Middlesbrough 1, Derby 0

Mar 23 2008 by Steve Brown, Sunday Sun

INSTANTLY forgettable, Gareth Southgate called it.

Maybe, but Middlesbrough’s victory over Derby yesterday SHOULD be remembered. No seriously, stay with me.

For while the Boro boss remains reluctant to pre-empt his side’s Premier League survival, at least before it is mathematically guaranteed, and certainly ahead of back-to-back clashes with Chelsea and Manchester United, this win could prove crucial in their bid to stave off unwanted and nervous participation in a relegation dogfight, let alone the drop itself.

Oh it was awful. As severe as the elements. Gusts of wind had damaged a fuse box in the South Stand, forcing its closure (cue vast empty spaces, but no jokes please) then brought hail then snow, so much so that come the end we needed an orange football.

Or any football, for there hadn’t been much to warm the icy cockles. Easter indeed.

The one instance of genuine class – Tuncay Sanli’s sixth goal of the season – was all that separated the Teessiders from a Rams side sheepish in the first half, bullish in the second.

Against Boro’s walking wounded, they might well have levelled matters late on, but are rubbish, and didn’t.

They are down, while Boro are nigh-on safe.

After admirable approaches at Aston Villa and Arsenal, which did much to nurse the hangover of Cardiff, you knew this would be different, with the hosts – England stars Stewart Downing and David Wheater to hand, Under-21 starlet Andrew Taylor too (though no Robert Huth, injured, nor Mido, suspended) – ever uncomfortable favourites.

Here to that end, was a time to dig in then, and grind it out. And so they did, without ever dominating but edging it from the off.

Retrieving a half-cleared ball inside seven minutes, George Boateng fed Tuncay, who found Downing overlapping to his left.

And when the winger’s low, driven cross ricocheted off Robbie Savage, it squirmed narrowly wide. From the resulting corner, Tuncay connected powerfully but his header was forced behind by Roy Carroll.

By the 20th minute Derby were indebted to Savage, whose finely-timed tackle denied Jeremie Aliadiere a clear sight of goal, moments later Mile Sterjovski put the blocks on another Downing effort and then Lee Cattermole – in for Mohamed Shawky – brought up the half-hour mark by firing wide from the edge of the box following a half-cleared corner.

It all just wanted for a splash of cutting edge, a moment of precision.

But at least Boro were getting that far, for Derby weren’t, and all the doomed visitors could muster by this stage was Kenny Miller’s attempt to bundle through on goal, only to be thwarted by a combination of Luke Young and Emanuel Pogatetz.

Then, on 32 minutes, came that slice of quality, and with it, a goal.

Breaking down the left, Downing slid a pass up the line to Boateng, whose clever reverse pass crept inside Darren Moore to Tuncay.

The Turk cut infield across the edge of the box, dropped his shoulder to engineer space beyond the backtracking Dean Leacock before drilling a low, right-foot strike past a, by now, wrong-footed Carroll (pictured above).

Still Derby had little in the way of a response, and the best they could manage before the break was a hopeful slash at goal by Miller which flew high and wide.

After it, after 15 merciful minutes respite from the biting cold, minestrone a Godsend, the away side were back on the back foot.

Within seconds of the restart Aliadiere cut in from the right to hammer a shot against Carroll, then glanced a header wide from Downing’s corner.

Moments later Moore got in the way of Gary O’Neil’s piledriver and when Boateng’s thumping 20-yard volley looked destined for the top corner, Carroll stuck out an arm to push it behind.

Play on all parts seemed to then halt, while a snowstorm swept the Riverside, but once Boro grew accustomed to the conditions, they were back at it.

On 70 minutes Cattermole dispossessed Rams substitute Hossam Ghaly in the centre circle, strode forward and slipped a pass to Aliadiere on his right.

The Frenchman ran at Moore, who seemed so unnerved that he lost his footing and stumbled, only for his opponent’s angled shot to clatter to safety off Carroll.

At least Aliadiere hit the target; at the other end, Robert Earnshaw tried his luck from distance. And almost knocked over a corner flag.

Profligacy proving contagious, Aliadiere then headed wide and Miller fired tamely at Schwarzer, but for true wastefulness, Earnshaw could not – would not – be surpassed.

In the closing stages the ball pinged about Boro’s box until Andy Todd stood a cross up from the right-hand byline to the back post.

There, mere yards out, stood Earnshaw, unmarked and in acres. He missed. Which, for Derby, sort of sums things up.

Boro? Well, at least they won’t have to play them next season.