Stewart Downing raised a few eyebrows when he dropped down a
division to return to his home town club. His transfer from West Ham to
Middlesbrough was viewed by many as one of the deals of the window and this
afternoon he showed just why.
A swish of his iconic left foot proved the difference as
Boro moved up to third in the table after beating newly promoted MK Dons by two
goals to nil. Little over 70 minutes had passed when Downing eventually broke
the deadlock with a rare moment of quality. Once the visitors defence had
finally been breached David Nugent added a second to avert a potentially
frustrating afternoon.
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| Stewart Downing celebrates his first goal since his return to Boro |
Boro may have monopolised possession but created few clear
cut chances, at times their passing appeared pedestrian and ponderous as the
visitors sat deep while trying to startle on the counter attack.
Things could have been different if Dons substitute Simon
Church’s deft chip over Boro keeper Dimi Konstantopulos had found the back of
the net rather than the inside of the post. With the game still locked
at 0-0 it could have drastically altered the outcome.
Just as Bristol City did a couple of weeks ago The Dons’ defended
in numbers and were set up to frustrate, it is becoming something of a theme
when teams visit the Riverside. A point away from home would have a welcomed
reward for Carl Robinson’s side and that was made clear by the way keeper David
Martin wasted time at every opportunity.
In the end it took a moment of brilliance from Downing to
bail Boro out and manager Aitor Karanka admitted his side “had to be patient”
for the victory.
“I told them at half time it would be difficult because they
were organised and we had to have passion and confidence. People could have
been nervous with the way it was going and I told them to keep calm and play
the way we could play and we could score goals.” Said the Boro boss.
“We will have more games like today but we have good players
and we can play the same way we did against Sheffield and Bolton. We have a
strong group and we know each game will be difficult.”
Karanka’s team selection showed two changes from the side
which beat Sheffield Wednesday before the international break. Nugent replaced
Kike as the lone striker in Boro’s trademark 4-2-3-1 formation while Tomas
Kalas came in for Emilio Nsue. Albert Adomah didn’t even make the bench.
Dons also made two alterations from their last match, a 2-0
defeat to Birmingham as Daniel Powell and Josh Murphy started in place of Darren
Potter and Rob Hall.
In the first ever meeting between the two sides, Boro knew
they had to try and strike early to prevent the visitors from settling. With just
four minutes gone Grant Leadbitter slipped a forward pass through to George
Friend whose shot was saved by Martin; however the full back had stayed offside
meaning a goal wouldn’t have counted.
Ten minutes later the Dons keeper was forced into making a legitimate
save when Downing’s cross from right to left picked out Reach in the box. With
defenders closing in on him the Boro winger had to act quickly to execute any
type of shot, in the end he made a decent connection but his effort was a comfortable
height for the keeper.
Martin was kept busy as he tipped Leadbitter’s fizzing shot
wide of the post before making a low save at his near post to deny Adam Reach.
Boro also went close when a diverse corner was swung out to the edge of the box
before being hooked back towards goal; however the Dons defence withheld the
pressure.
Karanka was forced to make an early change after half time
when Ben Gibson made way with an injury and was replaced by Fernando Amorebieta.
At that point the home fans could have been forgiven for thinking it was going
to be one of those days, after an opening 45 minutes where the passing had been
slow and often directed sideways.
On 58 minutes the unthinkable almost happened. Boro’s
defence was caught napping and Church was suddenly released through on goal,
but with just the keeper to beat he chipped the ball onto the post to let the
hosts off the hook.
Karanka introduced Uruguayan forward Christain Stuani to
Boro’s attack and he nearly made an immediate impact when he flicked Downing’s
corner inches over the cross bar.
After 70 anxious minutes the break through finally came.
With space to run into, Downing defiantly charged down the right before cutting
inside onto his prized left foot. His curling shot nestled into the far corner
leaving Martin no chance, minutes later the chants of “Stewart Downing he’s one
of our own” echoed around the Riverside.
Now chasing the game, Dons quickly increased their tempo and
that left gaps at the back. Nugent had roamed around with little success but
capitalised on an error from Dons defender Kyle Mcfadzean who gave away
possession. When the ball was played back towards goal, Nugent swiftly advanced
to a one v one showdown against the keeper and slotted the ball home to mark
his first Boro goal.
Player Ratings
Dimi Konstantopulos
6- Only had a couple of routine saves to make
George Friend 6- Got
forward to support attack but often lacked an end product
Daniel Ayala 6- Wasn’t
asked too many questions at the back
Ben Gibson 6- Came
off after half time with an injury
Tomas Kalas 6.5- Put a
few decent crosses into the box which lacked a good finish
Grant Leadbitter 6.5-
Gave a couple of passes away early on but improved as the match went on
Adam Clayton 6-
Almost got caught out in his own half a couple of times but kept battling in
midfield
Adam Reach 6- Had a
few efforts but often had a number of defenders for company
Stewart Downing 7.5-
Looked like the player who could make something happen and did with a great
goal
Diego Fabbrini 6-
Got into some good area but was usually surrounded by defenders
David Nugent 6- Persisted
around the penalty area and eventually got his goal
Subs
Fernando Amorebieta
6- Replaced Gibson in the second half
Christian Stuani 6-
Almost scored with one of his first touches
Adam Forshaw – Only on for the last 7 minutes can’t give a
fair rating
My Boro Man Of The Match: Stewart Downing
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