Coventry City 3 Middlesbrough 1

Jan 22 2012 Sunday Sun

Matthew Bates of Middlesbrough battles with Clive Platt of Coventry

BORO’S promotion bandwagon hit the wall in a car-crash display at rock-bottom Coventry.

Brittle Boro collapsed into a shapeless mess and finished with nine men as they were monstered by the Championship’s basement club.

They were given a torrid time and completely out-played by a side who had not scored three goals in a game all season and remain six points adrift.

To add insult to injury, Alex Nimely, anonymous on a loan spell at Boro earlier this season, scored one and had a hand in the other two as a ponderous defence made him look a class act.

Boro now look bereft of confidence after a nightmare start to the year.

It means a side who were two points off the top on Boxing Day have lost all three league games in January, leaked eight and have scored just one – the late consolation at the Ricoh.

And to add to the rising air of crisis they had two key midfielders sent off, Kevin Thomson for a second yellow and Julio Arca at the death for a wild, sliding lunge.

That means a massive crisis going into next week’s FA Cup derby at Sunderland.

Boro showed early intent and carved out a series of promising chances as they broke fluently and in numbers.

They threatened in the first minute as a Joe Bennett cross was flicked into the box by Barry Robson for Scott McDonald to stab straight at the keeper from six yards.

Then, in the fifth minute, Robson sent Marvin Emnes weaving forward but his shot from the edge of the area was deflected behind off a defender.

Boro won a free-kick on nine minutes. When Robson’s delivery was half-cleared, Thomson hooked it back into the danger area for McDonald to try a low snap-shot on the turn that brought a good save from keeper Joe Murphy.