Wilder: We can hold our heads up high
CHRIS Wilder believes everyone associated with Middlesbrough Football Club can hold their heads up high as they exited the FA Cup to Chelsea at the quarter-final stage.
Thomas Tuchel’s Blues ran out 2-0 winners at the Riverside thanks to goals from Romelu Lukaku and Hakim Ziyech. But Boro far from disgraced themselves in a battling display full of bravery and positivity against the reigning European champions.
The defeat brought an end to a magical FA Cup run this season which has really caught the imagination on Teesside. Starting with a win at Mansfield, Boro then beat Manchester United on penalties and Tottenham on home turf in front of a sold-out crowd as memories were made along the way.
Reflecting on that overall, Wilder said after: “I think it’s been a terrific effort. You were there at Mansfield and you saw there that it took an incredible effort to even get to Old Trafford. We then pull Spurs out and pull Chelsea out, so it’s not been easy has it?
“It could have been a lot more comfortable, but it wasn’t, but it was what it was and we had to deal with that. I think the club generally goes about its business in a way that represents what we’re all about. This is a working-class football club, the supporters get behind the team, off the pitch we do things in the right way.
“I think the way the club have handled things recently with another club in the division, sticking up for what it believed in and being strong and positive about that, and then this week as well, I think the statement the club put out on Tuesday and the way the owner as he does speaks from his heart.
“I think we’ve dealt with it all in a really humble way and we’ve gone about it in the right way. We hold our heads up high.”
Boro were two down against Chelsea inside 30 minutes as their giant-killing in the cup came to an end. But to their credit, both goals came about because of their own bravery to try and press Chelsea high, while even after going two behind they kept at it and tried to be positive in possession.
Offering his verdict on the game, Wilder added: “We’re a little bit disappointed. It’s tough when you go 2-0 down against the quality that we’re up against but I thought we stuck in there and we didn’t let the game get away from us. But it was always going to be difficult from that point.
“I said to the players I thought we were nearly in terms of a lot of aspects of our game. We nearly got the press right, but if you don’t they can play through you.
“We gave the ball away cheaply for the first goal and when you give the ball away to world-class players the ball goes from one end to the other pretty quickly.
“Bit disappointed with how Lukaku has managed to find the space in the box for the opener. I think that’s a poor goal from our point of view.
“The second one, it is difficult when you play the likes of Chelsea because you do want to go and initiate the press and make contact with them and win the ball high up the pitch. But if you don’t get that right like we didn’t on the second one then it quickly goes from where I’m looking on the right to where I’m looking on the left. A little bit of detail on that too. You let Ziyach on to his right and send him down the outside rather than let him come on to his sweet left peg and all of a sudden it finds the bottom corner and you’re 2-0 down.
“It becomes a long night for everybody at that point, players, staff and most importantly supporters. We were a little bit more aggressive second half, even though, they’ve possibly done their work for the night already.”
It wasn’t to be this time for Boro after their previous wins over topflight opposition in Manchester United and Tottenham.
Asked what he felt was different in those two games to the Chelsea defeat, Wilder added: “It’s just those big moments. They found theirs to win 2-0 and we didn’t.
“I didn’t think it was one-way traffic. I thought we got into some good positions but just didn’t find that final run, pass, cross to allow us to try and get ourselves back into the game. Maybe 1-0 at half-time it might be different, but at 2-0 it becomes a lot more difficult.
“It was a competitive game and I didn’t think it boiled over. Against Tottenham, we found our big moments defensively and offensively, but we just couldn’t find those tonight.
“Chelsea showed their respect to us with the team that they picked and the job they’ve done and they go through to the semi-final, but I am immensely proud of the players and the football club in terms of what has been a terrific cup run from us.”
I think we’ve dealt with it all in a really
humble way and we’ve gone about it in the right way.
Chris Wilder