PHEW! One half heroes Boro made hard work of a game that should have been wrapped up within the first 20 minutes. Blistering pace going forward, incisive movement and some crisp passing along the deck - plus some sublime pin-point long balls over the top of onto team-mates toes - saw Boro scythe through wobbling Wigan at will. It was brilliant.
Downing should have scored. Tuncay should have scored. Aliadiere should have scored. In fact, had the goal been a smidgeon wider it could have been a massacre as a season's worth of chances threatened to bludgeon Wigan into a pathetic twitching Brambletastic mess of relegation debris. Boro should have been out of sight before "the French forager" bagged his first Riverside goal. Those convinced that one day soon Boro would give someone a right spanking must have thought their time had come.
Yet the the second half was a long drawn out chaotic scrap played mainly in the Boro half, a war of attrition marked by tetchy fouls, some desperate last ditch defending and a top drawer save from much maligned Mark Schwarzer. In the end battling Boro were lucky to hang on to three precious points.
In the opening spell Boro were awesome. Some of the textbook close passing triangles were a pleasure to behold. The irrepressible front pairing of Aliadiere and Tuncay were impossible to mark as they dipped deep then surged forward supported by a Stewart Downing unphased by speculation and fit again human Tasmanian Devil Gary O'Neil. The killer ball threaded through by Rochemback and Arca and a string of perfectly weighted long passes were breathtaking for their vision and accuracy. Boro looked like the attacking football that the boss has been edgeing towards would overwhelm the visitors - then suddenly they were hanging on for dear life.
The point at which the game swung from one sided romp and potential battering to backs to the wall scrap was the moment that Tuncay limped off clutching his hamstring. Up to then he had ravaged Wigan, ripping the defence open with his movement and deft touches and audacious interplay with Aliadiere and charging down the visitors back line forcing mistakes and constantly giving Boro an outlet as they played it from the rear.
The introduction of heavyweight hitman Mido forced Boro to change their style and let relieved Wigan wriggle off the hook. Mido won plenty of headers and held the ball up well - but the fact that he was doing that illustrated the change. There were fewer quick balls to feet and more pumped forward in the air and with the best will in the world Mido is well short of the fitness levels needed to chase lost causes, close down defences and make the runs that leave the opposition trailing in his wake to be available for a quick break forward. And with that pressure relieved it gave Wigan the time and space to build from the back and start.
Possibly Adam Johnson and a switch to three up front would have kept the tempo and movement up and kept Wigan on the rack but we held on so no harm done and Mido will have benefited from the hour's pitch-time. Some observations:
Stewy Downing played like a man with a point to prove. His energy, workrate, threat up front and a telling ball forward for the goal will have helped his local damage limitation exercise. Nothing is surer than that a poor game would have prompted a torrent of abuse from those angry with his agent, his contract cage-rattling and his switch from red boots to white. He was given generous support from the crowd with the first chorus of "Stewy Downing on teh wing" after only three minutes. Good. Being booed would not have helped his case with Fabio Capello. You don't need an interpreter for that.
Capello would be more likely to have scribbled down the name of Luke Young. After a sticky start he has been brilliant over the past two months or so and is not only an accomplished and calm defender but is also at the heart of much of Boro's attacking play. Bar one slip his first half display was a master-class and it is hard to believe that there is a better English right back in the Premiership right now.
Afonso Alves was watching the game and would have fancied himself to get a hat-trick!
Robert Huth was magnificent again. The Berlin Wall headed away a barrage of high balls, ordered the defence around with authority and poise and was alert enough to cover for a few uncharacteristic dropped blobs by local hero David Wheater (a missed header and the odd failure to spot a run). He is nails. Give him the armband.
How did the ref (Rob Stiles natch) miss Sibierski's petulent kick at Huth from ten yards? And if he did, why did the linesman not flag immediately to draw his attention to it? I don't mind it when the ref lets a few hefty tackles go to keep the game flowing but that was ridiculous. At a time when the game threatened to boil over to miss such an explosive incident was unforgiveable.
The result was massive and clawed Boro five points clear of the drop zone while plunging Wigan right back into it. With home games against Fulham, Reading and Derby coming up too it is a great platform for Boro to take their fate in their own hands. And a win at pressure cooker club Newcastle on Sunday would put the cat among the pigeons too.
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