Gibson sees red after landing luckless Boro in a spot of bother
TROY DEENEY’S penalty was the difference as Middlesbrough slipped below Watford in the table.
Both sides played the last 30 minutes with 10 men, as the hosts had Samba Diakite sent off, while Boro’s Ben Gibson also saw red after two yellow-card offences.
Boro bossed the opening exchanges in terms of possession but they had little to show for their efforts as Grant Leadbitter screwed a 25-yard shot well wide while Albert Adomah saw a low drive from the edge of the penalty area held by goalkeeper Jonathan Bond.
Danny Graham had his first chance to shine against the club for whom he scored 27 goals four seasons ago in the 28th minute when he received an Adomah pass, but the striker opted to try to chip Bond and cleared the bar.
Marco Cassetti’s booking for a clear body check on Leadbitter in the 37th minute looked like it would be costly when Jonathan Woodgate headed the free-kick past Bond, but the assistant’s flag was already raised for offside.
Watford’s Fernando Forestieri missed the target with a couple of other attempts before the interval as a largely low-key opening period ended goalless.
Boro bossed the opening exchanges
But there was nothing flat about the start to the second half as the first 15 minutes saw a penalty and two red cards.
Watford took the lead as Deeney calmly stroked home after Gibson had brought down Forestieri from behind.
Within two minutes though, the Hornets were down to 10 men as Diakite marked his full debut since joining on loan from QPR by being shown a straight red card by referee Oliver Langford for jumping into a challenge on Dean Whitehead two-footed.
That should have swung the momentum in Boro’s favour to go in search of an equaliser, only for Gibson to ensure his side’s numerical advantage in terms of players was cancelled out after 57 minutes.
Having already been booked in the first half, the Boro centre-half foolishly tried to prevent Bond from taking a clearance, and the official had no hesitation in showing a second yellow.
The visitors’ best chance of equalising came in injury time when a cross from the left was headed back into the danger zone by Leadbitter, but Graham couldn’t get enough power on his header to beat Bond.