Middlesbrough Football Club

• Nickname:Boro
• Founded:1876
• Manager:Tony Mowbray

• Ground:Riverside Stadium
• Capacity:35049

Boro earn Southgate praise

23 Sep 2007 - 12:12:10

Click To Enlarge

Middlesbrough manager Gareth Southgate was trying to look on the bright side after a 2-2 derby draw with Sunderland, which saw him lose three key players to injury.

A last-minute Liam Miller robbed Boro of all three points, but Southgate was happy with his side, who lost Tuncay, Julio Arca and Mido due to injury earlier on in the afternoon.

He said: "It would be easy to throw things and be annoyed, but I have got to say, I am proud of what the players have done, because it was an afternoon where pretty much everything that could have gone against us did.

"We went a goal behind in the first minute to a shot that hit their own player and deflected right into his path, but our response to that was very good.

"We lost three very influential players to injury and I said to them at half-time you have afternoons like this in football and there are two options.

"You either sit and feel sorry for yourselves and you lose the game, or you roll your sleeves up and you say right, what a great game this is to win now with everything going against us.

"Their attitude and the way the responded were fantastic. We looked like we might edge it, we didn't, but I am not prepared for them to leave this ground with their heads down.

"They were very down at the end, but as a manager you can only ask them to give what they have given."