- Wheater (12), Downing (37)
- Date:2007-09-01
- Kick-off:15:00
- Venue:The Riverside Stadium
- Attendance:22920
- Referee:Styles, R
Live Commentary
90mins
First-half goals from David Wheater and Stewart Downing give Boro a comfortable win over Birmingham.
87mins
Mido comes off for Dong-Gook Lee
84mins
Aliadiere comes off to rapturous applause and is replaced by Tuncay Sanli
82mins
It appears all over with less than 10 minutes left
81mins
Rochemback is replaced by Lee Cattermole for Boro
79mins
Kapo is the latest Birmingham player to be booked for a foul on Mido
77mins
Jerome is offside for Blues
73mins
Blues look beaten with just over 15 minutes left at The Riverside
70mins
Aliadiere has been excellent today and he goes close again to making it 3-0
68mins
Aliadiere's cross is fired wide by Luke Young
67mins
It's all Boro still with a third goal on the cards
66mins
Downing's effort is cleared off the line by Nafti as Boro continue to look to wrap things up
64mins
Rochemback's shot is blocked as Boro pile forward again
63mins
Nafti is booked for a foul on Mido
60mins
Bruce was obviously unhappy with his side's display and decided to haul three off at once
58mins
Rochemback's corner is cleared well by O'Connor
56mins
And Muamba comes off for Mehdi Nafti
56mins
Mikael Forssell is also replaced by Garry O'Connor
56mins
Steve Bruce has had enough and makes three changes Larsson is replaced by Gary McSheffrey
54mins
Aliadiere's effort is well saved by Taylor now
53mins
Rochemback's cross is headed wide by Arca - but he should have scored
51mins
Mido has been lively again, causing Blues all sorts of problems but he's caught offside
49mins
Mido is the second player shown the yellow card
47mins
Radhi Jaidi brings down Mido early in the second half
45mins
The second 45 gets underway with Birmingham needing a quick goal to get back into it
45mins
Wheater and Downing on target as Boro are in charge at the break
43mins
Julio Arca gets frustrated and is late on Muamba
41mins
Bruce will need to give his side a major talking to at half time as Blues have, on the whole, been second best in the first half
39mins
Just as City had shown signs of coming back into it, Boro go further in front
37mins
Downing fires Boro further in front, latching onto George Boateng's downward header
35mins
Boro are still in front but the visitors are definitely in the game more now
33mins
Fabrice Muamba is the first player of the afternoon to be booked
29mins
Birmingham are showing signs of improvement as another Jerome shot is straight at Schwarzer
28mins
Wheater hauls down Jerome but Larsson's free-kick comes to nothing
26mins
Larsson's cross is cleared well by Wheater
24mins
Jeremie Aliadiere's shot is well saved by Maik Taylor as Boro continue to look the more dangerous side
22mins
Johan Djourou tries an ambitious shot, but it's fairly comfortable for Mark Schwarzer
19mins
Steve Bruce will be hoping that goal will rejuvenate his side as they have been quiet so far
16mins
Blues hit on the counter-attack as a Cameron Jerome shot flies over the bar
14mins
The home side are really taking the game to Birmingham and they are on the lookout for a quick second goal
12mins
The goal has been coming for Boro, who have dominated so far
11mins
Boro take an early lead through David Wheater, who heads home Andrew Taylor's cross
7mins
Birmingham do venture forward and win a corner from which Larsson's delivery is met by the head of Liam Ridgewell, but it's wide
5mins
The home side have definitely made the better start here with Blues yet to muster a decent attack
3mins
Fabio Rochemback's corner finds its way to David Wheater but it flies over as Boro make the better start
2mins
Stewart Downing's cross evades everyone and drifts harmlessly out of play
0mins
The action gets underway at The Riverside
0mins
Middlesbrough are unchanged from last week's derby draw against Newcastle, while for Birmingham, Sebastian Larsson replaces Gary McSheffrey up front
Match Preview
Middlesbrough will be aiming to build on their late equaliser against Newcastle last weekend as they face a Birmingham side high after their first win of the season against Derby County.
In what has historically been a high scoring affair - 31 goals in ten games including a 5-3 thriller three years ago - talk at the Riverside has been on two previous strikers and their current star.
The saga surrounding Yakubu was finally resolved last week as he followed Mark Viduka out of the club.
Having seen Viduka return to Teesside with Newcastle last week, Boro chairman Steve Gibson launched a stinging attacks on the pair, saying Viduka would "go to the highest bidder" while Yakubu "switched off halfway through last season and we still don't know why".
Meanwhile, the FA is looking into abuse faced by Egyptian forward Mido during the Newcastle clash, fearing it was racially motivated.
Mido responded after the game: "The chants made me want to score more goals. I was delighted to score and I wanted another."
He will face a Birmingham backline which has failed to keep a clean sheet this year and has seen defender Martin Taylor undergo a hernia operation this week which will keep him out for at least three weeks.
Fellow defender Rafael Schmitz should return to the team alongside captain Damien Johnson. Both have yet to play a game for the Blues this year and manager Steve Bruce is enthusiastic about the difference they will make.
"It will be good to have him back in contention and we were certainly short in numbers in the midfield area during the early part of the season," he explained.
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Match Report
Middlesbrough gave a fine attacking display to fully deserve the three points, after establishing a two-goal lead at half-time.
Manager Gareth Southgate would have been pleased with the all-round performance of his team, but City boss Steve Bruce must have been disappointed with the contribution of his side.
But City never really threatened as an attacking force and Middlesbrough deserved the ovation as they left the field at the final whistle.
Referee Rob Styles returned to Premier League action after a one-match ban imposed by referee's supremo Keith Hackett.
Middlesbrough went ahead after 12 minutes, when David Wheater celebrated his England Under-21 call-up by beating Maik Taylor with a header. Andrew Taylor, another England Under-21 selection, provided the left-wing cross for Wheater to make his mark.
For Birmingham, Cameron Jerome broke through on the right but his weak shot was easily saved by Mark Schwarzer.
Middlesbrough increased their lead after 36 minutes through Stewart Downing.
It was celebration time for Downing following his call-up for England's European qualifying matches. Taylor again provided a left-wing cross for George Boateng to head perfectly in the path of Downing, who made no mistake.
Middlesbrough had shown decisive finishing, but Birmingham had lacked threat in attack.
Fabio Rochemback, who was once again outstanding in Middlesbrough's midfield, blasted a powerful shot over the bar as Middlesbrough continued their pressure.
Steve Bruce must have hoped for a much improved performance by his team in the second half.
There was no immediate effect, though in the 65th minute Bruce took a brave gamble when he introduced three substitutes, Garry O'Connor, Gary McSheffrey and Medhi Nafti.
Birmingham were forced to defend stubbornly and it was a mystery how Middlesbrough had not increased the scoreline.
Former Spurs striker Mido was among the players withdrawn by Southgate in the closing stages.
Mido was warmly applauded by the fans as he left the field and it was obvious that the Boro crowd had taken the Egyptian international striker to their hearts.
The £6million signing provides a goal threat that is also prepared to work hard in the rest of the field.
Bruce faces a tough task lifting his players after this performance. It looks as though his new signings will need time to fit into the set-up.
Middlesbrough Team
Birmingham City Team
Middlesbrough | Birmingham City |
Corners
| 11 | 5 |
Fouls
| 8 | 12 |
Goal attempts
| 13 | 9 |
Shots off target
| 6 | 5 |
Offsides
| 3 | 2 |
82mins
McSheffrey fires a shot just wide