Key takeaways and analysis following Middlesbrough’s 2-1 victory over Norwich City
Middlesbrough’s 2-1 victory over Norwich City on Tuesday night put them just outside of the top six in the Championship.
Boro’s winning streak in the league now stands at six goals thanks to goals from Sam Greenwood and Sammy Silvera to secure the three points. And while it took them precisely one month to get out of the bottom spot after their first league victory of the year, this most recent victory has put them in seventh position, outside of the play-off spots based purely on goal differential.
Although injuries kept mounting, the triumph did come at a price: Hayden Hackney received what Michael Carrick called a “bizarre yellow card,” which suspends him for the next weekend. Four takeaways or talking points from the game are listed below.
READ MORE: Middlesbrough vs. Norwich City player ratings: Dael Fry is named our man of the match
Middlesbrough made a strong promotion statement.
With just three victories in nine games, Norwich may be in a bit of a slump right now, but most of those have come away from home. Before Boro’s visit, they had only lost twice at Carrow Road. The only teams to defeat Norwich at home were Leicester City and Leeds United, which may be interpreted as a very strong promotion marker. Prior to Wayne Rooney, Stoke, Hull City, Millwall, and Birmingham all suffered losses.
Of course, timing is crucial, but Norwich has been hard to beat at home despite their abundance of injuries—a fact that Boro is well aware of. They have the quality to take a 2-0 lead over Leeds over the weekend.
But after such a poor start, Boro traveled to Norwich and, after a tough start, fought themselves into the game before mainly dominating and completely deserved their three points, providing yet another significant hint that this Boro squad may contend for promotion again this season.
Issue solvers
Carrick was pleased with his team’s performance on Saturday against Birmingham, citing their ability to read the game and respond to developments as one of its many positive aspects. That was because it was Rooney’s first game in charge, so there wasn’t much study they could conduct on the Blues.
In that regard, Norwich was different, but even so, Boro had a challenging first fifteen minutes as they were unable to get into their routine. In that period, Norwich applied a lot of pressure and had a very strong structure, which made it harder for Boro to breach the lines from behind as they typically would.
To their credit, they only really needed to use Seny Dieng for one save—a couple more near misses and half opportunities ultimately proved to be insignificant. However, much too frequently throughout that first part of the game, they would discover that their attempts to get up the pitch were blocked and the ball was coming right back at them.
The Boro players found their own methods to change things up a bit and play more directly, all without the need for a play stoppage to meet with the coaching staff on the touchline to get instructions. By no means were they kicking long balls about aimlessly. Frequently, they would eschew the fiercely defended midfield pair and instead throw a mid-range low ball into the hands of Josh Coburn or the outstanding Sam Greenwood, developing from there.
Even if this wasn’t Boro’s most fluid play in possession, the fact that they were able to respond to what was going on on the field and come up with creative methods to finish the job speaks volumes about where Boro are right now.
now that Carrick has been coaching for a year. And it’s not too awful to leave Carrow Road with 19 shots on goal, despite not being quite as sharp as normal!
The opposing aspect of Boro
Even though Boro gave it their all throughout, Norwich’s first goal was clearly a gift. After a careless pass in their own half, Hackney gained possession and played Coburn in behind. The Boro striker decided to put the ball on a plate so that Greenwood could put Boro ahead.
However, Norwich handled that effectively and really put the game away from Boro, presumably following the instructions they had just been given 60 seconds earlier at halftime. They mostly needed to show the opposite side to them in order to earn these three points, even though Boro still posed a danger to counterattack and had several solid opportunities to increase their advantage before Silvera did.
Under Carrick’s leadership, they excelled in game management. They already displayed that side of themselves at Sunderland as well. They possess a calm and patient demeanor that may help them take the edge off of a game when necessary. They don’t have to be particularly aggressive in their attacks when they can maintain the ball.
After a 15-minute period in which Norwich aggressively pushed and sought for a quick equalizer, they went to this side of the armory. There had to be some incredible defense in the second half, with Dael Fry and Paddy McNair playing especially well.
Dieng’s two saves during the entire evening are a testament to Boro’s skill.
to triumph in different ways. They are capable of brilliant, attack-focused performances, but they also possess the tenacity and will to grind out a victory in more challenging circumstances.
Boro will need some luck in the future.
As mentioned above, Boro appears to have paid a price for their impressive away victory. When Hackney was dismissed in the 89th minute, Carrick was incensed over the yellow card he had been given. He received his fifth card of the season from referee Simon Hooper for taking too long to leave the field, thus he will miss Stoke’s match this coming Saturday. At that point, Carrick pointed out, his number hadn’t even been on the board!
Despite the peculiarity of the yellow shirt, the youthful midfield player sustained a bump to his knee, and Lukas Engel had to be substituted due to a tight groin. Carrick remarked, “We’re like the walking wounded in there,” as his injuries kept coming.
Carrick also confirmed that Tommy Smith is probably out for the long run due to the ankle injury that took him off over the weekend, so they’ll be praying that Engel and Hackney’s knocks aren’t too serious and that there aren’t any more casualties from the evening. Emmanuel Latte Lath was unwell that evening, so they are evaluating a thigh issue that is still bothering Marcus Forss.
Boro’s team now appears extremely thin when you factor in the extended absences of Lewis O’Brien and Sonny Finch as well as the uncertain return dates of Riley McGree and Darragh Lenihan. In order to give the team greater depth and balance, a summer recruiting push becomes even more crucial. However, if Boro are to continue their stellar play, they might really use some luck in that area going forward.
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