HERO WING PUTS POTTERS IN PERIL
JONATHAN Woodgate hailed Lewis Wing’s shooting prowess after the Boro midfielder came off the bench to fire his side to victory over Stoke.
Wing came on to the field moments after Ashley Fletcher had equalised for the Teessiders, cancelling out Sam Clucas’ opener for the visitors.
The former Northern League player has developed a reputation for scoring long-range goals, and he was at it again to extend Boro’s winning run at the Riverside to three matches as they moved six points clear of the Championship relegation zone.
After picking up the ball at the heart of midfield, he drove towards the Stoke penalty area before drilling a superb finish into the bottom left-hand corner.
Woodgate said: “I was to-ing and fro-ing whether to put Wing in. In training yesterday, he smashed one or two like that in. But I thought I’d go with the experience of Adam Clayton, because of the young players that were playing.
“Lewis has got that in his locker though. He can hit balls constantly, but it’s about doing it on the big stage. It’s about transferring that from training pitch on to stadium packed full of punters.
“I thought he was good when he came on, and I want my players to be disappointed when they’re left out, I want them to be grumpy. I thought he responded really well, that’s what I want.
“The first 45 minutes weren’t great, I needed more from the players, they knew that. But I changed formation in the second half and we were miles better.”
The two sides were among the five lowest scorers in the Championship before kick-off, and it was initially not hard to see why given their lack of creativity in the opening half.
It took 22 minutes for the first shot on goal as the defences dominated throughout the first period.
Stoke broke the deadlock eight minutes after the break when Sam Clucas slotted home after Ansley Pears’ point-blank save.
Stoke’s goal was their reward for a bright start to the second period, but their lead lasted just four minutes.
Jonny Howson floated a deft ball over the top of the Potters defence and Fletcher angled in a neat diving header.
The arrival of Wing and Rudy Gestede from the substitutes’ bench helped increase the hosts’ attacking threat, and the hosts scored their winner with 19 minutes left through Wing’s drilled shot.
The defeat leaves Stoke mired in the relegation zone, and Michael O’Neill admitted their position is precarious.
He said: “I don’t think it was a fair reflection of the game. The disappointment is we conceded straight after scoring and then conceded again.
“We have to look at why our performance level dipped and why we didn’t create more opportunities than we did. Both of the goals were preventable.”
“The team was bottom of the league when I came in, so I knew what I was walking into. I knew we were in a relegation fight. I believe we have enough not to be in this situation.”