Source: Northern_Echo
Boro show steel
PRIOR to Saturday's match, supporters would be probably surprised to discover the town of Middlesbrough and city of Sheffield shared a lot in common in shaping the nation's cultural heritage.[LNB] In the Industrial Revolution, Teesside's iron ore deposits and South Yorkshire's steel-making skills were integral in making Great Britain the workshop of the world.[LNB] But any social, cultural and economic solidarity, or deference, was put behind them at the weekend as Boro showed their mettle over their more affluent Steel City counterparts to record a hard-fought, smash-and-grab victory and take a step closer to Championship safety - although the game was not short of controversy.[LNB] Blades boss Micky Adams believes his side were "mugged" by Boro. And while there was no evidence Adams' team had been held up at knifepoint, he reckons Marvin Emnes should not have been on the pitch when he coolly slid past Steve Simonsen to net the matchwinner with a minute to go.[LNB] Adams may have a point. Television replays clearly show the Dutchman kicking Michael Doyle after the pair came together. But, at the same time, the Irishman did have his arms around Emnes' neck, so he is far from innocent himself.[LNB] Middlesbrough manager Tony Mowbray says he did not see the incident.[LNB] He said: "All I would say about Marvin is he's a fantastic lad.[LNB] "He's a quiet, shy, introverted lad and there's no way in a million years Marvin would kick anybody unless he was severely provoked. I didn't see it, the press didn't see it, the referee didn't see it. Get on with it.[LNB] "From my perspective I'm happy Marvin showed his quality on the one occasion he got to show his quality."[LNB] Boro's £3.2m striker was not the only one to show his class on the day.[LNB] Although there were several dogged and determined displays from a visiting side, who spent most of the contest on the back foot, there were not many better than the returning Stephen McManus.[LNB] The former Celtic central defender was a colossus at the back as Boro had to repel wave after wave of attacks.[LNB] "He came on and scored the equaliser in the last minute against Leicester the other week and we thought we'd use that adrenaline he had and the positivity he had going in to this game," said Mowbray "We knew they'd be direct with Henderson up front. We knew they'd go back to front to try and put you on the back foot.[LNB] "He's an old fashioned type centre half who wants to head the ball; wants to throw his body in the way of things and block balls. We saw him off (the field) getting stitches for a cut on his head but he came back on. As we move on its that sort of personality and character that we need."[LNB] Julio Arca's contribution should not be underestimated too.[LNB] The Argentine replaced a tiring Nicky Bailey, with less than half an hour to go, and grabbed the game by the scruff of its neck. His experience, guile and ball retention took the pace out of a fast and furious game, where at times it was difficult to draw breath. And his sublime pass to pick out Emnes to net the winner was without doubt one of the game's highlights.[LNB] "We didn't play as well as we would like to with the ball but that changed when Julio came on," admitted Mowbray.[LNB] "You could see the presence one player makes and he showed his ability and composure on the ball. That was always the plan, to bring him on if we were still in the game to come on and try and change it and we managed to do that."[LNB] Prior to that, Matthew Bates capped a six-week absence by returning to the side and opening the scoring in the 18th minute. Against the run of play, the Boro skipper scuffed Andrew Taylor's delightfully weighted pass past Simonsen, before Matthew Lowton headed a deserved equaliser five minutes later.[LNB] What followed was tantamount to a siege. But Boro stood up to the onslaught and nicked a scruffy win that should preserve the Teessiders' Championship status for another term, despite Mowbray's cautious approach.[LNB] "As a football manager you never say you're safe until you've mathematically got enough points to mean they can't catch you," said the 47-year-old.[LNB] "But what I do know is the bottom three need to win something like four of their last six at least - and that's if we don't win another point.[LNB] "If we do, they need to win five or six out of six and that's very difficult for teams in the bottom three because they haven't done it all season."[LNB] MATCHFACTS[LNB] Goals:[LNB] 0-1: Bates (18, clipped left-foot shot past Simonsen from ten yards from Taylor pass)[LNB] 1-1: Lowton (28, headed Mattock cross home from close range at back post)[LNB] 1-2: Emnes (89, slid ball past keeper following sublime Arca pass)[LNB] Bookings: Williams (26 foul), Mattock (38, foul), Bennett (45, ungentlemanly conduct), Lowry (80, foul)[LNB] Referee: Andy Woolmer (Northants) - A bit pedantic at times. He missed Emnes' kick on Doyle while his booking of Bennett looked harsh, especially when a Blades player went down in a similar fashion yet escaped a caution 4[LNB] Attendance: 21,572[LNB] Entertainment: ppppp[LNB] United Boro[LNB] Shots on 8 6[LNB] Shots off 7 5[LNB] Corners 10 6[LNB] Offsides 3 1[LNB] Foul: 13 10[LNB] Sheffield United (4-3-3): Simonson 7; Nosworthy 5 (Bent 69), Collins 7, Lowry 7, Mattock 7; Doyle 6 (Tonne 86), Quinn 7, Risse 6; LOWTON 8, Henderson 6, Bogdanovic 6 (Yeates 75). Subs (not used): Aksalu, Kozluk, McAllister, James[LNB] Middlesbrough (4-4-2):[LNB] 8 Smith: Kept his side in the contest with several fine stops but no chance for[LNB] the goal;[LNB] 5 McMahon: Had a difficult afternoon but never shirked it[LNB] 6 Hines: The young defender did his reputation no harm with a good show[LNB] 8 McMANUS: The returning defender was excellent in repelling wave after wave[LNB] of Blades' attack[LNB] 5 Bennett: Nothing wrong with his attacking play, just needs to defend better. At fault for[LNB] the goal but never let it[LNB] affect him;[LNB] 5 Williams: A tough day for the naturally central player who was asked to play wide right[LNB] 7 Bates: The skipper capped a winning return with a finely taken goal[LNB] 6 Bailey: Another who worked hard when swamped in the middle of the park[LNB] 6 Taylor: Great vision to set up the opening goal;[LNB] 5 McDonald: Worked the line but only one half chance to carve an opening[LNB] 7 Emnes: Lucky to stay on the pitch but goals was just what he deserved for a great shift[LNB] Subs:[LNB] Arca (for Bailey 63): Changed the pace of the game on his arrival. His left peg is so gifted it could open a tin of peas 7[LNB] Halliday (for McDonald 87)[LNB] Tavares (for Emnes 90)[LNB] (not used): Coyne, Kink, Davies, Smallwood[LNB] Man of the Match[LNB] MATTHEW Lowton - caused all sorts of problems for Boro all afternoon. Only Smith's excellent stops prevented him putting the game beyond reach[LNB]
