. So it was weird, that’s all.
Haway lads, we won and we are top of the league. It doesn't get any better than that. **** Michael Carrick and his "lite bite" baking family as well
Personally I thought Boro were really poor. Too slow. No ideas. That Hackney in midfield is possibly one of the most over hyped players of recent years. Doak looked quality though.
All for angles of the press mate. The pass the ball inside and try to invite a press and he has options either side either way professional display. Boro all fart no ****e. Think we’ll be saying that a lot this season
It's not weird tho, he is moaning about a decision that he thinks impacted the game and I mentioned 1 that went in our favour that he failed to mention - nothing weird about that He came out with they should have been down to 10, then he got asked about it. If he had only been asked about it and answered 'yes they should have been gone down to 10' I wouldn't have said a thing
Repeatedly didn't work and the keeper didn't seem comfortable with it ... ... just surprised they kept doing it. Both centre halfs thought they were Beckenbauer.
Tough game, but to me really important. It showed today we can grind a result out when needed. First half I thought we were to open in midfield, they did seem to be able to cut through us a bit too easily and getting it wide caused us some problems. But as the half worse on we got it together a bit better and it became more even. The Hume tackle is a shocker, definitely a borderline red which may have been given on another day. And at times our clearances put us under more pressure than necessary. However Boro didn't create that much, Conway's header that hit the crossbar and the Clarke header from a corner that went miles wide were pretty much it. The Rigg goal is superb, the confidence and technique to do it is just top class. From then I thought it was very even right up to stoppage time when Ayling clipped Mundle for a stone wall penalty. Ayling should have been penalised earlier for a push on Mayenda. From that they had a break for Latte Lath which was actually their last decent chance of the whole game. Second half I think we were definitely in control throughout. The shape was superb, never really giving Boro even half a sniff of a chance and we had the best chances the Roberts, Jobe (should have done better when trying to bend it into the top corner from just inside the box) and especially Mundle hitting the post. We always look capable of hurting them on the break and seemed very much in control. Second half I thought Jobe was superb in midfield, just gliding round finding the right space and the right pass when we had the ball, and the right block or squeeze when they did. Mundle was excellent, a real handful and gave them plenty to think about, Roberts the same. Mayenda worked hard but didn't get many chances. At the back as a unit we were much more solid, Mepham excellent, O'Nien solid, Cirkin class and Hume good. Patterson had nothing to do. A second goal would have made it much more comfortable, but in reality we were under pressure but never under the cosh. Overall I'm really happy with the result and it sets us up well for the rest of the season.
Really solid performance against a team that I’d expect to be in the playoff picture. Not a bad performance out there, but plenty of room to grow too. We’ve got a basis of players who we can trust completely. Next few weeks is about expanding that number if we can. Today wasn’t really the day for it. But the strength in our XI and the quality and promise just outside that group is incredibly encouraging.
