Boro opened the scoring two minutes before the break when Hayden Hackney rolled the ball to Finn Azaz on the left of the box, and the Irish midfielder drilled a well-struck finish past Vladan Kovacevic.
The Teessiders doubled their lead two minutes later, with Aidan Morris winning the ball in the Norwich half and playing a one-two with Hayden Hackney before sliding over a low cross that was turned in by Tommy Conway.
Trailing by two goals, Norwich’s task became even harder just before the hour mark when Jacob Wright was shown a straight red card as he thudded into Morris’ leg with a studs-up challenge after overrunning the ball.
The Canaries pulled a goal back with five minutes remaining when Josh Sargent chipped home after a long ball over the top, but despite Boro wasting a number of good opportunities to make things safe, Rob Edwards’ side held on to claim a third league win.
A PERFECT START
Yes, it’s only three games. But with three wins out of three, Boro couldn’t have made a better start to the Championship season. Stoke City are the only other team with a perfect record, and they’re currently ahead of Boro in the table on goal difference.
While a home game against Swansea might have represented a reasonably inviting start, Boro’s trips to Millwall and Norwich City looked a daunting prospect when the fixtures were released earlier this summer.
They’ve won both of them impressively, though, and while Rob Edwards will rightly insist that these remain very early days, the mood around Middlesbrough has been completely transformed since Michael Carrick’s tenure ended so tamely in the final few weeks of last season.
There is a sense of excitement and optimism around Boro, with the imminent arrival of striker Kaly Sene from Lausanne representing more positive progress. With Matt Targett also on the verge of signing on loan from Newcastle United, Boro’s squad has come together nicely. Keep Hayden Hackney beyond the end of the month, and the Teessiders can be justifiably pleased with their summer business.
AZAZ’S APPEARANCE
Edwards confirmed earlier in the week that Azaz would be in the Boro squad at Carrow Road despite this week’s failed bid from Southampton for his services.
The expectation was that the Irishman would be back on the bench. Instead, Edwards’ faith in Azaz’s ability to ignore the ongoing transfer talk was highlighted by his presence in the starting line-up for the first time this season.
For the opening 40 minutes or so, it looked a misguided move, with Azaz struggling in the final third. Twice, the Irishman wasted promising positions by overhitting a forward pass, but when he was presented an opportunity to open the scoring in the 43rd minute, he was not found wanting.
Receiving the ball from Hackney on the left of the area, Azaz shuffled the ball onto his left foot before hammering past Norwich goalkeeper Vladan Kovacevic at his near post.
BORO’S AGGRESSIVE PRESSING
From the moment he walked through the door at Rockliffe Park, Edwards has preached the importance of pressing aggressively high up the field. Today’s game provided evidence that his words are having the desired effect.
Boro’s players pressed high in the Norwich half all afternoon, and their enthusiasm was rewarded with both first-half goals.
Twice, Boro won the ball in the Norwich half, with Morris especially effective as he snapped around closing down Mirko Topic in particular; twice the turnovers led to a goal, with Hackney setting up Azaz for the opener before Morris laid on the second for Conway.
Boro played somewhat differently in the second half, with most of their threat coming on the counter-attack as they sat deep and invited Norwich on, knowing they had a two-goal lead to defend. Unlike Carrick, who tended to be tactically one dimensional, Edwards clearly wants his team to be tactically versatile.
DEFENSIVE DOMINANCE
It wasn’t quite a third clean sheet. Boro became the final Championship side to concede a goal this season when Sammy Silvera failed to deal with a long ball over the top in the 85th minute, allowing Josh Sargent to chip an advancing Sol Brynn. For the vast majority of the game, though, Boro defended impressively once again.
True, there was as couple of let-offs before the break. Josh Sargent would have backed himself to score from at least one of the headed opportunities he was presented with in the first half, but the American failed to find the target on both occasions.
But there was still an awful lot to admire in Boro’s defensive play, both in terms of the way Edwards has organised his new-look five-man backline and the doggedness displayed by Boro’s defenders as they kept out the Norwich attack.
Dael Fry produced a perfectly-timed first-half challenge to rob the ball from Jack Stacey when the Norwich wing-back was shaping to shoot, and Luke Ayling impressed all afternoon as he drifted between the right-hand side of Boro’s central defence and the touchline.
