The Owls were on a dreadful run home and away, which led to Danny Rohl’s furious blast after Friday’s defeat at Stoke City. Pair that with the anger in the stands aimed at wantaway owner Dejphon Chansiri and Hillsborough was hardly the happiest of places for those on the pitch in blue and white yesterday.
So why did Wednesday look the hungrier of the two sides in the second half against Middlesbrough? Why, with so much at stake and with 4,000 away fans behind the goal, did Boro flop so badly?
Carrick was desperate to try and spin the positives after the game, stressing that a top six finish is still in Boro’s hands. That much is true. But the performance and the manner of the defeat goes a long way to explaining why there’s apathy rather than anticipation in the stands.
CARRICK CAN HAVE NO COMPLAINTS AT QUESTION HE DIDN’T LIKE
After the game, in his post-match interview on BBC Tees, Carrick was asked by Mark Drury whether his side was mentally strong enough and equipped to deal with the pressures that will come with the final two-game shoot-out for a place in the top six.
Carrick bit back and dismissed the suggestion, claiming it was a “terrible question”.
It wasn’t. It was a good question and perfectly valid on the back of not just what had happened at Hillsborough but what has been the story of Boro’s season.
Carrick doesn’t like the suggestions of his side being soft-centred or mentally fragile but finds it hard to explain why Boro have thrown away so many points from positions of strength.
Boro have scored the first goal on 25 occasions this season but lost five of those games and failed to win nine. Compare that with promoted Burnley, who have taken the lead in 23 games and won 22 of them. Or with rivals Bristol City who have scored first in 21 games and only lost once.
“It’s about understanding what to do at certain points of the game,” said Carrick after Monday’s defeat.
Game management has been an issue all season.
And in the last month alone, a second half drop-off has cost Boro at Sheffield Wednesday and Millwall.
Boro have conceded eight more goals in the second half of games this season than the first and only two teams – Plymouth and Sheffield Wednesday – have conceded more in the last 15 minutes of games.
Sheffield Wednesday twice, Norwich, Watford, Bristol City and Portsmouth away. Points costly thrown away.
What’s the explanation? Tactics? Game management? Mindset?
All of the above?
It’s a fair question to ask.
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THE ISSUE OF SUBSTITUTIONS – AGAIN
One question Carrick has been asked of late is about his substitutions, or lack of them.
Liam Manning and Alex Neil both made decisive switches that swung the game in Boro’s defeats at Bristol City and Millwall and it was the same again at Sheffield Wednesday.
Rohl introduced Anthony Musaba at the break and it was the substitute who struck the last minute winner, helped by Boro’s latest shambolic defensive calamity.
Carrick could see what the issue was. The pitch, he said, had “become that bit more stretched”. But the reaction to the momentum swing in the game was again delayed.
“We’ve got to find a way of gaining control again and making good decisions within that,” he said.
The head coach last week claimed the timing of his first substitution is “irrelevant” and is judged by what’s happening on the pitch, but the evidence of recent games doesn’t back that up. In four of Boro’s last six games, Carrick’s first change has come in the 66th minute. That was again the case on Monday when Delano Burgzorg was introduced.
The next attacking change was in the 91st minute after Sheffield Wednesday’s winner.
So what was in Carrick’s thinking at 1-1? Was he prioritising winning the game or not losing it?
“There’s always a balance,” he said.
“We didn’t feel we had to chase the game because there’s still a lot of football to be played and plenty can change in that time.
“We’ve got a lot to lose, so there’s definitely a balance. In the end, we have lost.
“But at this stage, going into the last game, providing we get the right result next week, at Coventry it will be right in front of our faces.
“So results elsewhere don’t really matter. Today was about taking something from the game for ourselves to move on. In the end, we’ve all ended up taking nothing from the day.”
AND YET…
And yet, despite all of the above and the frustrations at what has gone before, Boro are still in there with a shout. Somehow.
And, as ridiculous as it might sound, it’s not a stretch to say that Boro are likely to go into the final day of the season positioned in the top six.
Why? Well on Saturday lunchtime Coventry, who have picked up just one point from their last four away games, head to Kenilworth Road to face a Luton side on a high after successive wins. The bookmakers have Luton as favourites to win that game.
If the Hatters do indeed win then Boro will kick off against Norwich – the side currently bottom of the Championship form table – knowing a win will take them back into the top six.
Bristol City are guaranteed to be in the play-off places ahead of their final day game at home to Preston – which looks kind – but the pressure will be on if they get beat at Leeds next Monday night. Yes, Leeds are up but they’re still in a battle for the title.
That Boro are still in with a chance having lost 17 games this season, just two fewer than second bottom Cardiff, says everything about the standard of the division beneath the top three or four. It’s not difficult to make the case that Boro should be home and dry in the top six like Sunderland and preparing for the play-offs. It’s equally as easy to make the case that Boro should be well out of it by now.
