Goals:
1-0: Ayala (19, looped a header over Lewis after Ledesma’s header had flicked off a Blackpool defender’s head)
1-1: Miller (25, bundled Joan Oriol’s left-wing cross home from close range despite strong pressure from Husband)
Bookings: Leadbitter (41, foul), Ayala (45, foul), Rentmeister (58, foul), Perkins (60, deliberate handball)
Referee: Paul Tierney (Wigan) – Missed the occasional foul, but generally controlled things well and exerted his authority when required 6
Attendance: 15,213
Entertainment: **
Middlesbrough (4-4-2):
7 Konstantopoulos: Wasn’t at fault for the goal, and made an excellent first-half save to keep out Orlandi’s deflected strike
6 Fredericks: Relatively untroubled in defence, but rarely strayed too far beyond the halfway line and left Ledesma short of options
7 Ayala: Fashioned an excellent looping header to break the deadlock and was generally in control of the rest of the back four
6 Gibson: Kept things simple when he had to, and was never really troubled by the pace and agility of Delfouneso
5 Husband: His attacking runs weren’t as effective as Friend’s usually are and he was on the wrong side of Miller as the striker scored
4 Ledesma: Started brightly with a dangerous early cross, but dropped out of the game completely as he made his first start of the season
6 Leadbitter: Covered plenty of ground in the central area, although he seemed drop deeper and deeper as the game wore on
5 Clayton: Was struggling with an illness before the game, and failed to last beyond the half-hour mark
7 REACH: Was generally Boro’s most productive attacking outlet, even if the quality of his crossing occasionally let him down
4 Tomlin: Had one of those evenings when things didn’t really come off and couldn’t get in front of the strikers to make a difference
5 Bamford: Kept on trying, but couldn’t forge a goalscoring psition and was restricted to a couple of long-range strikes
Subs:
Kike (for Clayton, 29): Caused the occasional problem in the penalty area, but failed to trouble Lewis when a couple of half-chances arrived 6
Nsue (for Ledesma, 75)
(not used): Blackman (gk), Friend, Omeruo, Morris, Wildschut.
Blackpool (4-4-2):
Lewis 6; McMahon 7, Rentmeister 6, Daniels 7, J Oriol 6; PERKINS 8, Cubero 5 (Lundstram 46, 6), Orlandi 6 (Mellis 60, 6), E Oriol 7 (Zoko 90); Delfouneso 5, Miller 7.
Subs (not used): Parish (gk), Cywka, Dielna, Zenjov.
Man Of The Match: DAVID PERKINS – The Blackpool midfielder was full of energy and enthusiasm and came close with a superb first-half effort that struck the post.
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