Boro’s conservative approach keeps high-flying Reading at bay
Neil Warnock wasn’t expecting a pretty game when his Middlesbrough side faced an in-form Reading team at the Riverside - and he was right.
The final statistics show there was just one shot on target during this Championship encounter, yet Boro managed to do something which Watford, Cardiff, Derby and Barnsley haven’t managed this season - stop the Royals taking all three points.
Boro’s organisation and discipline will have pleased Warnock, whose side have now gone four games unbeaten in the league, even if three of those were draws.
The Teessiders are building a reputation as a team who are tough to beat and won’t roll overeasily. That wasn’tthecase last season. Warnock switched his formation against Reading, changing from 3-5-2 to 4-3-3 to match the visitors up.
Playing with a back three had given Boro extra security in defence, yet the Teessiders looked just as solid after changing their shape.
Centre-back duo Dael Fry and Paddy McNair hardly put a foot wrong as Reading striker Lucas Joao was kept under wraps all afternoon.
McNair was still able to step out from the back and deliver some inviting crosses into the box, yet the match stayed level.
Anfernee Dijksteel moved seamlessly to right-back, while Marc Bola justified his selection for the second game running, performing well against Reading’s powerful winger Ya
kou Meite.
Dijksteel and Bola didn’t look ready for the Championship after joining Boro just over a year ago and the latter was loaned back out to Blackpool in League One.
Boro’s midfield trio of Sam Morsy, Jonny Howson and George Saville also played a big part as Warnock’s men recorded their first clean sheet of the season.
The Teessiders were tenacious and robust in the engine room, even though Reading saw more of the ball.
Yet despite the visitors’ possession stats and an Ovie Ejaria shot which whistled just past the post, Boro keeper Marcus Bettinelli had just one save to make.
Some may feel Warnock could have released the handbrake a little in the second half, especially with Patrick Roberts sitting on the bench.
Perhaps the Manchester Cityloaneecouldhavereplaced Marcus Taverner on the right, yet Warnock felt his side could be vulnerable on the counter attack. In contrast, you never felt Boro had that burst of energy on the break, with Chuba Akpom often isolated up front in the second half.
Roberts could have also come on for Britt Assombalonga, who started on the left, yet that move had already been made after the Boro captain was cautiously replaced by Marvin Johnson at half-time.
Assombalonga was feeling a little fatigued in the first half, with Warnock not prepared to risk him ahead of next week’s games against Bristol City and Cardiff. Yet Boro’s conservative approach probably wouldn’t have been questioned if Jonny Howson’s disallowed goal had stood in the second half.
Thedecisionwasincredibly tight, yet Boro's analyst team at the top of the West Stand who'd watched the replays reported Howson was onside.
Warnock called the decision a travesty after the match – he knew how precious three points would have been after a dogged display.