The Portsmouth match was a re-run of the Liverpool game, except that Portsmouth actually deserved their victory. In both cases Boro started brightly, played pretty well and took the lead. Then we backed off, invited the opposition into our half and allowed them to put two goals past us.
The common denominator is Boro's tendency to switch off around seventy minutes and give everything away, the upper-hand, the points and the game.
But how does this keep happening?
The media are being uncharacteristically generous towards the 'Boro Babes' at the moment. We are 'talented, young and athletic' but 'naive' and thus concede goals at last minute. Well I'm sorry but I do not buy that.
Yes we are a relatively young team, Chris Riggott at 28 being the oldest player in a Boro shirt yesterday afternoon, but we are old enough to connect the dots.
If you stop attacking, fall back and try to defend a draw or a even a narrow lead for more than half an hour, nine times out of ten you are going to get punished.
And we keep getting punished.
Had we won yesterday, we had the opportunity to move up to third in the Premier League, we now sit eighth and could not even manage a draw after once again taking the lead.
Last season we could not score for love of the game or all the money that is pumped into it. This season we keep committing football suicide.
The other team score, we assume we will now lose the game and we make it happen.
The midfield parts like the red sea, the attack fall back in the manner of an army who are seriously out-numbered, or out-gunned and the defence either go missing or get in each other's way.
I do not want to single out particular players because the problem is, this mentality seems to permeate the entire team.
We have had our best start to a season in almost a decade, we have cut loose all, or at least most, of the passengers in our squad and our young manager is building a team bursting with potential.
But none of that matters if we cannot win games.
Careless goals cost matches and if Boro continue in this vein, they could cost Gareth Southgate a whole lot more.
First published on www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/sport/fanzone - Sept 08
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