Making it 4 wins out of 5, Boro bounced back from their disappointing midweek defeat, with a 3-1 assured win over struggling Hull City.
Going back to within 6 points of automatic promotion, a curled finish from Azaz and a brace from Tommy Conway secured an important win for Boro.
Coming into the game
Seeming to struggle without the likes of Azaz and Burgzorg, Middlesbrough never seemed to get going against the rigid Blackburn during midweek. A game that was highlighted by sidewards passing and a struggle to break through the Blackburn low block, Boro endured plenty of frustration in attempts to build any sort of rhythm.
Therefore, after winning the 3 games prior to midweek in great fashion, it was clearly of paramount importance that Boro must return to winning ways against a rock-bottom Hull City side.
After Thursday morning, with the news of Hull sacking manager Tim Walter, Carrick’s side realised a win on Saturday would not come without tactical challenges, with uncertainty in the air of how caretaker boss Andy Dawson would set up his side. Furthermore, there were still doubts whether talisman Finn Azaz, who’d already racked up 12 goal contributions prior to the Blackburn game (which he missed with illness), would be able to start against Hull.
Boro Performance
With Hackney, Azaz and Burgzorg all returning to the lineup, there was a sense of confidence in the air, despite the uncertainty around caretaker manager Dawson’s Hull City. The first five minutes featured both Hull and Boro passing out from the back into midfield, though neither side produced anything meaningful.
A defining moment of the game came early on, with Hull City’s Joao Pedro being played in on goal, with last man Neto Borges appearing to pull him back from the ball, preventing him from running one on one with Sol Brynn. Boro were perhaps fortunate on second glance, with referee Stephen Martin waving away the clams, that this didn’t completely change the game in Hull’s favour. On another day, Borges may have been likely to see red for denying a possible goal scoring opportunity for Hull’s Pedro.
Despite Hull continuing to pass it around well, neither team saw another big chance till Tommy Conway was played through by Hayden Hackney; a chance which blazed past the keeper and out for a goal kick. Building on this, the ball then found the way of Boro’s Finn Azaz, on the edge of the box, who went onto his left foot – curling it into the top left corner, scoring Middlesbrough’s first goal of the afternoon.
From this point, Boro took a real foothold in the game, creating chance after chance. Boro didn’t have to wait long for their second goal. Anfernee Dijksteel won the ball back on the right side of the box and quickly found Ben Doak, who whipped in a beautifully lofted cross for his Scotland teammate Conway to nod into the net. This meant Michael Carrick’s team went into half time with a 2-0 lead over Hull.
Again, we saw another team struggle to deal with the real threat posed by Ben Doak, as Hull captain Lewis Hoyle almost sliced the ball into his own net. Doak then created a scoring opportunity for himself, but his shot was ultimately deflected wide.
Despite Borges’ controversial challenge on Joao Pedro, Boro’s only real negative of the game came when an unmarked Burstow turned in Abu Kamara’s cross from the left. Ultimately though, there was little tension as Conway wrapped up the three points for Boro with a tidy finish from a nice ball from Doak.
Boro Player Ratings
Sol Brynn-7: Another solid performance from Brynn, looked comfortable throughout the game, and could do little about Burstow’s unmarked header. He may end up giving Dieng a real run for his money.
Neto Borges-4: Borges seemed to really struggle in the game, being passed multiple times down the left flank, and making a few mistakes, such as the challenge on Joao Pedro which could have really changed the course of the game.
George Edmundson-7: For much of the game, Edmundson seemed like a rock in defence as he has done for much of the season. He faced little trouble but dealt with it very well.
Dael Fry-6: Fry dealt with coming back into the squad quite well, looking comfortable for much of the game. Looked slightly tentative though on the ball at the start of the game, holding on to it for slightly too long.
Anfernee Dijksteel-8: Another great performance from Dijksteel both defensively and offensively, making some great tackles and passing it into Doak numerous times.
Dan Barlaser-7: Barlaser seems to be going under the radar recently, filling in for Morris very well. Made some great threatening cross field balls.
Hayden Hackney-8: Made threatening passes into Boro’s frontline numerous times, such as the assist for Azaz’s first goal. Showed he was missed in Wednesday’s defeat to Blackburn.
Delano Burgzorg-7: Switched with Conway well, allowing Conway space for his goals. Looked a threat down the left flank.
Finn Azaz-8: Azaz is really finding his feet at Boro now with 13 goal contributions. Continuing his superb form, he netted a great finish with a curled shot into the top left corner.
Ben Doak-9: Was a threat to the Hull City full back the entire game, being Boro’s primary outlet for most attacks. With two more assists to his name, Doak is showing just how challenging he is for defenders to handle.
Tommy Conway-9: Two composed finishes from Conway secured Boro’s victory over Hull, as he extended his impressive goalscoring form. (MOTM)
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