BRISTOL CITY ................................................................ 2 Boro failing to get their money’s worth
IT’S a vibrant city famous for art and being the birthplace of Banksy.
But there was no artistic flair on show from Boro at Bristol City. It was another ugly splodge on a season that has failed to get going.
Garry Monk’s side made the same mistakes as they did against Derby. They made the same mistakes they have been making all season.
Now, 20 games in, big questions have to be asked of the Championship’s most expensively assembled side.
There seems to be a mental weakness about this Boro squad. The statistics don’t lie – they have lost seven of their 11 games in which they’ve fallen behind first.
They are six points of the play-off places. They are 14 points off their pre-season objective, and their rivals are almost out of sight.
After Boro’s last visit to Ashton Gate, a 1-0 defeat in January 2016, Aitor Karanka went on to claim he “didn’t have the right players” to reverse the team’s league slide.
Thankfully, chairman Steve Gibson answered his call in the transfer window – and the rest was history.
But the most painful thing about this Boro side is that they clearly do have the players. Monk can have precious few excuses for the performances of this squad, assembled at a cost of more than £40m.
At the moment, Boro look weak. They look vulnerable – and fans are sick of it.
Heading into the game, Boro had won all seven of their league matches in which they’d struck first, but won just one of 10 after falling behind – so it came as little surprise that the opening 45 minutes was cat-and-mouse stuff.
Bristol City, eyeing a fifth consecutive victory over Boro, hoped to catch Garry Monk’s side on the counter attack but that was only possible if the visitors themselves attacked.
Boro did at times, especially in the opening 10 minutes as Adam Forshaw nipped in front of his man and fed Martin Braithwaite, and his smart throughball to Britt Assombalonga brought moments of optimism for the travelling faithful.
But Boro’s record signing, hoping to become the first Championship player to score in five consecutive away games since Rudy Gestede in his Blackburn days, snatched at the effort and blazed the ball harmlessly over Frank Fielding’s post.
Stewart Downing looked to have the better of left-back Hordur Magnusson, while Fabio was lively on the overlap beyond Adama Traore – one of three changes made by Garry Monk to wash away the pain of last weekend’s drab Derby result.
It was Traore’s first league start since the draw with Brentford on September 30, but it was a case of déjà vu as he darted inside promisingly before lashing wide.
Also coming into the side was Dael Fry, replacing the suspended Daniel Ayala, while Jonny Howson was restored into the centre of midfield after serving a ban of his own. But as the first half progressed. Bobby Reid, who is toe to toe with Assombalonga in the Championship goalscoring charts, played on the shoulder of Fry and Ben Gibson and his presence made for an uncomfortable half for Boro’s homegrown centre-back pairing.
It took 22 minutes for goalkeeper Darren Randolph to be forced into action as he got down low to divert Joe Bryan’s menacing cross-turned-shot away from goal, before Marlon Pack’s low effort was flicked towards goal by Nathan Baker – but Assombalonga was in the right place to hack clear off the line.
That was as much goalmouth incident as the crowd inside Ashton Gate were treated to, and Garry Monk’s frustration will have been his side’s inability to sustain their early control.
You could see the confidence almost sap out of Monk’s men as they conceded just six minutes after the restart, and it was avoidable. So horribly avoidable.
Howson’s pass in midfield was off target and the ball quickly broke to rightback Bailey Wright, and the Robins’ skipper delivered an inch-perfect cross towards the back post for the unmarked Bryan to gratefully add the finishing touch.
It was simple – another mistake to add to a catalogue of them this season.
As Ashton Gate rose to its feet, Boro’s heads dropped – almost visibly – and four minutes later the game was put to bed.
It was almost an identical goal from exactly the same area of the pitch – and another that will leave Monk exasperated, conceding from their own free-kick.
Possession was squandered, centreback Aden Flint received the ball on the right and his deep cross found Jamie Paterson in acres of space, 10 yards out.
Randolph could do little as he threw his arms up in the air, moments after the ball had been bulleted past him. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Neither could the Boro fans.
On came Rudy Gestede, having recovered from the thigh injury that has sidelined him since August, as Monk ripped his Plan A to pieces. He partnered Assombalonga in an orthodox 4-4-2, while Marvin Johnson was next to enter the fray.
Boro somehow managed to get themselves back into the game and find hope from a position of seeming inevitability.
This time they had a helping hand, Bristol City defender Magnusson diverting a ball in from the left past his own goalkeeper with 15 minutes to go.
The 981 away fans behind Randolph’s goal could barely believe it – Boro finding a route back into a game that had looked done and dusted.
From there, Monk brought on Patrick Bamford – perhaps unfortunate not to start the game given his recent displays off the bench, with defender Fabio sacrificed.
Was there a game plan? Loosely during a frantic finale, with Gestede and Assombalonga operating centrally, Bamford just in behind them with Traore and Johnson on the flanks.
Bamford almost created something immediately after his introduction too, highlighting his craft and guile by spotting a defence-splitting pass that narrowly evaded Assombalonga.
But it was in vain. Boro didn’t deserve a point – and ultimately got what they deserved.
To be 14 points adrift of the pre-season objective after 20 games is a damning indictment of this Boro side.
They look weak. They look vulnerable – and fans are sick of it.