No one’s happy in dreary stalemate
THERE could come a time in the near future when these sides meet in the Championship and think back to this wasted opportunity.
If they remember anything more than bungling mediocrity, it would be an abuse of good memory space. This was dull, forgettable, the kind of 0-0 draw in which a desperately important game was flattered by its scoreline.
Worse than that, it was a game when two sides who had so much to lose did little except exhibit their shortcomings. They each showed a reasonable amount of desire; they showed nowhere near enough competence to suggest either is a good bet to stay up.
For Middlesbrough that meant a performance of limited ambition. They relied on an admirably solid defence but barely gave a second thought to chasing the goals that might save their season.
Considering their predicament, that is a staggering indictment.
They have not scored away from home in 2017 and have not won a league game anywhere since beating Swansea in December. To go to a struggling side, therefore, and conjure up just one chance was simply not good enough.
As for Swansea, they tried and failed to find a way through, demonstrating again that without ithout Fernando Llorente, who has a minor ankle injury, ry, they are a side with no o striking threat. Time and again, Gylfi Sigurdsson delivered balls worth attacking. Time and again they were either won by Boro defenders or mis- directed by team-mates. s.
How telling that someme of their best chances thesese days come from long range or Sigurdsson’s set-pieces.
Of course, Swansea’s plight is not yet as serious as that of Boro, given they sit outside the bottom three. And a clean sheet should not be sniffed at from such a poor defence. But in taking only one point from games against Hull, Bournemouth and now Middlesbrough, it is safe to say Paul Clement’s honeymoon is over. If his initial results upon taking over delivered a bounce, this run was
the equivalent of dropping a half-inflated ball in a muddy puddle. With Tottenham the visitors on Wednesday, Swansea are again desperately deep in the muck.
‘We’re disappointed because the objective was to win,’ Clement said. ‘I think there was some nervousness in the stadium, from both sets of players, from the supporters. That’s normal — there’s a lot at stake, there’s a lot of pressure. We have to deal with that.
‘We’ve got eight games left now, eight more opportunities to pick up valuable points, and why not on Wednesday night?’
The Swansea manager carried a tone of regret, but there was also a mild sense of injustice over a Sigurdsson free-kick in the second half that appeared to hit the arm of Adam Forshaw in the penalty area. Clement said: ‘It clearly does hit the arm, with the arm in an unnatural position. My players just got on with it but it could be a penalty.’
A close call, certainly, but it is also a time when bad-luck stories and good attitudes count for nothing compared to the currency of points. On that score, this was two dropped for Swansea, with chances missed through Martin Olsson, Jordan Ayew and Tom Carroll in the first half before Sigurdsson drew one excellent save from Victor Valdes after the break.
There was also the curious sight of their record signing, £15million striker Borja, left on the bench when extra attacking options were so desperately needed. It is hard to see any future for him at the club if he has no value in scenarios such as this.
Boro’s only bright spark was Adama Traore before Rudy Gestede missed a close-range header at the death. A draw ended a run of three defeats but achieved little else. ‘We came to win the game and we are disappointed to not come away with three points,’ said head coach Steve Agnew.
‘The attitude and intensity of the players was there for all to see and on another day Rudy scores.
‘Wednesday against Hull is now as massive as this was. We will prepare and dust ourselves down.’
Shooting practice would be a good place to start.