Middlesbrough’s 3-3 draw with Sheffield Wednesday.
Middlesbrough, on paper, are a strong Championship team that should be further up the league. Their Boxing Day draw with Sheffield Wednesday demonstrated why they are not, as they continued their season-long record of failing to win games they should have. Even by their standards, their second consecutive 3-3 tie was extremely impressive.
Boro led 3-0 at halftime and looked as comfortable and confident as they had all season, thanks to an early strike from Ben Doak and a brace from Finn Azaz.
Boro’s lead was wiped out within 16 minutes of the resumption, when they were reduced to ten men after Rav van den Berg was sent off and custodian Sol Brynn suffered a shoulder injury. What appeared to be three points at halftime was reduced to one as Boro’s fragile underbelly was exposed once more.
Michael Carrick made three changes to the team that drew with Plymouth Argyle in their penultimate game before Christmas. Dael Fry and Dan Barlaser were obliged to replace George Edmundson and Jonny Howson, who were sidelined due to injuries. The third change saw Delano Burgzorg replace Riley McGree, who had made an impact off the bench in the 3-3 tie.
Another key decision was to keep Tommy Conway in the starting lineup over Emmanuel Latte Lath, despite the fact that the Ivorian had scored twice in the previous two games.
Conway was only able to last eight minutes, but that was enough time to have an effect. Running over the shoulder of the final defender, as he does so well, he couldn’t quite find Doak at the back post, but he did maintain possession from the wide area, enabling Azaz the opportunity to set Doak up to open the score within five minutes.
With January coming approaching the corner, Latte Lath made his debut earlier than expected. He replaced an injured Conway and contributed to Boro’s next two goals as they took a three-goal lead into halftime.
The first saw Boro carefully hold possession of the ball until Neto Borges took up a strong central position. Latte Lath made a fake run out wide, allowing Azaz in the middle to receive the ball and finish in the bottom corner from just inside the box.
With only 15 minutes gone, Boro extended their lead, and the game settled. Sheffield Wednesday provided little attacking threat, but they did manage to take the sting out of Boro’s scorching start, which was much welcomed by the sold-out Riverside crowd.
Boro have previously been guilty of taking early leads and becoming so controlling in a game that they slip into a sort of coast mode, allowing the opposition to enter the game. Boro scored their third just as the visitors were getting into the game. This time, Latte Lath sent a beautiful flick into Azaz’s foot with his back to goal.
He spread to Doak, but beat him to the byline before cutting back. Hayden Hackney, the captain for the day, had his shot blocked, but it looped up well for Azaz, who fired home with a brilliant flick from close range.
Boro returned to their ruthless best in this game after struggling to establish their rhythm in the previous two. Azaz’s 30 minutes were excellent, as he added two goals and an assist to his season totals, which now stand at eight goals and nine assists. Despite being down 3-0, Sheffield Wednesday still had fight in them.
Before the break, Josh Windass headed wide from a corner that was deflected on to him at the front post. Former Boro player Marvin Johnson also hit a long-range half-volley narrowly wide, but it was an otherwise pleasant first half, marred only by Conway’s early injury.
Within 15 shambolic minutes, Boro’s dominating advantage was totally wiped out. Danny Rohl, the manager, inspired it with a double change at the break. It rewarded off inside two minutes, as replacement Svante Ingelsson converted a Shea Charles cross with Boro caught on the counter. Anfernee Dijksteel could only divert the ball into his own net. Boro had just been in the other box, and Latte Lath chose to play alone rather than in an unmarked Doak, a mistake that would prove costly as Boro unravelled.
Windass scored in fortunate circumstances to make it 3-2 after 54 minutes. Hackney’s lines were held up by Ingelsson, preventing him from clearing them. Dijksteel deflected Djeidi Gassama’s cross onto Windass, who advanced beyond Brynn at the front post. And things immediately got worse for Boro.
Only one minute later, they were reduced to ten men. Rav van den Berg, who had been booked in the first half, was beaten down the channel by Gassama, and when he caught him as he sought to go around, Anthony Blackhouse had little choice but to show the second yellow card and send the young Dutchman off. Moments later, when making a fantastic double save to deny the Owls an equaliser, Brynn hurt his shoulder and was replaced by Tom Glover.
The Australian goalkeeper’s first action of the season was to take the ball out of his own net on 61 minutes, as the subsequent corner after Brynn’s stop saw Yan Valery flick past him from the front post. Boro had utterly wasted a dominating position in 16 shambolic second-half minutes, and they would have 30 more with a man advantage to hold on.
Boro, although being down a man, did at least resettle after the third. The visitors had the advantage as they searched for a winner. However, Boro managed to regain control of the situation before resuming an aggressive threat on the counter. Isaiah Jones replaced Doak, primarily for defensive purposes, but nearly broke through on goal before his effort from just outside was saved.
Boro eventually crossed the line despite being down to ten men, earning a point in a game that should have been three as they raced up by three goals. It was a game that embodied Boro’s main problem this season. With so much talent to surge into a three-goal lead, their porous underbelly created the cataclysmic 15-minute second half spell that resulted in them losing two points rather than gaining one.
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