Boro v Luton 5-1 (Burgzorg (2), Latte Lath, Azaz (2))

[MarkT73 743 820]

Coventry equaliser 😂😂😂. Day gets better and better....

Whilst waiting for my lift home, thought it funny and quite telling re perception, loads on the RTG forum wouldn't swap any of their 11 for ours. Delusional.

[Old Codger 3,838 4.5k]

Really enjoyed that. You know we are playing well when the assists ( and the assists to the assists) are as good to see as the goals themselves  

[AnglianRed 7,249 17.1k]

1 hour ago, ladyspite said:

Tells you what kind of chances we usually miss 😉

Azaz last goal has low xG because its a very hard goal to score.....

Azaz's second was an absolute worldie. The sort we were lamenting conceding against Norwich. Its nice when they go in for us instead. 😁

[wilsoncgp 9,632 19.6k]

1 hour ago, Borodane said:

The absence of an atmosphere section is always a loss. Weird thing to demonstrate against though. It’s not exactly a secret that it’s against the law to set off flares. 

Wait, they're not turning up because of the fella who got put away because of the flare? What have I missed here?

[RiseAgainst 4,553 3.8k]

After a fairly pedestrian first twenty minutes, that was the sort of performance we've been yearning for all season. Confidence makes more of a difference than anything else in football, and you could see how energised the players became.

I could praise anyone tonight, but I'm going to single out Burgzorg. He's not done a huge amount to justify his presence here until now but he was formidable today, and you could see how much it meant to him when he dived into the crowd and didn't come out for ages. Wonderful to see. If he can become the player we hoped we'd signed, it gives us a different option against physical sloggers like Luton.

What a shame there's an IB now, but at least there's a fortnight for my shoulders to recover from swinging my son around five times in less than two hours. It's bloody hard work, but totally worth it to see the joy on his face. I think we have a brand new Boro fan coming up through the ranks. 

[Yes. I know inflicting the Boro on an impressionable youngster is tantamount to child cruelty, but at least I'll have someone to suffer with when it all goes wrong again]

[edinboro 1,244 2k]

I wonder whether today is the sign of Carrick learning.

He made the point that the selection was based on how Luton play man to man. Burgzorg, Lath and Dijksteel all made a difference today.

Hopefully a sign of things to come. We should mix it up and use our squad to suit the opposition.

Really enjoyed it today, apart from us sitting back and passing it around at 4-0, that was just silly.

Really loved Morris whipping the crowd up after his little scuffle. Him and Doak are so aggressive it's brilliant.

[Old Codger 3,838 4.5k]

Tbh, it is a better atmosphere without them. Just as much noise but no pointless drummer or megaphone. Might be just me but if they aren't men enough to admit they get it wrong now and again then they need to grow up a bit 

[Redcar Rioja 7,760 7.6k]

2 hours ago, BoroDave4 said:

I thought he was pretty quiet and ineffective until his goal. Then he burst into life. I'm guessing he's very much a confidence player

I thought the complete opposite.

He was chasing, closing down and harrying their defence relentlessly and getting back helping out Ayling when we were under the cosh in the opening stages. When Dieng punched that ball clear it was Burgzorg who was alert and reacted to it preventing a Luton Player putting it straight back into our box, then he goes and scores two goals for his troubles as well as getting a Luton player booked. 🤷‍♂️

Honestly not sure what peoples expectations were and what more he could have done let alone be quiet in the opening stages. Throughout the game he and ELL seemed to interchange seamlessly and battled away. He offers something different to McGree (not saying better or worse, just different option). When Hamilton was pushed over for their goal I thought had that been Burgzorg he would have stood strong and like as not they wouldn't have scored.

 

Oh by the way did I mention I recommended Burzorg on the left previously 🤣🤣🤣 

 

Nice to be arguing over who was the best Boro Player rather than who was crap, or how long Carrick has left.

Edited November 9, 2024 by Redcar Rioja
spelling

[JTG 3,574 3.5k]

1 minute ago, Redcar Rioja said:

I thought the complete opposite.

He was chasing, closing down and harrying their defence relentlessly and getting back helping out Ayling when we were under the cosh in the opening stages. When Dieng punched that ball clear it was Burgzorg who was alert and reacted to it preventing a Luton Player putting it straight back into our box, then he goes and scores two goals for his troubles as well as getting a Luton player booked. 🤷‍♂️

Honestly not sure what peoples expectations were and what more he could have done let alone be quiet in the opening stages. Throughout the game he and ELL seemed to interchange seamlessly and battled away. He offers something different to McGree (not saying better or worse, just different option). When Hamilton was pushed over for their goal I thought had that been Burgzorg he would have stood strong and like as not they wouldn't have scored.

 

Oh by the way did I mentioned I recommended Burzorg on the left previously 🤣🤣🤣 

 

Nice to be arguing over who was the best Boro Player rather than who was crap, or how long Carrick has left.

I’ll be honest I’ve been extremely frustrated with him in past performances but I thought he showed some maturity in his game today. Didn’t hold onto the ball as long, bit more awareness of what was going on around him and quicker getting it out of his feet.

Can see why he went with him now as they’re a physical team and he’s a unit. As you say you could see the difference when Hamilton came on.

[LinoJo3 4,662 12k]

Crazy to think if we’d just held on to a 3-1 lead we would be 3 points off top 2 right now. Even closer if we’d have took something from one of derby ir Portsmouth. But at least we’re slowly creeping up and starting to win a few games.

[TeaCider24 16,137 21.1k]

28 minutes ago, wilsoncgp said:

Wait, they're not turning up because of the fella who got put away because of the flare? What have I missed here?

There's been no statement from them, but they've definitely not attended the last 2 matches, with no drummer and a dozen or so empty seats in "their" section in the South stand.

I suppose there's a chance it might just be a coincidence that they've stopped turning up straight after he was rightly banned, maybe they're just on a lads holiday together, but I expect it's not.

[Redcar Rioja 7,760 7.6k]

2 minutes ago, LinoJo3 said:

Crazy to think if we’d just held on to a 3-1 lead we would be 3 points off top 2 right now. Even closer if we’d have took something from one of derby ir Portsmouth. But at least we’re slowly creeping up and starting to win a few games.

At least we got the type of scorelines this week we should be getting against bottom feeders. Just need to make sure we don't relapse now to old habits. I was a bit concerned when we took our foot of the gas this afternoon and they scored, hopefully another lesson learned and at least it didn't cost us as it has in previous games.

[Bruce 2,368 2k]

Doesn't get much better than that. Carrick made some big decisions and they paid off. It's starting to look like the xg stats weren't lying after all.

Particularly pleased to see Burgzorg come good today. Dijksteel's redemption continues. Latte Lath scored a goal that most Championship strikers could never manage. A word also for Ayling who has become our Mr Fixit at the back. He may not have the pace to play in the Premier league anymore but he still has the technical ability, football brain and leadership qualities of a Premier league footballer.

Although I wasn't expecting it in the summer, our purchases were more about improving our first 18 rather than our 1st 11 and today that plan came good. 

The only thing that gives me pause is that Rob Edwards got it wrong. Other teams have shown a plan for how to beat us at home: defend deep and hit us on the counter. Edwards went for the opposite. For about 30 minutes it just about worked. We struggled with the press and weren't able to get in behind them. It actually took a well-worked corner routine to get us ahead. (Funnily, I think Morris was meant to be the target of Doak's flick back but he didn't quite get it right leading to an excellent finish from Burgzorg.) After that, Luton's tactics became suicidal and their confidence was clearly rock-bottom.

Still, great to go into the break with a smile and the hope that maybe we finally have clicked(tm). 

[JTG 3,574 3.5k]

3 minutes ago, LinoJo3 said:

Crazy to think if we’d just held on to a 3-1 lead we would be 3 points off top 2 right now. Even closer if we’d have took something from one of derby ir Portsmouth. But at least we’re slowly creeping up and starting to win a few games.

Sickener when you think of how many daft points we’ve threw away this season, granted I’m sure most teams will probably say the same thing. Just goes to show the league is wide open this season though, still plenty of time for us to click into gear and go on a sustained run.

The thing that has killed us this season has been underperforming in front of goal, and despite them coming against objectively poor teams 9 goals in a week is a brilliant return. We’ve been shut out by equally poor teams earlier in the season so you can’t take it for granted. Before that we put 3 past a Norwich team that have a fantastic home record. I think the signs are there that our forwards are growing in confidence and starting to put teams to the sword. 

[wilsoncgp 9,632 19.6k]

1 minute ago, TeaCider24 said:

There's been no statement from them, but they've definitely not attended the last 2 matches, with no drummer and a dozen or so empty seats in "their" section in the South stand.

I suppose there's a chance it might just be a coincidence that they've stopped turning up straight after he was rightly banned, maybe they're just on a lads holiday together, but I expect it's not.

The flares thing was one of their red lines whilst they were in MSF. They wouldn't support anti-flare messages.

I will say with the greatest of respect for them that at least they knew that they disagreed with everyone else in the room on matters like this and respectfully left knowing full well that they would rather not pursue challenges on things like this and bring MSF into disrepute at the same time.

But at the same time, it was made pretty clear to them at all points that it is illegal. You're free to hold the opinion that the law is wrong and that you should be allowed to use flares in a football ground in this country. But the law is fact until it isn't. If indeed it is a protest, protesting against the club because of this is childish and pointless. The club works with the police on all kinds of matters, as they should, they are a vital security presence trying to keep people safe. What were they expecting the club to do on this occasion, sweep it under the rug?