Source: Northern_Echo
Middlesbrough 0 Blackpool 3
SO much for turning a corner then. Whereas Saturday's four-goal win at QPR had initially looked like a change of direction, in the wake of last night's humbling three-goal defeat to Blackpool, it now resembles nothing more than a temporary detour on the road to ruin.[LNB] It took less than 72 hours for Middlesbrough to revert to type, and any momentum generated by the weekend's away win dissipated amid a barrage of boos as Gordon Strachan's side slipped to their fifth home defeat of an increasingly harrowing campaign.[LNB] Gary Taylor-Fletcher's firsthalf double was no more than Blackpool deserved given the extent of their domination, and the fact that it owed much to some dreadful defending merely added to the sense of frustration that oozed from the Riverside stands.[LNB] Gary O'Neil's departure on a stretcher at the start of the second half piled on further misery, and while Boro improved marginally as an attacking force after the interval, Charlie Adam's 83rd-minute strike secured Blackpool's first away success since mid-September.[LNB] Their superiority was unquestionable, and Middlesbrough's failure to turn their home form around is now a major source of concern. On this evidence, breaking down obdurate opposition remains a task that seems well beyond the Teessiders.[LNB] With Blackpool's midfield and defence much more welldrilled than QPR's had been at the weekend, Boro were utterly unable to pick their way through the opposition ranks.[LNB] Adam Johnson, restored to the starting line-up despite the quality of Saturday's display without him, fired in a cross-shot that was fisted out by Paul Rachubka, and delivered a teasing 18th-minute centre that Dave Kitson could only direct straight at the Blackpool goalkeeper.[LNB] That, though, was as good as it got all night, and the next time Boro made it into the final third of the field, they found themselves two goals down.[LNB] Taylor-Fletcher scored them both, and the strikes, which came in the 21st and 26th minutes, were carbon copies of each other.[LNB] On both occasions midfielder Barry Bannan supplied the through ball, on both occasions Taylor-Fletcher held off the challenge of a less-than-effective Sean St Ledger, and on both occasions he prodded a precise finish beyond Brad Jones into the bottom righthand corner.[LNB] The only difference was the volume of the booing that followed the finish. It was just about audible following the first goal; just about cacophonous after the second.[LNB] Taylor-Fletcher's finishing was polished, but St Ledger succumbed far too meekly, and having been bequeathed a squad he clearly feels is both unbalanced and lacking experience, Strachan will also be cursing his predecessor, Gareth Southgate, for leaving him with a £2.5m deal with Preston he cannot get out of.[LNB] St Ledger will become a Middlesbrough player at the start of next month whether Strachan likes it or not, and a significant proportion of the transfer kitty available to the Scotsman will be disappearing across the Pennines in the opposite direction.[LNB] In fairness to St Ledger, he was not the only defender to struggle last night, and after producing his best display in a Boro shirt during Saturday's success, Isaiah Osbourne followed up with his worst.[LNB] The Aston Villa loanee provided little or no protection, and as a result, Blackpool were able to carve out three more decent opportunities before the break.[LNB] Adam fired a free-kick over the crossbar, Brett Ormerod shot wide when well placed, and Taylor-Fletcher passed up a decent chance of a hat-trick when he headed straight at Jones from eight yards. Had one or more of the opportunities gone in, a bad situation would have become even more embarrassing.[LNB] Things did get worse for Boro within the opening 15 minutes of the second half, but this time the damage had nothing to do with Blackpool's attacking efforts.[LNB] Having only just returned from a groin injury, O'Neil was involved in an innocuous looking collision with Keith Southern.[LNB] Unfortunately the midfielder, who was making his 300th career appearance, was knocked unconscious, and after more than five minutes of treatment, he was stretchered from the field with his neck in a brace.[LNB] Mark Yeates replaced him, and the Irishman's first act was to deliver a corner that St Ledger fired straight at Rachubka at the back post.[LNB] Ian Evatt produced an excellent last-ditch tackle to deny Johnson shortly after, but Blackpool crowned their deserved success with a third goal in the 83rd minute.[LNB] Adam waltzed his way into the penalty box, and drilled a crisp finish into the corner.[LNB] Goals: Taylor-Fletcher (21, 0-1; 26, 0- 2), Adam (83, 0-3) Bookings: Pogatetz (51, foul) Referee: Rob Shoebridge (Derby) - 5 Attendance: 18,089 Entertainment: [LNB] MIDDLESBROUGH (4-4-2): Jones 5; R Williams 4 (McMahon 46, 5), St Ledger 3, Wheater 4, Pogatetz 5; Arca 4 (Digard 80), O'Neil 5 (Yeates 62, 5), Osbourne 4, JOHNSON 6; Lita 5, Kitson 5. Subs (not used): Coyne (gk), Hoyte, Emnes, L Williams.[LNB] BLACKPOOL (4-5-1): Rachubka 6; Baptiste 6, Edwards 5 (Eardley 16, 6), Evatt 7, Crainey 6; Ormerod 6, Adam 6, Vaughan 7, Southern 6, Bannan 7 (Bangura 84); TAYLOR-FLETCHER 8 (Euell 84). Subs (not used): Gilks (gk), Martin, Bouazza, Demontagnac.[LNB] MAN OF THE MATCH GARY Taylor- Fletcher gave St Ledger a torrid time and two goals in five minutes[LNB]
