BRILLIANT BORO GIVE BOLTON THE BRUSH OFF
ALL OVER: Kike scores Middlesbrough’s third, his second, against Bolton
ANGUISHED Neil Lennon accused his players of failing to put up a fight after pitiful Bolton were obliterated at the Riverside.
A brace from Spanish striker Kike and a thunderbolt from star man Diego Fabbrini saw a one-sided contest wrapped up by half-time.
Yet Boro missed enough chances to hit double figures as the lacklustre Trotters meekly submitted and, while admitting to tactical errors, Lennon was less than impressed with the efforts of his men.
“I take responsibility for the first half,” said the former Celtic boss, who was forced into a late change to 3-5-2 after Gary Madine was injured on Saturday morning.
“I picked the team. I set the formation. And it obviously didn’t work.The players didn’t get to grips with it and we let Middlesbrough dictate and dominate the game.
“But while I take the blame, I still expect my players to compete and press. They didn’t get their distances right. They were off the pace, physically as well.
“When you come away from home, especially to a good side like Middlesbrough, you have to fight. You have to compete. We didn’t do that well enough.”
Bolton weren’t just beaten. They were annihilated. Humiliated. Embarassed. Had Boro scored seven or eight, the Trotters would still have gotten off lightly.
As the home side poured forward, the exclamations in the press box were telling.“This is embarsssing, isn’t it?” said one local hack with a sad shake of the head.
“Charge of the bloody Light Brigade,” was his Bolton counterpart’s response to yet another Boro overload – an observation marred only by the fact that the Britsh cavalry faced some resistance.
Bolton had no cannons to volley or thunder. They didn’t even have shape or discipline. Full-backs Dean Moxey and Josh Vela were more charitable than Oxfam, allowing Stewart Downing and Albert Adomah the freedom of the flanks. A three-man backline had more gaps than Ken Dodd’s teeth.
In the centre, Boro playmaker Fabbrini ran riot, starting the party with a fearsome 25-yard bullet that rocketed into the top corner.
Ten minutes later, the Italian evaded Jay Spearing’s weak chal-