Birmingham are just as desperate as AFCB for a win

Birmingham City are sitting right above the Championship's relegation zone and maybe feeling they are in with a great chance in this game when look at how Bournemouth have been playing in their last few games. Aitor Karanka would love to get a win over Jonathan Woodgate, who he tutored while at Middlesbrough, and he'll know that a defeat could leave Birmingham in the bottom three. Bournemouth will know that if they can perform to somewhere near their best, this is a game they should win, but a new manager, new signings and a lack of confidence could make lead them to further turmoil.

Will we see a new and revitalised AFCB?

Birmingham have brought in a few new players in January. They picked up Rakeem Harper and Yan Valery on loan, while Keyendrah Symmonds and Sam Cosgrove have signed permanent deals with the Blues. Birmingham have been having trouble scoring goals. Jeremie Bela is top scorer with three, along with Scot Hogan, but Lucas Jutkiewicz could keep his place up front, while Jon Toral could play just in behind the main striker.

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A 0-0 draw against Wycombe Wanderers away in Birmingham's last match might seem like AFCB have nothing to fear. But Bournemouth will be doubting themselves with the run of results that they have had. You have to go back to 16 December to find Birmingham scoring more than one goal in a league match and even then they lost 3-2 to Cardiff City. Their last away win was against Middlesbrough on 16 January, but then you have to go back to 9 December when they got a great 1-2 win over Reading. Yet, if Bournemouth had to pick a side to play next, I think Birmingham would be pretty high up in their wish list as they have only won one of their last 10 games.

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Bournemouth themselves have a couple of injury concerns with Solanke a doubt and Stanislas, who has an ankle problem. It may mean that Shane Long is given a start and Brooks and Danjuma might take up the wing positions if Stanislas is struggling. It seems that Cameron Carter-Vickers was putting himself about in training and he must fancy his chances for replacing Chris Mepham who had a shocking moment last game to give Sheffield Wednesday their opening goal. Midfield could also see a change or two with Ben Pearson perhaps given a start after the flat performance of Wilshere last game when he was subbed at half-time.

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Everybody should start with a clean sheet with a new manager, but I am sure Woodgate will know Bournemouth's main players well enough to ask them for a reaction rather than make too many changes. Tindall couldn't make them perform, what can Woodgate do? We'll have a good idea after this game. He'll boost his chances of becoming permanent manager enormously if he can find what is missing in this Cherries side. Here's hoping, as it seems a long time ago when the Cherries last won a game.

Birmingham City Away Form
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AFCB Home Form
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Previous post on Cherry Chimes - Terry, Vieira, Howe, Lampard - is Woodgate really top choice?

Possible AFCB line-up

AFCB Subs: Dennis, Rico, Mepham, Smith, Billing,

Wilshere, Riquelme, Surridge, Anthony 

Can St Andrews remain a happy hunting ground for AFCB?

Bournemouth go to Birmingham knowing that they have been not scoring freely of late and after their first defeat they'll want to refind their form. The team that Jason Tindall put out last time was one of the strongest he could have put out, but he'll need to find a replacement for Steve Cook if Bournemouth don't challenge his one-match ban. Bournemouth will need to pick players that are going to fight harder for the win than in recent matches as Birmingham City are coming off the back of a home defeat and also need to reestablish St Andrews as more of a fortress.

AFCB look to carry n their strong record at St Andrews.

Birmingham will seek to redress their problems in being ought fought in their last game against Wycombe Wanderers. Aitor Karanka spoke of not being able to be complacent against Wycombe and dropping their standards but that is exactly what they did after a good 1-2 away win against Preston North End. Birmingham have been indifferent at home with two wins a draw and two defeats in their last five games at home.

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Their top scorers are striker Jerémie Bela and midfielder Gary Gardner on two goals each. Striker Lukas Jutkiewicz has also got a goal to get of the mark, but while there are a spread of other players on one goal, Birmingham have only scored four goals in their last five games. Their biggest win is a 2-1 home win over Huddersfield Town, so they haven't exactly been rolling teams over but they have been competitive and have no heavy defeats.

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Adam Clayton and George Friend missed Birmingham's last game and they are the vocal players so they might be back against Bournemouth. Scott Hogan is the man that Karanka needs to start featuring on the goal sheet, as he was a big signing this summer from Aston Villa. Fans have been impressed with Mikel San Jose in midfield and Neil Etheridge in goal who was signed from Cardiff City. Birmingham City has been a rebuild project, but they are not fully settled yet and that is what Bournemouth have to take advantage of.  

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Bournemouth played well at St Andrews last time but that was against Coventry City. That may help them though to play in the same surroundings against Birmingham knowing they have had a recent positive result at the ground.

AFCB Away Form

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Birmingham City Hime Form

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Possible AFCB Line-up

AFCB: Travers, Carter-Vickers, L Cook, Billing, Brooks, King, Surridge

Previous post on Cherry Chimes - Was Steve Cook unlucky to be sent off at Sheffield Wednesday?

Forest will hope ex-AFCB forward can surprise the Cherries

Lewis Grabban could make an early reconnection with AFCB when Bournemouth take on Forest at the City Ground today. While Bournemouth fans have not seen much of Grabban in recent years he will have very strong connections still with Eddie Howe and the players and staff and will be looking to find a goal scoring touch for the clash.

Lewis Grabban is likely to line up against his old team-mates.

Grabban has already been in fine form scoring for Nottingham Forest in a 2-2 draw with Oldham in pre-season, as Football League World reports. With a transfer reported to be around £6m Lewis Grabban, 30, has arrived at Forest with a lot of pressure on him to get Forest the goals that are needed to get them into the promotion picture.

Forest have also scouted abroad to bring in Portuguese U21 playmaker João Carvalho who joined from Benfica. Another foreign name is Hillal Soudani who is an Algerian international striker who signed in June from Dinamo Zargreb.

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Pre-season has gone well for Aitor Karanka with a 5-0 thrashing of Lincoln Red Imps of Gibraltar, before going out to Marbella to play top Spanish sides Real Betis which was a 1-0 defeat followed by a 3-0 win over Malaga.

Bournemouth will be seen as a big match for Forest's warm up and Eddie Howe is likely to play a strong team as the Cherries preparations for next season start to heat up. The performance against Bristol City was not that inspiring so he'll be wanting to see a lot more enthusiasm for a win in this game from his players.

Likely AFCB team.
Boruc, Francis, Simpson, Aké, Daniels, Brooks, Arter, Gosling, Fraser, Mousset, Wilson

Where did it go wrong for Boro?

I admit that I had Middlesbrough in my bottom three from the start of the season. I just could not see how Aitor Karanka could build harmony in his squad having walked out of the club while it was in the Championship. He made some high value signings such as Victor Valdes, Adam Taore and Alvaro Negredo, but goals were always going to be a challenge for them and it's proved their undoing with just 22 all season.

Bournemouth and Boro go head-to-head in the
biggest game of the season so far for the Cherries as they could earn their safety.

The lack of goals have led to just four wins, which is also the lowest in the league. It's slightly annoying that one of those wins also came against Bournemouth. They have changed manager and head coach Steve Agnes has stepped in, but he has not seen the kind of reaction that has given the Boro fans much hope of survival. They have really hit the rocks in April by losing to Hull City and by being unable to beat Swansea City or Burnley. Before they played Crystal Palace in mid-February Boro were 15th in the table and two points above the relegation zone. But they have only added two points from their next six games and they are looking at a quick return to the Championship.

They have not had their captain George Friend on the field for enough matches wither having played in about half the games. Ben Gibson has had a good season for them having made the most passes, the highest number of tackles and being played in all their 10 clean sheet matches - he's a player that perhaps Eddie Howe could do well to take a look at.

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Despite some brave performances at the back, away games have been a lonely journey for Boro fans wanting to see wins. They beat Sunderland in their second game of the season but despite excellent draws with Man City and Leicester City away there have been few highlights if any on the road. They of course need to win almost every game now but who honestly gives them a hope of picking up half the remaining points on offer? Man City Chelsea and Liverpool are all in their last few games and so the match against AFCB has to be a must win you'd think.

The problem is it's not just on the road that Boro have faltered. Monday's defeat to Arsenal made it 15 games in a row for them without a win. Something has to change at Boro, but I'm not expecting a rearguard revival any time soon. This is the perfect opposition for AFCB to climb to safety and there can't be any excuses if they don't pick up the points on Saturday.

AFCB Home Form
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Middlesbrough Away Form
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Tributes will be held for former Middlesbrough player Ugo Ehiogu on Saturday who passed away this week after a heart-attack.

Middlesbrough may just have turned the corner

Certainly Aitor Karanka will be hoping that the point that his team won at Arsenal is a sign that Boro are starting to get to grips with the Premier League. It may have surprised many that Middlesbrough could go to the Emirates and get a result like that, but it has been at home where they can look to for the reason why they don't sit higher than 17th in the table.

Middlesbrough were well beaten last time they played AFCB in the Championship.

Adama Traore was the man that impressed the most in midfield as Middlesbrough came close to taking all three points at Arsenal. But more impressive for me was how organised the team was as a whole. They set up to hit Arsenal on the break and very nearly caused them a serious problem and an away win would not have been a fluke. Karanka called his player's performance at the Emirates "amazing" and that suggests that they will be boosted by the result.

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The main factor which Aitor Karanka still has to rectify is the goalscoring. Middlesbrough managed 4 shots on target against Arsenal but Alvaro Negredo still looks short of his best, while Nugent, Downing and Rhodes look like extras that have not been invited to the party.  Against Bournemouth Karanka is likely to play two up front and that may also be pleasing for Eddie Howe to see if it creates more space in midfield.

Middlesbrough might have struggled at home but they only lost 1-2 to Spurs and Crystal Palace at home so expect a tight contest. A draw looks a strong possibility, but the Cherries must look to put as much distance as they can between teams like Middlesbrough and themselves if they want to avoid a difficult season.

Junior Stanislas faces a late fitness test for AFCB and Jack Wilshere has tweeted that he has lost some loved ones this week which may mean he opts out of the squad. Andrew Surman is expected back in AFCB's starting 11. A score draw perhaps this weekend?

Middlesbrough Home Form
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AFCB Away Form
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Tomlin can go at cut price

Watching all the gossip on Social media and the Bristol Post it would appear that Lee Tomlin won't be at AFCB much longer. It is clear that the Robins' fans are keen to land their man even if AFCB have not been in a hurry to cut ties with the former Middlesbrough striker. 

Lee Tomlin has made no secret of his dissatisfaction at not playing games at AFCB.

Whether the price is £2.5m or £1.5m I don't think Cherries fans are that bothered. Tomlin's signing was not good for the player or AFCB, and if the striker can find employment elsewhere I don't think too many would be upset at Dean Court. I had kind of hoped that Middlesbrough might even come back in for him but even Aitor Karanka has higher targets now that the Boro have been promoted.

Arguably Tomlin never got a run in the team at AFCB. He didn't recover quickly from injury and never looked fully match fit, but he did okay for Bristol City with six goals in 18 games. His decision to speak out though about what should or should not be happening with his playing or not last January was a mistake that looks like it has cost him his Premier League dream for the moment. He may even be kicking himself that he did not bide his time at Middlesbrough a bit longer rather than jump ship to AFCB. You can't have regrets though in football. AFCB will move on and so will Lee.

The main thing is that Lee should get an opportunity to play his football for someone and if that is Bristol City I hope he does well for them. Any reduction in wages due to players being taken off AFCB's books is just business. 

Friendlies
Last night Matt Ritchie turned out for Scotland in a friendly against Euro 2016 favourites France and the Scots were well beaten 3-0. Adam Federici was an unused sub in Australia's friendly against Greece which the Aussie's won 1-0.

Will AFCB be any better placed than Burnley or Boro next season?

It is hard to believe that only a year ago AFCB were sitting in the position that Burnley now have after winning the Championship. The prospect of Premier League football though for the Lancashire side is not such a earth shattering step as it was for AFCB though as they have been there before as recently as 2013-14. Middlesbrough are another team that are not exactly new to the exposure of the top league and you wonder whether AFCB are in any better position than the clubs about to come up.

While the thought of 38 games in a new season is perhaps a long way from the players' thoughts at the moment it will be very much in the mind of Eddie Howe. He will have to assess not only the transfers of players for his own team and the established clubs that his side played last year, but he'll also be keeping watch over the new boys of Burnley, Middlesbrough and one other - the Championship play-off winners - Hull City or Sheffield Wednesday. These sides all have larger grounds than AFCB and they have a history of taking on the best sides. While Sean Dyche has had a season in the Premier League it will be new for Aitor Karanka and if he thought the Championship was pressurised with his need to escape for a few games, he'll find it full on next season.

AFCB taking on Boro at the end of their successful 2014-15 Championship winning season.

I see both Burnley and Boro as better sides than Aston Villa and Newcastle and probably Norwich as well, so I don't expect any easy points against them. Burnley have players with the experience of playing at Old Trafford, Anfield, White Hart Lane etc, and they will be looking to get off to a better start than last time. Boro too will know that they have to pick up points early to get the confidence going and the fixture list will be keenly scrutinised by Eddie Howe when it comes out. 

None of the sides going down did particularly well early season and keeping out of the bottom three I believe is going to be harder. Burnley's problem will be to find another striker who can do well if Andre Gray gets injured or can't score many goals. Boro are perhaps defensively stronger but will they also get enough goals? AFCB have shown that you need to net at least 40 goals to survive - only just over one a game - if any of these sides can get up to 1-3-1.5 goals a game though they will have a comfortable season.

I do believe that AFCB can compete with Burnley and Middlesbrough more easily than some of the other teams, and having them in the league gives new reassurance that Championship sides can do well when they get promoted. If AFCB can survive again and two or more of the promoted sides also stay up, then the Premier League will have a look about it that is perhaps more dynamic than we will have seen in a long time, especially if Newcastle and Aston Villa don't get straight back up.

Players released by AFCB include: Sylvain Distin, Stephane Zubar, Josh Carmichael, Josh Wakefield, Mason Walsh and Jon Muleba.

Listening in on SKY Sports' Simon Thomas and Eddie Howe (Video)

We must have been some of the last few fans to disperse from the Goldsands stadium after the Middlesbrough match. As it was an early kick off I did not really feel the need to race off home back to Surrey having just seen the Cherries dispatch a Championship rival with such a delicious display, so I decided to hang around a bit with Robert and Stephen to see if we could catch any celebrates after the game.

Simon Thomas checks his phone while Darren Anderton watches players warm up.

To my surprise Simon Thomas and Darren Anderton were not going to hide up in the high box studio that had been constructed for them between the Family stand and the North stand after the game. Sky Sports still wanted to do a post-match interview with Eddie Howe right down on the pitch in front of the few fans that had stayed late.

It was a busy day for the Sky team.

Eddie gives his verdict on Arter penalty and overall 
performance of AFCB (sound quality is low).

Sure enough we soon saw Eddie start dashing towards us and after a few seconds he was all hooked up and ready to go live on air with Simon Thomas looking gleefully pleased to be able to grill Eddie Howe over Harry Arter's rather contentious penalty and the run in. I just about had time to get towards the front and just record whatever I could even though I was a little way back and while the sound quality is not the best you can get a good idea of what Eddie Howe had to say about many aspects of the win against Middlesbrough and I particularly like the interruption from the AFCB fans, and when Simon Thomas hands over at the end by saying and now over to Aitor Karanka to discuss Middlesbrough's heaviest defeat of the season. 

Simon Thomas is keen to get started. 

Just writing down a few notes - this crowd is noisy!

The wind gets up and Simon has to grab his notes quick!

True pro - you wouldn't know he was scrabbling on the floor for his notes three seconds ago. 

Piece to camera done.

AFCB player International watch
Finally, last night Ireland drew 1-1 with Poland in a hotly contested match and neither Artur Boruc or Harry Arter managed to join the game from the bench which was probably good for AFCB as it was a very competitive match.

Middlesbrough were never really in the game

The dominance of AFCB in the top of the table clash with Middlesbrough was quite surprising to me. The possession stats indicate that AFCB sat off a little in the second half once they had certainly got the third goal and looked to hit Boro on the break, but the early first half possession was quite something. The shot count is really what shows you how good AFCB were on the day with 17 attempts and seven on target compared to Boro's three attempts, none of which gave Artur Boruc anything to do.

It could have been more.

I had hinted a few days before the game that it might be a hurdle too high for Boro having come through tough games already against Ipswich and Derby. It turned out to be that way and Aitor Karanka was not surprisingly asked after the game how come you never really got started in this game? They were really blown away in the first half even though the score at half time was only 1-0. The first five minutes of the second half were the killer blow though and there was nowhere for Boro to go once they were 2-0 down.

Middlesbrough's passing was often sideways and backwards which was down to a lot of the pressing that AFCB's unsung hero Andrew Surman was doing in midfield. He won and retained possession exceedingly well and by bringing other AFCB players into the game quickly with fast little passes he keeps the side going forward and on the front foot which is so important in such games.

Boro players were well beaten after 90 minutes at Dean Court.

As Middlesbrough did not get to grips with the ball in midfield they found themselves constantly stretched at the back with Callum Wilson running into the corners and down the sides of the centre backs. It was only going to end one way in the end unless Konstantopoulos was going to have a magical day in between the sticks. 

Players leave the pitch at the end of the Middlesbrough 

game to the tune of the reds are going up!

It was reported yesterday by the club that SKY coverage means the movement of the final home fixture of the season against Bolton to Monday 21st April at 7.45pm, which is not very convenient for exiles like myself and many others who will find Monday nights a problem, but it is a sign of the Cherries continued success.

Arter crashes Boro's promotion run - Cherries win 3-0 (videos)

Match Report

21 March 2015

AFCB v Middlesbrough

Attendance: 10,998

Aitor Karanka leaves the bus heading for his team's biggest defeat of the season.

There was a mood of optimism in the air with AFCB supporters before this game kicked off. You could feel it all around the Goldsands stadium for this crunch match. There was a job to do and the players were ready to put one of their promotion rivals back in their place and it was one of the first time international call up boys who stole the headlines, the Republic of Ireland's Harry Arter.

AFCB got off to a good early start with Callum Wilson being brought down by Tomas Kalas and Yann Kermorgant tucked the spot kick away to lead after just 12 minutes. That is the way it stayed until half time. But the Cherries were driven forward in the second half by Harry Arter's spectacular finish on 48 minutes that underlined the Cherries' dominance. It took a dubious penalty to put the game completely out of reach, but everything was going for Arter and AFCB on the day and Brett Pitman was soon celebrating with his arm's outstretched after successfully scoring the penalty.

The teams line up, Boro in all white.

Minutes to go and AFCB players know what they want to do.

Darren Anderton and Simon Thomas are talking to Sky
viewers around the world who are tuning in.

At the time this was enough to take AFCB back to the top on goal difference but later results saw Watford defeated 0-1 at Vicarage Road and that gave AFCB a clear point lead at the top of the table going into the international break.

Eddie Howe made one change to the team that drew at Cardiff by bringing in Yann Kermorgant to the starting 11 while Brett Pitman was unlucky to find himself on the bench. Middlesbrough made tow changes from their Derby game and brought in Emilio Nsue and Adam Reach to the starting 11 and Jelle Vossen was among the subs, while Jonathan Woodgate was not in the squad.

Middlesbrough players are hopeful before kick off.

Tommy Elphick gets ready to lead his team.

There are more pictures on Match Day Gallery.

The Cherries had a terrific start to the game with Ritchie being fouled some 35 yards out and fairly centrally by George Friend. Yann Kermorgant chipped the ball over the wall and Konstantopoulos saved to his left down low and as the ball spilt out Callum Wilson looked favourite to get their first, but he was pulled back by Gibson as he never made it. An early let off for Boro we thought.

Callum Wilson was soon in his stride causing plenty of problems for Tomas Kalas. While he was caught with an offside and a handball in the first six minutes he was going to have a lively game. Boro's best option for attack early on lay with Nsue and Albert Adomah up their right wing and a testing cross by Adomah on 9 minutes could have been costly had Patrick Bamford or Lee Tomlin been running on to it.

AFCB were also productive on the wings and on the left and a sharp move on 11 minutes saw Daniels and Arter involved before Callum Wilson raced into the box and was taken down by Tomas Kalas after a simple nutmeg through his legs. Kalas had his arms all over Wilson and clearly trying to prevent him from getting past and Wilson just went down under the force from Kalas. Referee Anthony Taylor pointed to the sport and the home crowd was delighted to see Yann Kermorgant slot the ball into the left corner of the goal, even though Konstantopoulos got a hand on it as it flew in -1-0!

Boro's reply was to see Albert Adomah fire a shot well over a few minutes later. Artur Boruc was clearly in good catching mood and was taking everything in the air when Boro's crosses came in. A good move on 19 minutes from Arter and Francis led to Ritchie passing to Wilson who fired wide, pulling his shot right across the area. A better half chance came to Yann Kermorgant shortly after when the ball found it's way to him from Matt Ritchie, but his volley also went wide.

Middlesbrough tried to break the stranglehold with a move up the left that Bamford looked to run on to but Art Boruc acted as a sweeper and cleaned out any danger by coming well out of his box to bet Bamford to the ball.

AFCB were constantly looking for Wilson down the channels and over the top and it was a constant headache for Boro's centre backs who just didn't or rather couldn't deal with him all game. Yann Kermorgant was also getting in the action though and on 28 minutes he almost benefited when the ball broke to him in the box, but he slammed his volleyed shot down and saw it bounce up at head height straight to Konstantopoulos.

Boro's best player looked to be Lee Tomlins who was always busy and keeping them tick over well, but he was not finding Bamford easy to link up with while Adomah never really found Charlie Daniels an easy defender to get past.

Ritchie was always a threat on the right wing and he had a low shot saved on 30 minutes. Corners were not that frequent but Steve Cook almost got on the end of one just after the half hour. Boro started to get a bit more possession through Grant Leadbitter and Adam Clayton was putting himself about a bit too heavily as he received a yellow card for a foul on Wilson. AFCB were finding it difficult to get the second with Wilson again shooting wide on 41 minutes, while Arter saw his shot blocked before Pugh created enough problems to see Nsue given a yellow card.

Simon Francis was working hard on the right and put in a strong cross that Wilson got a head too but it was too big for him and the header went wide. With just a minute added of extra time the Cherries had to settle for just a goal lead at half time.

Half time and AFCB have a slender lead.

Fans join Sky sports presenters Jim White and Nathalie Sawyer in trying to hit the cross bar.

Tokelo Rantie and Elliott Ward look on.

AFCB fans hope the scoreline is extended in the second half.

Second Half
The Cherries came out in this half meaning business. It was only seconds old when Ritchie put in a cross following a free kick on Pugh, and Tommy Elphick met the ball with a diving header that Konstantopoulos somehow miraculously saved from point blank range with the ball travelling at lightning speed. AFCB were getting a lot of joy up the left side with Yann Kermorgant and Marc Pugh keeping the ball tight in and around Boro's box. Soon Pugh was doing Cruyff turn on top of Cruyff turn and toying with Boro players - it was mesmorising. Importantly though he was keeping the ball with with Yann Kermorgant, before Pugh made a swift turn back out towards the left. That's when Harry Arter entered the frame and just took aim to hit an absolute screamer from the edge of the box right into the top left corner with the ball glancing off the post and in! That raised the roof.

AFCB players hurtled themselves over towards Harry who was standing with his arm up in salute while players congratulated him and Tommy Elphick came at top speed over the top of the crowd of players to release all his joy and emotion at seeing Harry Arter double the lead right in front of the Family Stand. It was almost as if the pressure had been lifted and the knowledge that this is a team headed for success this season. Harry Arter had almost snuck up unnoticed when he scored, as if to say to Pugh and Yann stop messing about with it and let me just strike it where it needs to go - it was jolly effective and the Cherries were 2-0 up on 48 minutes.

The lead could have been three moments later when Wilson broke down the left and crossed to Ritchie, but Matt slipped at the vital time and the ball sped away behind him. Boro had not given up though and they won a corner after reach had seen his shot blocked. Lee Tomlin also had a shot blocked. Nothing much was going for the opposition though and on 55 minutes both Nsue and Clayton were subbed for Adam Foreshaw and Kike (Garcia Martinez).

A rash challenge from Harry Arter on Lee Tomlin earned him his customary yellow card on 56 minutes. Again it was an unnecessary challenge, but did break up an attack building from Boro's own half. Boro had an opportunity soon after when Leadbitter found Tomlin and Adomah put in a good cross that Francis had to clear for a corner under pressure.

But if that was the best Boro could do, AFCB came much closer to extending the lead when Pugh put low cross from the left that Ritchie was running onto and managed to scoop the ball over from all of eight yards! Yann Kermorgant was then subbed for Brett Pitman on the hour.

Boro were still testing Daniels and Francis but even from corners against them AFCB were looking dangerous on the break. Ben Gibson was doing his best to keep taking the fight to the Cherries, but Tomlin was seen deeper and Bamford was just not getting on the ball enough to create any chances.

AFCB made another sub on 66 minutes when Matt Ritchie was replaced by Adam Smith. Boruc again was called into action to make a catch which he had done well all afternoon. Even when Boro thought they had scored they found out that they hadn't. Following a Boro corner, Tomlin had put in a deep cross and Kike had headed it back across goal but even with the ball going into the net the assistant Referee's flag was up for offside.

As we entered the last 20 minutes there was no hurry from AFCB to take corners. Still Steve Cook had a go to score and headed over. The left side had been the problem for Boro all game though and when Daniels and Pugh linked up again it spelt trouble. This time Arter took up the pace and left Lee Tomlin trailing before bursting into the box when Leadbitter and Nsue tried to stop him. For me, seeing it just once, neither of them made enough contact for a penalty and I thought Harry definitely went down too easily and I expected to see him yellow carded for simulation and then sent off for the second yellow. Surely, that was the only reason why the referee was delaying, but no - it was a penalty to the Cherries!

Brett Pitman was quick to cradle the ball this time and he put the penalty away with great precision to make it 3-0 on 75 minutes. Boro made a sub on 79 minutes with Leadbitter replaced by Dean Whitehead, Karanka new the game was up. AFCB fans were singing: "Are you Blackpool in disguise?" That was more than likely in retaliation to Patrick Bamford's pre-match comments when he thought Boro would get the win as they were not like Blackpool who had been well beaten at Dean Court in the Cherries last home match.

Marc Pugh was still trying to get his name on the score sheet and hit his shot over. Adam Smith was also going on his fast flowing runs and winning free kicks, while Pitman had a good opportunity which he curled wide. Patrick Bamford did win a free kick at the end, but he could only shoot over as the ball glanced off the bar with Boruc seemingly beaten.

The last minutes were still damaging in a way though for the Cherries as Callum Wilson was first clipped and had to be replaced by Tokelo Rantie and then in the four minutes of extra time Marc Pugh was fouled by lee Tomlin and crawled off on all fours to get treatment. He did not come back on until after the final whistle with a big ice pack around his ankle.

That'll do nicely!

Boro have been well beaten.

The officials are not centre of attention for once.

Marc Pugh has some new footwear following his late injury in extra time.

I was surprised to see Pugh walking around on the pitch after picking up his injury.
Maybe that is a good sign that it is not too bad.

TK shakes referee Anthony Taylor's hand.

AFCB players with Konstantopoulos.

Boro players walk off dejected.

Summary
It was a tremendous day for AFCB fans. The crowd really got behind the team from start to finish and it brought the best out in the players. The day will be remembered for Harry Arter's fabulous strike early in the second half, but all the defenders and the keeper made a solid platform for this result restricting a strong strike force to a minimal amount of shots while Callum Wilson was just humongous for the Cherries up front. Boro fans will certainly feel aggrieved about the penalty decisions, perhaps rightly so for the second one, but it is always the referee's call to make and while I don't like to see any penalty unfairly won I felt that AFCB deserved the win being much the stronger side. This is three points that psychologically feel like 10 points. The win was that important.

AFCB
Boruc, Francis, Elphick, Cook, Daniels, Ritchie (Smith 65), Arter, Surman, Pugh, Kermorgant (Pitman 61), Wilson (Rantie 90).

AFCB subs
Camp, Smith, Ward, Fraser, MacDonald, Pitman, Rantie,  

AFCB Ratings
Boruc 8, Francis 7, Elphick 8, Cook 8, Daniels 7, Ritchie 7, Arter 9, Surman 8, Pugh 7, Kermorgant 7, Wilson 9.

Middlesbrough
Konstantopoulos, Nsue Lopez (Forshaw 55), Kalas, Gibson, Friend, Leadbitter (Whitehead 79), Clayton, (Kike 55), Reach, Tomlin, Adomah, Bamford.

Middlesbrough subs

Kike, Ripley, Whitehead, Vossen, Omeruo, Wildschut, Forshaw

Referee Watch: 

Anthony Taylor 5/1 - He was fooled over the second penalty for sure.

Are Boro about to play second fiddle to AFCB?

All through this season Middlesbrough have been in and around the play-off zone and yet they have only been top of the division for one week between 9-16 February. Whether they have enough about them to win the league I guess will be shown this weekend. They have by far the best defence, but scoring goals has not been so easy for them and yet they have beaten Derby, Ipswich and Norwich well at home. Away from home it is a little different though and it probably tells us why they have not been top for more weeks.

How will Middlesbrough play it against the Cherries?

On the road Boro have taken 10 points from their last six away games. It's good but not amazing and it was only six points from the previous five away games before that. Boro like to keep it tight and are very good at keeping clean sheets though and they are capable of pinching games with the likes of Patrick Bamford, Albert Adomah and Lee Tomlin - Derby County found that out recently.

It is really not an easy game for the Cherries, but it's the kind of game the players should be looking forward to. You should want to play against the best players and Boro have a team that is well managed and strong in virtually all areas. But would Boro be happy to take a point from this game and move on? I think they might and that may have a bearing on how Aitor Karanka sets his team up. I hope they come to play with the cameras at Dean Court and that the game is open, but everything tells me that Boro's best chance maybe to try and slow the game down and simply aim to stay in the game, before an opportunity might fall to them.

AFCB have not been beaten at home since 10 January when Norwich beat them 1-2. AFCB are getting better though at home and playing in front of the cameras, and if they can go into the international break in the automatic promotion places the break will have come at a good time.

Middlesbrough Away Form
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AFCB Home Form
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