Boro come alive in second half under Carrick to turn it around
SOMETHING CLICKS AFTER 45 MINUTES
AFTER Middlesbrough’s latest comeback victory on Wednesday evening against Hull City, EFL pundit Rob Earnshaw described Boro as ‘resilient’ – a reflection of the fact they’ve shown on more than one occasion their ability to turn games on their head with the flick of a switch.
In what has been such an enjoyable ride under Michael Carrick so far, Boro have shown their spirit and will to win so many times, with going behind in games not something they often crumble from now. Previously, it had been a major issue for Chris Wilder, with one goal conceded quickly followed by a spurt of second and third goals on quite a few occasions.
Contrasting that, Carrick’s Boro have become very adept at fighting back in games – and they tend to come to life in the second half of games. The Hull City fightback, having been 1-0 down at the interval, was just the latest in a long list of second-half turnarounds for Boro since Carrick’s arrival.
For whatever reason, Boro seem to come alive in the second 45 of games under Carrick and have scored more than two-thirds of their goals under the head coach in the second half of games. In total in 28 games, free-scoring Boro have netted 63 goals, of which 43 of them have been after the half-time interval.
On top of that, their performances in second halves have earned them plenty of points too. In total, in terms of the difference in points gained from the score at half-time to the actual score, Boro have gained 24 points in the second half of their 28 league games under Carrick’s guidance.
And in terms of dropping points after the interval, they’ve lost just six points and only once lost a game from a winning position at the half-time break. That was, of course, only recently away at Huddersfield Town as Neil Warnock’s side overturned a 1-0 scoreline to win 4-2. The other three