Middlesbrough 0 Bristol City 1
Bryan 8
It's a result which few will have expected but many Boro fans will
have feared. Bristol City had never lost at the Riverside in their four previous
league visits and that didn’t change in today’s 3 o’clock kick off.
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| Boro's Daniel Ayala and Bristol City's Bobby Reid |
Boro were many people’s favourites for promotion before the
season began and hadn’t lost coming into the fourth match of the new campaign. In
contrast newly promoted City had picked up just one point out of a possible
nine. But on this occasion the Championship’s old cliché “anyone can beat
anyone” summed up proceedings perfectly.
City had a game plan and stuck to it with all they could muster;
their organised and well drilled 5-3-2 formation worked a treat to earn them a
1-0 victory and a valuable three points.
Boro will know this was an opportunity missed and results
like this can’t be a regular occurrence especially at the Riverside. After
falling behind to Joe Bryan’s goal the hosts spent the majority of the second
half camped inside their opponent’s half but after 8 shots on target, 8 corners
and an afternoon full of frustration, City’s lead remained intact.
Prior to kick off Aitor Karanka made four changes from the
side which drew 1-1 at Derby in mid-week and many eyebrows will have been
raised when the likes of Kike, Diego Fabbrini, Albert Adomah and Ben Gibson
were named on the bench.
In their absence David Nugent made his first league start as
the lone striker while Yanic Wildchut started on the left and Christian Stuani
on the right. That meant Stewart Downing was moved into the number 10 position
behind the striker, while Emilio Nsue came in at right back and Tomas Kalas was
shifted to centre half.
In contrast City manager Steve Cotterill made just two
changes from the side which drew 1-1 with Leeds in midweek, former Boro right
back Ryan Fredericks dropped to the bench with Callum Robinson as Mark Little
and Bobby Reid replaced them.
At times the visitors rode their luck and by the end their
attacking prowess had sunk deep inside their own half of the pitch. Even so
this wasn’t simply a case of “parking the bus”. They began with energy and
applied pressure from the off, the only goal of the game was a neat move oozing
with craft and slick passing.
It came on eight minutes down the visitor’s left when
midfielder Bobby Reid set up set up Bryan inside the penalty area before the
full back curled a right footed shot into the top corner past Boro keeper Dimi
Konstantopulos.
Karanka’s changes will no doubt be questioned and the
balance of the team appeared a little disjointed. It wasn’t the first time
Kalas looked out of position at centre back and the Czech defender looks a lot more
stable on the right side. On the left Stuani lacked the qualities of an out and
out winger and looks more suited down the middle.
Nevertheless things could have been different if they had
drawn level minutes after falling behind. The majority of the 22,236 inside the
Riverside thought they had when George Friend nodded a corner into the path of
Downing who struck the ball past keeper Ben Hammer, however the goal was chalked
off for an foul inside the penalty area.
Moments later Daniel Ayala went close for the hosts but his
long range effort was deflected wide, however the two best chances of the half
both fell to City. After 16 minutes Jonathan Kodjia escaped the clutches of
Boro’s often tight defence and teed up Bryan who fired straight at
Konstantopulos, the ball quickly spun to the feet of Reid who fired over the
bar from close range.
After half an hour Kodjia took on a chance of his own as
Konstantopulos was forced into another save, Boro’s best efforts came when
Downing fired a low shot wide before Nsue tested Hammer with another long range
effort.
The City keeper would play a crucial role for the visitors
after half time, as Boro piled forward for an equaliser. Just before the hour
mark he made a hat-trick of saves first stopping Nsue’s low cross before making
a point blank save to deny Stuani who connected with Downing’s cross.
The best of the bunch came soon after when Downing picked
out Ayala at the back post however his towering header was scrambled out by
Hammer who had scurried across goal to make an impressive save.
Fabbrini, Adomah and Kike were all introduced as second half
substitutes but the game was beginning to have an inevitable feel to it. No
matter what Boro tried the ball just would go in, they came close again when
Leadbitter’s shot deflected into Nugent’s path but his effort trickled wide.
Player Ratings
Dimi Konstantopulos
7- Made some decent saves to keep the score at 1-0
Emilio Nsue 6- Tried
to create extra an option from right back
Tomas Kalas 5-
Looked uncomfortable at centre back
Daniel Ayala 6.5-
Has asserted himself as Boro’s best defender
George Friend 6.5- Got
forward and back from left back
Adam Clayton 6- Had
to drop back as more offensive players piled forward late in the game
Grant Leadbitter 5.5-
Made a few loose passes
Yanic Wildchut 6-
Got into some good positions but final delivery let him down
Stewart Downing 7-
Looked like the player who might make something happen with some decent crosses
Christian Stuani 5.5-
Struggled out of position on the right
David Nugent 5.5-
Still looked a little off the pace on first start
Subs
Diego Fabbrini 6- Couldn’t
find enough space on the edge of the box
Albert Adomah 6- Got
into some good positions but crossing wasn’t its best
Kike 6- Came on with
15 minutes to go, surprising that he didn’t start
My Boro Man Of The Match: Dimi Konstantopulos
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