Sunday, September 18, 2005
Wigan 1 Boro 1
A point away from home is never to be sneezed at, but you have to consider this as 2 points dropped. Wigan are the kind of team we should be eating up and spitting out 3 or 4 nil - and for the first 20 minutes it looked like we might. But whether you can blame the euro hangover for a little fatigue I just don't know...
Yakubu's 14th minute goal was the highlight of the afternoon and put Boro in control in the first half. Pogatetz then came closest to a second before the break, firing a powerful header off the crossbar. After the interval, though, we just didn't perform - the discipline was sloppy, especially Fabio Rochemback who wandered all over the park leaving gaps for Wigan to exploit. And exploit they did, when Henri Camara equalised mid way through the second half.
Disappointing; although the point keeps us in the top half of the table it is not the consistency that Steve McClaren called for and not the form of a team challenging for Champion's League. Work still to be done on that training pitch, I feel...
My MOTM:
Yakubu for another great goal and for being one of the few to battle in the 2nd half, Southgate just behind with a solid game and faultless in the equaliser.
