Boro Outclassed By Tottenham As Slow Start Costs Them

Middlesbrough   1    Tottenham   2

                                              Gibson 67                                          Son 7 23

Boro suffered their third defeat in a row after they were outplayed by an in form Tottenham at the Riverside.

First half goals from Son Heung-min resulted in another disappointing afternoon for Aitor Karnaka’s side on home turf, and despite improving after the break Boro were unable to savage anything from the game.

Ben Gibson’s header on 67 minutes gave Boro revived hope, as did the introduction of Adama Traore off the bench, however the host’s sluggish start which ultimately cost them.

"It's frustrating for me to work for seven days to try to show them (the players) how Tottenham play and how good they are if we let them play, then we go on the pitch and seven minutes later we are losing 1-0,” said Karanka after the game.

"These mistakes were made last week and the week before, but the worst and most frustrating thing for me was the attitude, especially in the first half because in the second half we were completely different,” he added.

Tottenham weren’t hampered by an injury to last season’s top scorer Harry Kane, and in his absence Son, who scored just four goals for Spurs in the league last campaign, justified his place.

After just seven minutes the South Korean international had given his side the lead, after playing a neat one-two with Vincent Janssen, before jinking away from Adam Clayton and Calum Chambers, and slotting the ball past Boro goalkeeper Victor Valdes.

Karanka made three changes to the side which lost 3-1 at Everton the previous week, as Adam Clayton and Christian Stuani returned to the side.

Chambers also came into the side to make his debut while Daniel Ayala, Adam Forshaw and Emilio Nsue dropped to the bench.

Even so, Boro continued to struggle against a rampant Spurs side, who doubled their lead after 22 minutes and this time it was a cracker.

Son probably should have been dispossessed while twisting and turning with the ball inside the Boro penalty area. However, after wriggling away from first Antonio Barragan, then Stuani, he brilliantly curled a stunning effort into to the far corner which left Valdes stranded.

The visitors should have moved further ahead but Dele Alli could only scoop a close range effort over the bar after Chambers was caught in possession.

Karanka made a double substitution on 58 minutes when Traore and Jordan Rhodes replaced Gaston Ramirez and Alvaro Negredo, who had been isolated upfront for most of the game.

Traore’s willingness to run at players reinvigorated the crowd and the match as a contest.

Tottenham’s lead was halved when Gibson climbed above Victor Wanyama to head the ball beyond Spurs keeper Hugo Lloris from Downing’s free kick.

Boro threatened again when another Downing cross was nodded towards goal by Rhodes but Lloris had positioned himself well.

Spurs was always going to be another difficult test for Karanka’s side, however Boro will have to start picking up more points at home if they are to stay clear from the bottom three.