Boro v Sheffield United 3-0 (Braithwaite,Flint,Downing)

[Foogle 2,104]

Wouldn't take too much from the second half performance of either team, I think when you score a lot of goals in the first half the second half is never going to have as much bite and energy. All the belief is taken out of the opponent and the pace of the game is lost, we were just happy to see the game out with a clean sheet in the last 10.

[Red Rocket 244]

I'm personally not worried about the second half, we were in cruise control and they had played Saturday for 97 minutes in hot conditions. It's the start of the season but overall I'm happy with the fitness levels, much better than they were under Monk.

 

SU were very poor all over the pitch, their only bright spot being Duffy when he came on. Still you can only beat what is in front of you and I'm pleased in the manner which we didn't let up in the first half even with a couple of goals under our belt.

 

Think this game highlighted that our core squad isn't a bad team but definitely need those replacements in. Would have liked to see Chapman or Tav rather than Leadbitter but I can see why Pulis made that decision. Thought we had several good performances yesterday.

 

Randolph was quiet but pulled off the saved when needed to keep the clean sheet. Thought Wing was great, so composed and involved in nearly every attack, lad's legs went a bit in the second half but he'll gain strength from regular game time. Braithwaite was really good yesterday, not just for his scoring and link up play but he was racing back to defend when needed, could be like a new signing for us. At the back Flint and Fry did well, Fry the better of the pair. Under more pressure think they could be prone to mistakes but will gain confidence from the clean sheet and I was particularly impressed with how calm Fry was on the ball. Clayton and Howson bossed the midfield and looked sharp, we were a lot more direct than we were against Millwall so I hope Howson's injury is nothing serious.

 

Overall I'm happy with what I saw and with some new faces before Sat, we could put these transfer sales behind us and really push on.