But any sense of deja vu is understandable, for there was nothing new about Boro’s latest act of self destruction.
And the reality is there isn’t much new to add to the issues that have been discussed at length this season and yet continue to plague Michael Carrick’s side.
It’s fair to ask, though, given we’re now almost two thirds of the way through the season, will this side ever learn?
Are they ever going to stop shooting themselves in the foot? They had their heads in their hands again on Saturday – both at full-time and a few minutes earlier, which led to the chaotic moment they gifted Preston the winner.
It was a third successive 2-1 Deepdale defeat for Boro and Carrick, who can’t enjoy his visits to this neck of the woods. If Boro are to avoid a return next season, they need to start showing a ruthless edge when on top in games, stop giving away soft goals and, crucially, find some consistency. But you knew all of that before Saturday’s defeat.
Boro had 31 touches in the opposition box compared to Preston’s 14 but failed to make them count. They’ve now kept just one clean sheet in their last 10 away games. And it’s now more than two months since they won two games on the bounce. One step forward, one back. That isn’t the form of a promotion-winning side in a division in which momentum is craved.
As is so often the case, Carrick liked a lot of what he saw.
“I think today as much as any game was fully there for us,” he said.
“We were good at a lot of things, for a lot of the game, we defended really well at times and defended the second ball at times, we took control for large parts.”
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But as is so often the case, there was a ‘but’.
“A couple of moments where we shoot ourselves in the foot from nowhere,” he said.
Stefán Thórdarson’s opening goal just before the half hour mark was soft, free to pick up the loose ball and coast towards the Boro box before cutting inside and picking his spot.
But the winner 12 minutes from time was shambolic, even by the standards Boro have set at times this season. If you haven’t yet watched it, prepare yourself for disbelief. Why on earth did Aidan Morris decide to pass it back to Luke Ayling after the defender had just clashed heads with Rav van den Berg and clearly wasn’t expecting to receive the ball? Considering, however, he didn’t expect it, why then didn’t Ayling just clear to safety? He tried to play his way out of trouble, was dispossessed and substitute Emil Riis slammed home the winner.
Boro the victims of their own defensive naivety again. And poor game management. Again.
“You can single out certain individual moments but it was a collective,” said Carrick.
“From the whole game we controlled them moments then it was a bit of a mess in the end but it shouldn’t have got to that point.
“We have to [stop those moments], I have to, it’s my responsibility. I thought for large parts is was good of an away performance as we get. A couple of drop offs, it’s a tough one to accept. We have to accept it and we have to do better for the whole time.
“It’s brutal, that’s the game, we’ve shown what we can do, we’ve shown what’s making it difficult for ourselves.”
At full-time, Delano Burgzorg and Rav van den Berg were the last two players off the pitch after a lengthy discussion, the frustrated forward clearly trying to make sense of how more points had been thrown away.
Burgzorg was Boro’s best player, taking his goal extremely well after a sublime Ben Doak through-ball. The Dutch forward has been a fine signing. Morgan Whittaker looks to be another. Carrick has the tools. Boro should be in a stronger position in the Championship table. It’s Sunderland at home next, on deadline day, when the squad will have almost certainly been been further strengthened by more new arrivals. Will Emmanuel Latte Lath still be a Boro player at that stage? His injury early at Preston added an extra layer of uncertainty to his situation.
Carrick was the first to reach the 5,000 away fans at full-time to show his appreciation.
“The boys are devastated, I’m devastated, the fans – the disappointment – it’s a horrible day to be sitting here with nothing,” he said.
“We were really good in the game then the second-half was fantastic, kicking towards the supporters – who were incredible, it felt like they were going to suck it in. That feeling when Delano scored, that emotion, we thought it was going to come again then it ends up going the other way.
“It’s a tough day for us. It was as much as we’ve had for a long time in terms of the momentum, the supporters, the noise and energy in the ground all for us, it was great for us to be a part of and me witnessing it on the sideline.
“For it to drop out because of a team moment from their goalkeeper, letting them come through the pitch and the ending, it’s not nice to watch – it’s not a good watch at all, it’s like, ‘where’s that come from boys?’ We’ve shot ourselves in the foot from when all we could see was a goal coming our way and that’s the lesson that we’ve got to learn, we’ve got to do something about it.”
“Having said that, there’s still a hell of an opportunity for us and the position that we’re in, there’s an awful lot to play for, we’ve got to take the real positive energy that I thought we had first-half to keep that passion and momentum, carry that into next Monday.”
