Boro come out of the Lions’ Den with scrappy but valuable point
MIDDLESBROUGH avoided a fourth straight defeat away from home as they ground out a goalless draw to take a point home from Millwall.
As tough a place as you’ll visit in the Championship, Boro were up for the scrap as they proved far more solid at the back than in recent games on the road.
Here are the takeaways from the game:
A BATTLING POINT BUILT UPON SOLID FOUNDATIONS
This was defensively much better from Boro.
In their last four away from home they’d conceded 12 goals, most of which were sloppy and avoidable.
This was one was much more like it then, as Boro built solid foundations at the back from the off to end a run of three consecutive defeats away from home.
The run without a win away from the Riverside stretches to six games, but this was a performance to build on at least as they remained committed and compact defensively.
It was a scrappy game, as you might expect. Both sides did have their chances, with Marcus Tavernier rattled the bar with a free kick early on while Folarin Balogun was almost through in the first half before heading at goal at the front post from a corner in the second half.
At the other end, Joe Lumley had to make a vital save from a Millwall corner as Murray Wallace, having earlier hit the bar, headed one straight for the top corner, only for the Boro keeper to somehow claw it out.
Benik Afobe will know he should have won it when he fired over while in space on the edge of the box the one time it opened up for him.
But Boro scrapped and battled. They had a period of assertiveness in
the last 10 minutes before half time as Folarin Balogun started showing up deeper for the ball, but in general it had to be a scrap as the one thing missing was the control of possession.
Something to build on nevertheless as they look to rebuild confidence on the road.
PELTIER TWEAK HELPS
The back three had a difficult night at Bramall Lane, which was far from Lee Peltier’s fault. Nevertheless, he’d struggled in that one as Anfernee Dijksteel’s absence was felt.
With the Dutchman still missing for the trip to Millwall then, Peltier was forced to continue in the back three for Chris Wilder’s side, though there was a slight tweak.
This time, Peltier went to the left of Boro’s three, with Paddy Mcnair switching to the right, and it worked.
Whether that was deliberate so that Mcnair could keep a close eye on Mason Bennett or whether that was just a balance thing is unknown, but the important thing is it worked.
Peltier looked far more comfortable and was superb throughout, with the back three far more solid overall as Joe Lumley had little to do in the first half.
Ahead of this one Wilder had spoken about the qualities he liked and needed to see away from home that he hadn’t recently, such as big blocks and big tackles, and there was plenty of those from a Boro point of view, with Peltier crunching fairly into a couple of 50-50s and Neil Taylor going in committed for one too to win possession for their side.
COULD THAT PROVE AN IMPORTANT POINT?
Losing at Millwall would have meant the home side leapfrogged Boro in the league table.
This wasn’t the prettiest, but they avoided defeat and battled to a draw. As Wilder often says, if you can’t win a game make sure you get something from it, and Boro did that here.
With Sheffield United incredibly losing 4-1 to Coventry it meant that they didn’t lose ground on the top six and instead moved a point closer.
They stopped a play-off rival in Millwall
moving ahead of them too, though the pack has tightened thanks to Nottingham Forest’s win. It’s so tight in that battle for the play-offs but that could prove a valuable away point for Boro by May, with two kinder away games next up in the league either side of the international break.
A PROPER MILLWALL VISIT
Boro lost here last season with a performance as flat as the overall day in another soulless experience of football without supporters.
Grounds such as the Den aren’t meant to be empty, and this was a proper trip to Millwall.
A sold-out away end, as well as a packed-out home stadium, made for a cracking atmosphere and the match lived up to Den expectations.
It was scrappy at times, there were feisty challenges, plenty of tussles on and off the ball, and proper meaty 50-50s which Wilder will have loved.
Never a welcoming place to come, the home fans made it vitriolic in only the way they can. You’ve got to love a trip to the Den.