Match Thread The Mighty Blades v Middlesboro

[Russ]

Tippy tape near the box. Be better with nadine on.

 

[Russ]

Tippy tape near the box. Be better with nadine on.

Madine even.

 

[Topplayersleave]

The type of game I hate so far
Ball in the air constantly, they're bigger than us, stronger than us, every second ball and ricochet they're winning, it's quiet, no quality on show, every ball is mis-controlled.

Gonna be an ugly scrap this, and if it is Pulis ball will probably win

 

[Topplayersleave]

3 defenders missing now, Baldock's gone off

 

[Pittsburg Blade]

Boro ugly, ugly team

 

[8lade]

Fucking hell, come on Sharpy get scoring now, we're going to need them.

 

[LoughboroBlade]

McGoldrick (flick apart), Duffy (shot apart) and Fleck have all been quite poor really. That’s disappointing given the faith shown in McGoldrick to restore him in spite of Madine’s performance at Villa, given the fact Duffy is completely fresh, and given Fleck was much better at Villa.

Dowell, Henderson, Egan and Cranie (shame the latter two have had to move with Baldock’s injury) have probably been our best players tbh. Defensively I thought the changes Wilder went with showed why he did so given that Cranie-Egan-Stevens looked fine.

Think this is a game crying out for Madine at the minute.

 

[Kozzy_is_my_Dad]

Been largely impressed with Dowell, he's really starting to settle in here. He doesn't track back as much, but we can coach that into him.

 

[Topplayersleave]

We've got to get hold of the ball and keep hold of it, every pass is either too heavy or too light meaning the second touch is a tackle, which we've won hardly any of

 

[sufcboy95]

Is freeman injured or just not in squad?

 

[PokerBlade]

Give credit where it's due, Boro are rock solid.

 

[Seth Rollins]

Get Madine on!!

 

[Trueblade]

McGoldrick looks like he’s on another planet tonight. There was a point when we picked the ball up in the middle of the Boro half and poor old McGoldrick is busy looking the other way, no idea whats going on.

 

[jt64]

That Flint bet went well

 

[LoughboroBlade]

Madine on for Duffy. I’m assuming that’s tactical, and McGoldrick switches back.

 

[WoodMillBlade]

Get in!!!

 

[10-0 win]

stearman,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

[10-0 win]

ayala red.................

 

[Topplayersleave]

Assombalonga on now

 

[10-0 win]

Cranie good tonight.

 

[Topplayersleave]

It'll be a six minutes of additional timer this one

Edit - surprised only 4 mins

 

[Topplayersleave]

Big, big, win with a fairly weakened team, against a physically strong team that wouldn't allow the game to flow. Well done Blades

 

[bromtom]

Thank the baby Jesus for that.

Probably the least I've enjoyed a game all season but the 3 points taste so sweet.

Hope Baldock is ok.

Cranie my MOTM, a great player to have on the bench, slots in no trouble at all, skilled player.

 

[RMBlade]

Wouldn’t mind seeing sharp and Madine with McGoldrick in behind. Thought Duffy was poor today.

 

[Bobby b]

That's a terrific result, under the circumstances, two incredibly influential players missing and Baldock off at half time, Dowell playing out of position. I thought it was ballsy half time substitution Duffy for Madine but it was a masterstroke, because although I think Madine didn't play fantastic he was a complete nuisance to the defenders. It's games like that that are season defining. Well done blades.

 

[LoughboroBlade]

Very good 2nd half that. The change of Madine for Duffy helped, as McGoldrick linked the play far better and Sharp’s game improved too. Great delivery from Toxic Ollie yet again for Stearman’s goal.

The concerns are obviously the injuries. Thought Cranie had an excellent game (the Cranie-haters will hate that) and Dowell’s newfound wingback talents are pleasing to see. Madine, when he wasn’t throwing himself to the ground, helped considerably.

Big win. Big and correct calls from Wilder to persevere with the system in difficult circumstances.

 

[Klinge]

Cranie excellent - MOTM. Seems we may have some depth after all

 

[RMBlade]

Cranie excellent - MOTM. Seems we may have some depth after all

I thought he did well vs Wigan when he came in for Basham too. He was poor vs Barnet but so were the other 10.

Perfectly good understudy.

 

[PokerBlade]

Cranie my MOTM, a great player to have on the bench, slots in no trouble at all, skilled player.

Mine too. Looked like a very classy player all round.

All I can say about tonight's game is it was exactly what I expected from a Pulis side. Some very talented players in their team and yet no plan to take any risks going forward, all about the defence and being as solid as they can be. Thought we were excellent even if they neutralised us for the first half. With the forced changes we still looked quite comfortable with the way we set up and when Madine came on and caused them some problems I think everyone in the ground could smell blood before we eventually scored.

 

[jt64]

Didn't watch, but pleased that Cranie has been able to step in with little game time in what sounded like a different system and produced a great performance. Much the same with Stearman