Pulis praises team’s gritty display as Boro seal win in Ram raid at Pride Park
DERBY ......................................................................1 MIDDLESBROUGH...........................................................2
WHEN Tony Pulis needed a monumental performance from his players they delivered it against Derby in a game Rams manager Gary Rowett described as a ‘ must win’ fixture.
A dramatic, frantic, at times chaotic, match on hostile territory requires a great ticker and Boro put in a lion-hearted performance.
As the game wore on it was clear which team possessed greater quality and it wasn’t the hosts.
Boro may have enjoyed a slice of luck when Derby were denied what looked a plausible penalty in the first half.
But once the visitors scored, the results rarely looked in doubt.
This isn’t yet a vintage Boro team but, like a fine wine, it’s threatening to mature at exactly the right time.
Understandably, with what was at stake, the opening quarter of an hour was played at a furious pace and in a ear-splitting cup tie atmosphere.
Both sets of fans were in great voice before and after the kick-off and the fired up players responded by ripping into tackles from the get In fact, the referee was reaching for his note book after just 10 seconds following foul by Adam Clayton. There was precious little quality on display in the early exchanges, just a furious desire to gain the initiative. Derby created the first chance with Bradley Johnson shooting over after the Boro defence headed a third minute Craig Forsyth freekick to the edge of the box.
The hosts had an even better chance to open the scoring in the sixth minute when Tom Lawrence’s left-wing corner dropped nicely at the far post for the stooping Johnson, who couldn’t keep his header on target on the edge of the six-yard box.
Adama Traore’s first major impact came two minute later when he broke down the right and delivered a cross that Mo Besic picked up but the Bosnian’s shot w was deflected away from goal.
Seconds later, Dani Ayala flicked a George Friend throw into the h heart of the Rams box but Traore’s a attempted header lacked pace and w was easily saved.
Just before the quarter hour mark, Besic broke forward from his own half deep into Derby territory but none of his team-mates offered support and his eventual shot lacked accuracy.
The first-half turned on two incid dents in the space of three manic minutes, starting with what looked like a genuine penalty shout from D Derby.
In the 18 minute, Matej Vydra chased a well-directed diagonal pass and, as he edged ahead of the trailing Friend, appeared to be dragged back by the Boro defender inside the box.
Referee Lee Probert ignored the pleas from the home players and outraged supporters and waved play on.
Then, in the 20 minute, Traore did what he does best and turned a seemingly impossible situation into a goalscoring opportunity.
Near the right touchline midway inside the Derby half he rode a tackle from Forsyth that he was 40-60 against winning at best. The Spaniard then raced to the by-line and floated in a cross that Besic picked up and then, exploiting the space afforded him inside the box by the lax defenders, dragged the ball onto his right foot and rifled in a powerful shot that keeper Scott Carson could only palm into his own net.
The goal silenced the home fans and sent the Middlesbrough supporters into a dreamland.
Tony Pulis was no doubt delighted that his team were ahead but he was incensed by the treatment Traore received from the Derby defenders as the half progressed.
Dressed for the balmy weather in a t-shirt, tracksuit bottoms and trademark cap, he was even more angry and frustrated when Traore was cautioned for an innocuous foul after being the victim of several hefty tackles.
It’s fair to say fourth official David Code was ‘consulted’ by the Boro coaches on more than a few occasions in the first half.
Stunned by the goal, Derby finally pulled themselves together and managed to test Darren Randolph in the 35 minute when the keeper did well to dive low to his right to push away a sizzling long-range effort from Lawrence.
A one-goal lead is a slender cushion and it requires strong characters to weather any potential storm.
They managed to see off the Derby challenge because, from front to back, players like Ayala, Besic, Clayton and Traore stood up to be counted.
The opening stages of the second half were a great deal less frantic than the first with both sides presumably well aware that the next goal could prove critical.
The first opening didn’t come until the 51 minute when David Nugent picked up a defencesplitting through ball but, from a tight-angle to the right of goal, fired into the side netting.
Boro engineered a chance four minutes later with Friend heading a S t e w a r t D o w n i n g corner over the bar. Soon after, Randolph needed two attempts to claim a low Marcus Olsson drive that he could only parry first time around. Then, on the hour mark, Traore exploded forward and, after exploiting a lucky deflection, fed Jonny Howson who let loose a dipping shot that grazed the Derby crossbar. Seconds later, Besic failed to keep a shot from a promising position on target. Rowett was clearly not happy with his side’s lack of a cutting edge and, in the 62 minute, made a double substitution, replacing Riverside hattrick scorer Vydra and Olsson with Andreas Weimann and Kasey Palmer. But it was Boro who scored next. There was a curious atmosphere in the stadium as the game approached the 70 minute. Boro were clearly the better side but Derby, like a wounded animal, remained dangerous until the visitors scored a second. Howson played a well-weighted ball into the path of Traore who slotted a superb low pass to the unmarked Assombalonga and the striker paid off another chunk of his record £15m transfer fee by taking one touch, dropping a shoulder to wrongfoot the keeper and then stroking a shot into the net from close range.
Once the 3,000-plus Boro fans had finished celebrating, they struck up a deafening chorus of ‘Derby County, it’s happening again’. That was in reference to the Rams’ recent habit of blowing a brilliant chance to win promotion or a play-off place.
There were more chances at both ends as the game drew to close. Lawrence had a powerful shot tipped over by Randolph in the 82 minute and, at the other end, Howson fired wide two minutes later.
Just when you thought it was game set and match, Derby were awarded a late lifeline when Ayala was adjudged to have fouled Curtis Davis inside the penalty area.
Former Boro striker Nugent stepped up to take the kick and, two minutes into stoppage time, he converted the penalty.
But it was too little too late and it was Middlesbrough who took all three priceless points to open up a four point gap on the Rams, who have a game in hand.