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14 hours ago
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68 min: After a Saints move breaks down, McGree sends a lovely raking pass over for Whittaker on the Boro right. He cuts inside and is lucky to get a corner after a poor off-target effort. That was a waste because the Southampton defence, initially, was badly out of shape.
66 min: Saints change: Flynn Downes on for Matsuki.
I’m glad, in a way, because the commentator seems to think he’s called “Matski”.
65 min: Next up, Fry is at the far post from a Boro free-kick. He’s in plenty of space but his header, then cross-shot, are blocked.
63 min: Saints counterattack! And Scienza is brought down by Ayling in the area … Southampton want a penalty, of course, but the referee isn’t having it! There was a definite push, but not enough for Madley to point to the spot. Cue fan fury, not to mention manager fury.
62 min: Does feel like Saints have had the best of it, refereeing-wise, but this remains finely balanced. Will we have a winner in 90 minutes?
60 min: “Ok so I am a bit partial,” emails Stefan. “And there’s nothing more boring than whining about the referee. But I count the following which I’m going to call borderline at best having gone Southampton’s way.
1. The penalty not given before Middlesbrough’s opener.
2. The foul by Stewart on Morris before his goal.
3. The foul given against Conway when one on one.
4. The handball by Matsuri.
“Am I missing any?.”
59 min: Manning swivels and hits a shot for Southampton from close range, that is deflected off Ayling, just wide! Boro are really under it at the moment … they deal with one corner, then another … Shea Charles has a shot blocked from the edge.
57 min: Boro have a throw in an advanced position. Brittain lobs it in. Ayling tries to flick it on but straight out for a goal kick.
55 min: Southampton are in the ascendancy now. It feels like they are the more clinical of the teams, for all the positivity that Middlesbrough have displayed, and Eckert’s team perhaps won’t need more than one or two clear chances to win this. We shall see.
51 min: A free-kick for Boro leads to a big shout for a penalty. On replay, it looks like a handball by Matsuki. The referee signals that he thinks it was off the shoulder.
50 min: Speaking of fouls, the telly director is replaying what looks a clear foul by Stewart before he scored the equaliser for Southampton.
48 min: Southampton’s Harwood-Bellis scythes down Conway in midfield. He claims he got the ball, and he did, but he got a lot of the man too and that’s a foul.
47 min: Scienza is still on. He doesn’t look to be moving freely.
Second half kick-off!
And I’ve just switched the heating on. Let’s go!
Sky Sports report that Ayling of Middlesbrough has claimed Southampton’s Harwood-Bellis made a discriminatory comment towards him after that foul on Scienza. Also, it is said that other players have confirmed what was said. The referee, Andy Madley, will be including the incident in his post-game report.
Ayling did look genuinely furious.
A smattering of half-time reading:
Half time: Southampton 1-1 Middlesbrough
Tasty, pretty tasty.
45 min +5: Middlesbrough’s Conway is penalised for a soft foul when he would have been one-on-one with the keeper. Then Peretz pathetically tries to get him sent off after there is a bit of contact when the goalie comes to grab the ball and take the free-kick.
45 min +2: Southampton have mostly been second-best but it seems like they will go in level at the break. We’ll have a minimum of six minutes added.
Goal! 45 min: Southampton 1-1 Middlesbrough (Stewart)
Brittain wrestles Scienza to the floor, off the ball, just outside the penalty area. The Brazilian is clearly, and rightly, a source of concern. Bree sends the resulting free-kick to the far post, where a volley by Manning is blocked, parried up in the air by Brynn, and Stewart is there to outjump Harwood-Bellis and nod the ball in!
44 min: Scienza tries again down the Southampton right. It takes two defenders to stop him and eventually he fouls Whittaker. The crowd roar their disapproval.
42 min: The free-kick, after all that controversy, is whipped in and very dangerous but is cleared for a corner by Ayling. From the corner, Azaz hits a rasping shot from the edge, and Brynn dives on it.
39 min: The referee, Andy Madley, goes to have a chat with the managers … and something is obviously said, and the managers look ready to square up to each other! They virtually have to be separated!
38 min: Scienza, moving better after that injury, makes a jinking run in an advanced area, trying to turn away from Ayling. Ayling brings him down, and it’s a free-kick, and Ayling is incensed. It did look like a dive. He goes in the book, but the row with the referee seems to continue, and he appears to be in danger of a second yellow card. Ayling and Harwood-Bellis were also having words.
Ayling is furious about something, and presumably not just what he thought was a dive by Scienza.
37 min: Nathan Wood of Southampton is booked for dissent.
35 min: On balance of play, 2-0 would not flatter Middlesbrough. They have made most of the running and kept Southampton’s forward line very quiet for the most part.
35 min: “The goal coming from Ayling Brittain on the right wing,” emails Alex.
“And they say satire is dead.”
Excellent.
31 min: Brittain hammers another shot at the Saints goal after a corner. It’s deflected but Peretz makes a good save.
Southampton break, and Stewart goes down in the penalty area, wanting a penalty. The fans wail, but the refereee is unmoved. And now Boro break again …
There was a little shirt pull on Stewart by Brittain …
30 min: Manning swings in a vicious curling cross from the free-kick. Fry clears it with an excellent header at the near post. Scienza is back on, but not moving well.
28 min: Scienza has gone down with what looks a painful injury after an accidental clash with a Boro boot. The referee has a chat with Brynn, the Middlesbrough goalie, presumably about perceived timewasting.
25 min: Middlesbrough stitch together a lovely passing move, with Ayling among those showing composure and pinging the ball around in midfield. They engineer a chance for Conway, whose powerful shot is blocked, and the ball goes out for a corner. In the next phase of play Brittain belts a low shot at Peretz but the goalkeeper deals with it easily.
23 min: Manning turns a pass inside, in an advanced area for Southampton on their left, but Morris intercepts. The first 15 minutes was really open, and it’s tightened up a bit now. The co-commentator says “Middlesbrough are taking their time already …”
21 min: Now Scienza tries a cross from the Southampton left. But it’s claimed by Brynn in goal. (I saw Scienza tearing Charlton a new one at The Valley back in November, when Saints won 5-1. Good little player.)
