Flint’s hoping for new year joy

ONE Boro player in particular who will be hoping for better fortune in the second half of the season is Aden Flint.

The £6m defender had a chance to spare Boro’s blushes against Burton but headed wide from the team’s best scoring opportunity just two yards from goal.

It summed up Flint’s bad luck in front of goal this season. He has gone close but not close enough from an array of chances.

Flint scored nine goals for Bristol City last season. This was of the reason for Tony Pulis signing him in the belief that he would be a demon for Boro from set pieces.

There were those fans who expected double figures from Flint and, while this was probably a little unfair, the defender could hardly have started any better with his bullet header against Sheffield United in Boro’s first home game.

Since then nothing has got right for Flint in the opposition penalty area, though his general defending at the other end has been superb.

In fact Flint’s signing is one of the major reasons why Boro have been so stingy at the back this season.

He is also a great talker on the pitch and an inspirational figure.

Hopefully the goals will come in the second half of the season. Maybe all it needs is a bit of extra composure in front of goal.

Boro fans were also looking for Daniel Ayala to score a few goals this season after bagging seven last term.

However Ayala has also struggled to find the back of the net since grabbing a last gasp winner against West Brom towards the end of August.

In addition Ayala has been battling to hold on to his place as a result of strong competition from Danny Batth.

The on-loan Wolves defender had done exceptionally well since finally getting his chance, which has provided valuable competition for the centre-back spots.

Even so, while Pulis will be pleased with the team’s defensive resilience, he must wonder why his much practised set pieces have borne little fruit so far this season.