Boro Squanders a Chance
Let's talk NFL for a moment.
Last Sunday, the Patriots took on the Bills in Foxborough in what many thought would be an easy New England triumph. Just seconds into the season opener, though, the home crowd was stunned when Takeo Spikes jarred the ball loose from Tom Brady and London Fletcher recovered and dove into the endzone. The Pats trailed from that point til about midway through the fourth quarter when a Ty Warren safety gave New England a 19-17 victory. The Bills didn't win, but they certainly surprised a few folks by making it that close. And if it wasn't for a bonehead mistake by Bills QB J.P. Losman - we may never know why he was camped in the endzone on that play or not geting rid of the ball in that situation - Buffalo might well have pulled off the upset.
Now let's travel across the globe to the Middlesbrough-Arsenal match in which nobody gave Middlesbrough a chance to beat the Gunners on the road. But just like the Bills, Boro took the early lead, combining brilliantly on top of the box for a 22nd minute goal. An Arsenal defender was caught ball-watching as he failed to track James Morrison who slotted the ball past Lehman after receiving the last leg of a give-and-go near the top of the area.
Yet just like the Bills, Boro couldn't hang on for the win because of stupid mistakes. About 20 minutes into the second half, Arsenal's Emmanuel Eboue beat Stephen Downing to the endline and was ready to draw the ball across the mouth of the goal when Downing cracked his ankles from behind. The foul was in the area and Thierry Henry quickly buried the PK to knot the score at one.
There were two problems with Downing's foul. First, it was blatantly obvious. He was nowhere near the ball and, to boot, the foul was from behind - a red flag for referees. Second, the dirty tackle was hardly necessary. The rest of Boro's back line had tracked back and was marking the Arsenal attackers in the area. Plus, Eboue had no shooting angle so had Downing merely retreated angularly towards the goal, he likely would have been able to deflect Eboue's cross or, at the very least, make the destination of the cross more predictable.
Later, Middlesbrough continued to hack in dangerous areas as they obviously brought down an Arsenal attacker just outside the box. Henry had a go at goal off the spot kick but barely missed the upper left corner.
Boro survived to earn a point but, similar to Buffalo's collapse at New England, a silly decision cost them the opportunity to steal a road win against a superior opponent.
Last Sunday, the Patriots took on the Bills in Foxborough in what many thought would be an easy New England triumph. Just seconds into the season opener, though, the home crowd was stunned when Takeo Spikes jarred the ball loose from Tom Brady and London Fletcher recovered and dove into the endzone. The Pats trailed from that point til about midway through the fourth quarter when a Ty Warren safety gave New England a 19-17 victory. The Bills didn't win, but they certainly surprised a few folks by making it that close. And if it wasn't for a bonehead mistake by Bills QB J.P. Losman - we may never know why he was camped in the endzone on that play or not geting rid of the ball in that situation - Buffalo might well have pulled off the upset.
Now let's travel across the globe to the Middlesbrough-Arsenal match in which nobody gave Middlesbrough a chance to beat the Gunners on the road. But just like the Bills, Boro took the early lead, combining brilliantly on top of the box for a 22nd minute goal. An Arsenal defender was caught ball-watching as he failed to track James Morrison who slotted the ball past Lehman after receiving the last leg of a give-and-go near the top of the area.
Yet just like the Bills, Boro couldn't hang on for the win because of stupid mistakes. About 20 minutes into the second half, Arsenal's Emmanuel Eboue beat Stephen Downing to the endline and was ready to draw the ball across the mouth of the goal when Downing cracked his ankles from behind. The foul was in the area and Thierry Henry quickly buried the PK to knot the score at one.
There were two problems with Downing's foul. First, it was blatantly obvious. He was nowhere near the ball and, to boot, the foul was from behind - a red flag for referees. Second, the dirty tackle was hardly necessary. The rest of Boro's back line had tracked back and was marking the Arsenal attackers in the area. Plus, Eboue had no shooting angle so had Downing merely retreated angularly towards the goal, he likely would have been able to deflect Eboue's cross or, at the very least, make the destination of the cross more predictable.
Later, Middlesbrough continued to hack in dangerous areas as they obviously brought down an Arsenal attacker just outside the box. Henry had a go at goal off the spot kick but barely missed the upper left corner.
Boro survived to earn a point but, similar to Buffalo's collapse at New England, a silly decision cost them the opportunity to steal a road win against a superior opponent.
posted by jcanzo at 10:44 PM
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