WHAT a time for Michael Carrick to finally get the better of Mark Robins. What a time for Finn Azaz to rediscover his form. And for Marcus Forss to show flashes of the player who starred two seasons ago.
Carrick reacted to Forss’ opener against Stoke City on Tuesday night with the type of celebration usually reserved for a dramatic late winner. Such was the importance of this game and win for his Middlesbrough side.
On the flip side, his anger was clear when Boro gifted a dreadful Stoke the leveller on the stroke of half-time. But this was not, for a welcome change, a story of Boro throwing points away. Instead, second half goals from a revitalised Azaz and Tommy Conway secured Boro a deserved first win in six. They still trail the top six by four points but’s a start. This has to be followed by a second successive win for just the third time this season on Saturday against Derby, who surely can’t be as bad as Stoke were on Tuesday night.
Delano Burgzorg led the celebrations at full-time, fist pumping in front of the away end. He was joined by all his teammates, scenes very different to Bristol City on Friday night.
Boro should really have been out of sight in the first half but Conway somehow scooped over from two yards when the score was 1-0. Thankfully for Boro, unlike the Hayden Hackney miss at Portsmouth and the Forss miss against Sunderland when the scoreline was identical, this one didn’t prove costly.
Carrick has taken his fair share of flak recently, plenty of it fair, but the head coach deserves credit, for his changes paid off at the bet365 Stadium. Azaz and Forss, both brought into the attack, were excellent. Azaz had a hand in the first, scored the second and created the third. Conway, too, showed his strength of character to put his first half miss behind him with his 10th goal of the season. Only eight players in the division have scored more.
It wasn’t all good news, though. Rav van den Berg missed the game through injury and Carrick’s defensive problems deepened when George Edmundson, the player brought in to replace him, hobbled off in the first minute of the second half. It leaves Dael Fry as the only fit senior centre-back on the club’s books. Luke Ayling partnered Fry in the second half at Stoke and did well, though the home attack was tame to say the least. Stoke’s fans told the home players they’re “not fit to wear the shirt” after Boro’s third goal.
Robins looks to have his work cut out. At the seventh time of asking, he suffered defeat for the first time to Carrick. This was perhaps Carrick’s most important win in his two and a half years in charge of Boro.
His side’s confidence was further dented at Bristol City on Friday night but they started well at Stoke, with Azaz and Forss quickly making an impact.
Stoke must have been watching Boro’s slapstick defending, for they almost conceded the type of shambolic goal Carrick’s side have been guilty of on far too many occasions this season. On the back of conceding four goals last time out, captain and goalkeeper Viktor Johansson charged out of his box and was first to an Azaz through-ball only to make a mess of his attempted chest control. How relieved the keeper will have been to see Morgan Whittaker drag his audacious first time effort wide. Conway then did the same after a Forss cut-back.
Azaz was enjoying himself and being given the space to roam. He floated through the pitch before playing in Conway, whose shot was blocked before Whittaker’s rebound was saved. Stoke’s only effort of note at that stage was a Million Manhoef shot dragged wide. The Potters’ lack of attacking ambition wasn’t going down well with the home fans. And their frustration deepened when Forss fired Boro into a deserved lead after 20 minutes.
Azaz was unsurprisingly involved, so too Whittaker, both working it to Forss, who cut inside and lashed into the far corner. Forss then looked certain to add an assist to his goal within 10 minutes when his low cross found Conway, but the striker somehow scooped what should have been a tap into an empty net over the bar from just two yards. Carrick dipped to his knees but quickly rose again to applaud the build-up.
But Boro then retreated and Carrick won’t have been applauding at half-time, for the head coach looked furious when Stoke – dreadful for the most part in the first half – levelled in the 45th minute. Yet again naivety cost Boro. After a positive 45 minutes, just make sure you get to the break. Instead, Edmundson failed to stop Andrew Moran’s cross and Bae Junho was allowed to coast into the penalty area unmarked and pick his spot.
Perhaps the centre-half had an excuse? For just a minute into the second half he was replaced and the issue had clearly been evident to Carrick and the coaches at the break because Ayling was ready to come on. But it was Stoke’s defensive vulnerabilities that were punished just six minutes later, Azaz firing low into Johansson’s bottom left corner after good build-up play involving Hackney and Conway.
Boro could have wrapped up the points on the hour mark had Conway opted for the cut-back to the waiting Azaz or Forss instead of trying to squeeze the ball in at the front post from a tight angle, perhaps the result of a desperation to make amends for the first half miss.
Conway got his goal 17 minutes from time. He and Azaz strolled through the Stoke defence with ease and the striker finished clinically.
