(Enmes, Williams & McManus : Yakubu (3))
Leccy Board Championship: 02/04/2011
Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough (Ground no.67)
I am really unsure how to start describing this game to be perfectly honest. Every time I've wrote something about City, I've tried to put some positive topspin on my opinion despite my knack for being very negative about our fortunes. So this possesses neither though, it's firmly 'meh!'
Because when Stephen McManus powered a fine header into the back of the net in the 94th minute to equalise, it was probably the knockout blow we all knew that was coming to kill of the season (or at least, I felt was coming). Twenty minutes after the final whistle, I felt it quite easy to accept that really we are not quite good enough for the top six despite just watching us drop two points with two minutes left on the clock and dropping from 8th to 12th on the live table with Burnley, Reading and Forest to play.
We're been brilliant to watch at times this season, as good as football I've ever seen us play but as a defensive unit, it's been as bad as I've seen us play. We didn't even leak goals like this under Holloway. It's been the problem since the very first 45 minutes of the season at Selhurst Park.
This game pretty much managed to sum a season within 96 minutes and showcase Leicester City's fine excellence since the year 2000 to piss a lead up the wall.
I had questioned myself going to this game after reading and hearing all the reports but to be perfectly honest, I found Middlesbrough and it's Riverside Stadium not to be too bad at all. The drive up was easy, after deciding to park towards towards the town centre I did so for free just ten minutes walk from the town and the stadium. After a forty-five minute walk around Boro, I declared it perfectly okay and certainly the not worst town in the country as tagged by Channel 4. There's plenty of pubs nearby too reaching from the chains to the left side. Then just a ten minute walk through an industrial estate and then there's the Riverside which at least gives that impression of matchday.
And the Riverside's pretty much your average bog-standard middle-sized recently built bowl stadium which is always between half to 65% full with fans. It's design is a bit like Pride Park as the majority of the stadium is two tiered as opposed to a single rake. It's not looking too tired which is probably still from the Premiership days (stadium maintenance a costly expense). However, it's problem is the lack of crowd. It just lacks the presence a jam-packed, close-in stadium has. When a stadium such as this is so uniform, it's a massive factor. If a stadium/ground has little quirks, you don't get the urge to feel so close in. You happily take in the quirks.
You can see at Boro though there are a young set of followers who interested in trying to get an atmosphere (Red Faction, I belived they are called) and even trying something unique within English football (ultra style support) but it's a losing battle quite simply. Atmosphere thrives on spontaneous actions and as we fans continue to be cut off, told to sit down and pulled out for any ''offensive action''. It's going to be difficult but that's an argument for another day.To sum it up, Riverside Stadium is just another one of those grounds which lacks something original or anything to remind you why you got hooked on football but it is enjoyable, hassle-free however because it's not isolated in location.
As for the crowd, last week was Bradford and their epic drop through the divisions. Boro had the heights of the UEFA Cup Final and now they've got a flirtation with relegation to League One. Fans' expectations rise and that means when the club returns back to it's probably correct positioning within the footballing league, they all moan that it's not like the successful days. Crowd figures plummet. To top it off, in the Championship you'll be lucky to get ten teams come to Boro with four figures.
However, if the average Boro fan just fancied a visit on Saturday, he'd have got his money worth though. It was a scrappy battle of a Championship game, this was the other flip-side to the Championship from that high quality game recently at Loftus Road. Goals from mistakes, appalling officiating, some self-inflicted drama and ultimately for the Boro fan, a little pay-off.
They're were villains, they're were heroes and they're were the idiots. City started brightly with a rather odd midfield trio: King and Abe rested after international duty, replaced with Oakley and Gallagher. Ricardo dropped to the delight of a City support touching 1500. Four minutes in, Gallagher's corner reached an unmarked Wellens at the back post whose shot-come-cross was diverted in by Yakubu, villain no.1.
City continued to knock the ball around with a lot of ease, Boro weren't quite at the races yet until a gift of a goal. In describing the build-up to the goal, I have to name three Leicester players which says a lot. Weale rolled it out to Van Aanholt which was easy to spot was a risky decision, Van Aanholt had to make a quick selection of pass giving it to an under pressure Oakley who continued to display his knack of a five yard first touch (the sign of a past-it player). Rhys Williams won the ball laid it onto Marvin Enmes who bagged his second goal against Leicester this season. Weale probably should have done with the shot. 1-1. If only one of those three named, just wellied the ball.
It went back to the pattern of us knocking it around nice and easy. Boro's attack getting far too much room on the counter to put us on the back foot at times. Bruma in particular looking very, very vulnerable to Enmes pace and McDonald's littleman disease.
Step in villain no.2, the ref from Tyne and Wear. Yeah fair enough you've felt the need to book Yakubu for repeated fouling but why does he need to be two yards away from you to be booked? Then the ref showed clearly bias in ignoring Davies rough claim of the ball on the edge of the box later on in the first half. All this did was crank up the venom towards Yakubu from the Boro support and the ref got some off the City fans. It's something you always have to be careful of saying on a Sunday morning playing, you know if you make a comment which the ref doesn't like, he is going to pick you out for the rest of the game. He's the puppet master, the fat controller as such, he likes this role.
Another set-piece for our second (that's five in the last six off set-pieces), Bamba probably fouled keeper and Boro defender whilst the ball was in the air but it fell to Yakubu for his second two-yard tap-in. Lucky to be 2-1 up at Half-Time.
City did however pull together for their best period of the entire game after the break. Within the first minute of the re-start, Kamara made a chance which was well saved by Forest loanee, Paul Smith and then a third goal came thanks to Yakubu, who was now the darling of the Riverside crowd. Andrew Davies' daft miscalculation of an aerial ball, gave Yakubu a free run-in towards the 18-yard box and he slotted past Paul Smith. I am happy at this point, looks a good three points here. Not a perfect performance but hopefully a bit of confidence for the coming weeks.
However, the game see-sawed again. A poor pass, a slip by Wellens later and Rhys Williams had time to flick the ball up, volley it against the post and into the goal. Now I wasn't so confident, memories of speaking to my Dad on the phone asking what the Leicester score was one afternoon when they were away at the Riverside.
'What's the score?'
'3-1 to City, injury time.'
'Ok, I'll be back in..'
'It's 3-2 now.'
'I'll be back in about half-hour.'
'Hold on, it's 3-3 that twat Curtis has just scored an own goal'.
Every Leicester fan remembers that game.
We had the chance to kill it off, a great passing move where Kamara had an initial shot blocked the rebond of which came to Wellens who sensibly squared it to Gallagher, his shot straight to the keeper. Boro began to put some pressure on usnpw, Sven content with the scoreline subbed Gally off, Abe on. That past it bastard Oakley still on the pitch, impersonalting a captain. Zemmana (probably not the correct spelling of the Morrocan midfielder signed from Hibernian) for Boro then pinged a free-kick off the post.
The ref then began to demonstrate his air of control on the game. Arca shot from thirty yards out, hits Bruma somewhere on the side of the body whose pretty still and not even attempted a block as such. Handball appartently, extremely harsh with no assistance from linesmen either, the ref made his decision. Penalty it was. I have never seen Chris Weale save one ever or even look close. However, Yakubu again getting the crowd going delays the peno and clearly tells Weale wait to until the final second before diving.
He saved Julio Arca's peno, maybe that equaliser wasn't going to come I was thinking. Bruma then did a rather idiotic thing; must have uttered some words of fact in an offensive manner about the referee. Red card, ten men. What an idiot (the yellow card was a poor decision) and this is my issue with using loanees. Bruma is learning his game, he's learning it at expense of Leicester City, he's made mistakes, looks shaky, doesn't talk to fellow defenders or the keeper. He may well pick this up over time but it's not doing us any favours. Just plain daft on both accounts.
City were pretty incensed by this officiating performance and bookings were like confetti paper at this point. Boro again hit the post this time through Emnes after a bit of scramble and then some calm before the storm, a few free-kicks down our end to take the pressure. Off comes the excellent Kamara, on Waghorn. Daft choice, Howard's on the bench and a handy weapon at times. He's even more handy when the ball's going to be in the air a lot.
The goal did eventually come after spending all four minutes (of an unjustified six) in our half of the pitch of injury time, a corner whipped in, McManus rose above Bamba to secure the point. And that was simply that, the ref allowed Boro one more set-piece which fell to a Leicester player with the opportunity to count but the whistle went. All eyes on whether Reading make the fourth play-off spot there's on Tuesday evening.
Oh well, maybe next you disappoint us City make sure it isn't after such a roller coaster but that's probably why I love you.
Andy King was in his black car chopping on Burger King, I can assure you.
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