We had to beat Villa and Villa were not that bothered if they lost. Martin O'Neill would not have been pleased, he wasn't anyway, but the players, Luke Young aside, had little interest in our desperate struggle for survival one way or the other. And Luke Young could not shake off his recurring foot injury.
This was probably the best possible time to play Villa and we should have won.
Our first half performance was attacking, tight at the back (their goal excepted) and full of passion and promise, most of which came from Tuncay.
Brad Jones made some good saves and looked in control but he didn't expect King's mistake.
What the hell does Southgate do to the players at half time? I have rarely seen Boro play better in the second half and win a game this season, although our wins have been so rare anyway that that could be a coincidence.
Either way I would suggest, if by some miracle all the results are going our way and we are winning at Upton Park next weekend, that somebody keeps Gareth busy at the interval how about Shawky or Pogi, or Alves? it's not like they have anything better to do now is it?
After Tuncay had scored his absolutely awesome wonder goal, Stewart Downing was stretchered off having tried to run off a suspected broken metatarsal. A nobel effort Stewy but considering it's a stress fracture, putting weight on it is likely to have harmed him further.
Downing left the stadium on crutches having signed autographs for the fans, if that was his final game for the Boro it was not a fitting finale. I don't think Stewy has done nearly enough this season but for his work in season's gone by he deserves to end his time at his home-town club with a lot more style.
Southgate brought Johnson on to replace Downing but pushed Tuncay further back into midfield, leaving Emnes and King up front. Johnson was the only obvious replacement but why not push Tuncay forward and put Emnes on the right wing? it was Tuncay who had scored and Tuncay who once again looked like he could take on the opposition single handedly.
Early on players had obviously been told to shoot, so much so that defender Justin Hoyte had a couple of attempts and was getting nearer each time. When Downing left the pitch we went back to defending.
And they scored.
John Carew had actually done very little of note until he scored but then Marlon King gift wrapped the opportunity for him.
King seems to get worse the longer he is on the pitch and it was desperately disappointing that we didn't have a replacement for him. With Alves out for the foreseeable future and Aliadiere injured, again, we have Tuncay, King and Emnes to choose from, I'd play Tuncay as a striker, he's our top scorer this season and we are using his energy to power a midfield who will not go forward, seems counter-productive to me.
Frankly Ali on one leg would have been faster than King because it is not just his feet that aren't quick enough, it's his brain. Hopefully Ali will play throught the pain as he has done before and give us another option against West Ham.
In answer to the fans call, Southgate eventually gave Josh Walker a chance to make up for whatever it is that has banished him from the bench for so long...
Most fans wanted Arca off the pitch. No disrespect to Julio Arca who was a great player in times past but those days are gone. By the time Southgate had decided that three warm ups was enough for Walker, Gary O'Neil was limping and had to be replaced.
Unfortunately for Walker the pressure of the game showed, some of his play was dangerously bad given that he had Arca for company in midfield. However this young lad doesn't scare easily and soon started to impose himself on the game, he didn't have a good day but he did get better as he went along, something which was noticeable largely because everyone else on the pitch was getting worse!
The possible exception to that statement was Robert Huth who put in a full ninety minutes plus, tackling, winning balls, blocking shots and even shooting himself. Even more impressively for the big German, he did not wrestle anyone to the ground in the referee's eyeline, despite provocation.
So, yet another point when only three would do. Villa was if not the story of our season (we've lost too many matches to make that argument stick) but it was the story of our supposed fight for survival.
As most Boro fans now know we have to beat West Ham on the road by at the very least three goals and then rely on Newcastle to get beat by Aston Villa and Manchester United to crush Hull, 5-0 would do nicely!
I suspect Villa might beat Newcastle because I think O'Neill will demand a better showing form his players who were lack-lustre at best against us. I also think any Manchester United team Fergie puts out (that'll be the kids then) will beat Hull but I don't think they will thump them and I can't see us putting three past the Hammers.
We are left with a tragically unlikely scenario and fittingly, a sorry state of affairs to end a heart-breaking season on, one way or another it is all over next weekend.
First published on www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/sport/fanzone - May 09
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