Monday, January 30, 2006
Boro 2 Wigan 3
This match was most notable for the return of one Stewart Downing - and God has he been missed! From the first whistle he was amongst it all, rampaging down the left, bringing back good memories of last season and a far superior home record than we have boasted without him. It was evident that a little match fitness is still lacking, but the crosses came flying in regardless, giving hope of a good result for most of the afternoon.But it was Wigan that took the initiative, doing well to find the all too obvious holes in our midfield and defense and build up a 2-0 lead at half time that could have been a lot more. Honestly they were ripping us apart. Then on came Jimmy in the second half, looking mighty hungry, some would say pi**ed off bigtime! Before they had time to settle he had fired us back in the contest, giving a resurgence in confidence that was much needed. Then came a Downing corner seen, beautifully flighted and seen home by The Yak to bring us level. With 25 minutes to go we looked like the most likely winners, a great boost considering we looked leagues below Wigan at the break!
Of course, with our current luck it was not to be. The dreaded 89th minute came and they once again found the gap and exploited it in style for an enviable winner... So we remain rooted and have no one else to blame. We were unlucky in the sense we had two returns from lengthy injury (Downing and Parlour, who did just OK) who were forced to play 90 minutes, stretching every ounce of fitness, as others hobbled off with fresh knocks. But really we just don't have the strength of character in depth that Hasselbaink demonstrated in the second 45, and the record books will only show another defeat. Hard times.
My MOTM: Hasselbaink got us back in it, but a terrific return from Downing takes the honours
