Middlesbrough 1 Sheffield Wednesday 0
Stuani 1
Middlesbrough hustled their way back to the top of the
Championship with a narrow victory over Sheffield Wednesday at the Riverside.
Cristhian Stuani scored the only goal of the game after just
44 seconds, when the Uruguayan striker arrived late in the box to tuck Stewart
Downing’s low cross beyond keeper Joe Wildsmith.
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| Stuani celebrates the only goal of the game (Picture from i.dailymail.co.uk/) |
Prior to the game, Wednesday manager Carlos Carvalhal
bemoaned the fact that his side had only had a one day break after their Boxing
Day win over Birmingham, while Boro’s scheduled game with Blackburn had been
postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.
The visitors may have started a little sluggish but by the
end they were firmly on top, and it was Boro who desperately hung on for a
valuable three points.
The Teessiders have now kept seven successive clean sheets
in the league and their defensive resilience was what eventually dragged them
over the line here.
Daniel Ayala and Ben Gibson continued their robust
partnership at the back, keeping Wednesday striker Lucas Joao on the cusp of
the action.
In front of them Grant Leadbitter and in particular Adam
Clayton made a series of tackles and clearances to propel Wednesday’s second
half ambush.
The shift in momentum was triggered by a tactical change
from Carvalhal at half time when he switched from a 4-5-1 formation to a more
offensive 4-4-2, introducing Daniel Pudil and Fernando Forestieri in the
process.
It was Pudil who came the closest to drawing the visitors
level with two second half headers, the first was saved by Dimi Konstantopulos
before Ayala nodded the second off the line minutes later.
Boro’s victory means that they move back ahead of Derby, who
had occupied the top sport on Boxing Day due to their victory over Fulham and
Boro’s postponed match at Blackburn. The Rams take on Leeds in today’s evening
kick-off before a top of the table clash with the Teessiders at the Riverside
on January 2.
Karanka’s side are now 5 points ahead of fourth place Hull
with a game in hand, after the Tigers suffered a shock defeat to Preston, and
five ahead of Brighton, who host Ipswich later today.
The Boro boss named an unchanged side to the one which
stunned Brighton in their last outing just over a week ago. Boro’s victory on
the South coast appears to have sparked real belief among their fans about a
potential top flight return.
A bumper crowd of 29,363 (1,912 from Wednesday) were present
for this encounter and they had barely taken their seats when Stuani drifted in
from the right hand side and raced ahead of defender Rhoys Wiggins, before converting Downing’s
inviting cross.
The hosts had raced out of the blocks with intensity and
drive and almost doubled their lead just seconds later. Emilio Nsue was set up
by Stuani on the right, before charging into the penalty area and firing a shot
inches over the bar, courtesy of a deflection off the backtracking Barry
Bannan.
On the other side George Friend was a constant outlet on the
left and almost set up Stuani for a second when the full back’s floating cross
was met by the head of the Uruguayan forward but was directed straight at Wildsmith.
Wednesday offered little going forward before the interval
but had enough discipline about them to keep Boro at bay. If there is one
criticism about Karanka’s side at the moment it is that they lack a cutting
edge to kill teams off and that almost came back to bite them here.
The visitors were a team transformed after the break but
still they couldn’t find a way through Boro’s defensive juggernaut which hasn’t
conceded a goal in 637 minutes of football.
The traveling fans were given a lift when Pudil and Forestieri
entered the fray. Wednesday’s best chance to draw level appeared to be from
corners through the accurate deliveries from Bannan.
Pudil’s header just after the hour mark was the closest they
came and caused Ayala to jump into his own cross bar to keep the ball out with
a goal line clearance.
Ayala could have secured the points minutes later when he
headed Leadbitter’s swinging free kick over the bar.
The hosts had more chances to seal the game on the counter
attack as Wednesday piled forward. Substitute Diego Fabbrini regularly found
space to run into in the middle of park, but couldn’t take advantage.
Carvalhal used his final substitution to bring on giant
Austrian striker Atdhe Nuhiu, but it was to no avail as Boro hung on to take
all three points and move back to the summit for a day at least.
Player Ratings
Dimi Konstantopulos
6- Didn’t have a much to do despite Wednesday’s strong second half
George Friend 7- Put
in some good deliveries from the left
Daniel Ayala 8- Kept
Joao quiet all game
Ben Gibson 7.5-
Stopped crosses coming into the penalty area
Emilio Nsue 6.5- Almost
made it 2-0 after just two minutes
Grant Leadbitter 7- Kept
things ticking in midfield
Adam Clayton 8- Averted
the danger again and again
Albert Adomah 6- Put
in a couple of crosses which came to little
Stewart Downing 6-
Found space hard to come by in the first half
Cristhian Stuani 7-
Made some intelligent runs into the box
Kike 6.5- Worked
hard upfront with little support
Subs
Diego Fabbrini 6-
Found space on the break but couldn’t exploit it
Tomas Kalas – Came on for the last 18 minutes, not enough
time to give a fair rating
Fernando Amorebieta- Came on for the last two minutes, not
enough time to give a fair rating
My Boro Man Of The Match: Daniel Ayala
