Middlesbrough pass important test but still have two major points to prove
Middlesbrough's victory against Stoke City felt like a perfect remedy. The mood on Teesside had been dampened by recent disappointing results against Preston North End and particularly Sunderland. Unlike previous underwhelming results, the one point taken from the last two games provided so little to at least extract some optimism from.
That was the context heading into a Stoke game against a team who had become a bit of a bogey team for Boro in recent years. They'd also only recently appointed a new manager, and we all know how that story can go...
Not on this occasion though. Boro's 2-0 victory was not only needed, it was a performance that will help massively boost the mood. A day where it was hard to pick fault with any of Boro's players at the Riverside, we've all been waiting for it to click, and with Ben Doak handed his first start as Riley McGree returned from injury in the absence of Tommy Conway, this was arguably Boro's best attacking display of the season, in the league at least.
READ MORE: Liverpool loanee inspired Middlesbrough win but the other attacking change was just as key
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It helped that Stoke were more ambitious than most sides Boro have come up against this season. From the off, as new boss Narcis Pelach had hinted, the visitors looked to mount their own attacks and actually looked to play in a similar way to Boro - with Bae Jun-Ho floating inside trying to provide space for left-back Eric Bocat to attack.
"It was something we looked at from their last game and we took a calculated guess," Carrick said of the Stoke system, having spoken pre-match about the lack of available source material for opposition analysis. "The boys had to work a couple of things out but we did that really well quite quickly and got to grips with it."
That's a positive sign for going forward, with Carrick ultimately needing to trust his players to be adaptable in-game. What started as a bit of an end-to-end contest settled in Boro's favour midway through the first half. Central to that was Liverpool loan star Doak, who lived up to his early billing as a potential game-changer for Boro.
Brought in at the expense of Isaiah Jones, Boro looked to work the ball out to his feet quickly and often. The 18-year-old, and his team-mates quickly worked out he had the beating of Bocat every time, if they got the ball to him early enough to allow him to face him up one-on-one. In turn, that forced Bocat to think twice about his dangerous forays forward too.
Doak's pace had been compared to Adama Traore ahead of his arrival, but rather than a Tony Pulis-esque 'Get the ball to Adama' instruction, this was simply something the Boro players worked out between themselves in-game, as they used the freedom Carrick's attacking approach allows.
"It just happens naturally," the Boro boss said post-match. "It's what Ben's good at. On any given day one part of the game might really work and it's up to us to identify that. I thought a lot of our work down the left with Riley [McGree] and Neto [Borges] to stretch and pull them gave Ben more space. As a team we definitely used the space as well as we have done and got the benefits and nearly scored one or two more."
For as lively and eye-catching as Doak was, Carrick's analysis had a fair point. His goal came from McGree's drive with the ball and long-range effort that was spilt into Doak's path. Their second was similar in that Emmanuel Latte Lath worked hard to win possession back, with Hayden Hackney then taking charge, driving to the edge of the area and then across, evading a couple of challenges before unleashing a wonderful effort into the top corner. That second goal was an important step for a Boro side who have been guilty at times of not being ruthless enough when in command of a game.
Again, that second came as Stoke pushed for an equaliser though. That, in turn, provides more space for Boro to work in. Tight in this one, it ultimately ended with the visitors enjoying 51% of the possession in the game, carrying on the trend that all four of Boro's wins this season have come when the opposition have had more of the ball.
Breaking down a low-block defence remains a point that Boro will have to prove on another day. An Achilles heel so far this season, it wasn't tested by Stoke in this one, though it's fair to say there were positive signs in the purpose and intent of Boro's attacking play, particularly as the second half wore on and Boro gained control and sent Stoke backwards. The speed of their passing was faster and their off-ball movement better.
This wasn't a result built all on attack, however. Boro kept their fourth clean sheet of the season and while, in the context of recent performances, Carrick understood that the attack would steal the headlines, he was keen to ensure his pleasure in the whole team's defending was shouted about too.
Bear in mind it was makeshift again too, with Matt Clarke missing through injury forcing Luke Ayling to play centre-back with George Edmundson as Anfernee Dijksteel came back in, Carrick said: "They did really well. They got a lot of protection from the front who closed the spaces off so the backline didn't have to cover too much space.
"But the back four were fantastic, with and without the ball. They like to press but our little passes through lines and composure, they gave us the platform in the game."
This felt like an important win for Boro for many reasons. But there is a second major point to prove now. With two tough away games against West Brom and Watford to come in the next seven days, Boro now need to find a level of consistency in performances and results that's evaded them for some time. The win gets Boro back on track, and there was a lot to feel positive about, but there is still much to be determined from the week ahead too.