How did the players fare in Middlesbrough's 1-0 home defeat to Brentford?


MIDDLESBROUGH (4-1-2-3):

6 Randolph: Made a fine save from Jensen at the start of the second half and didn’t have any chance with Watkins’ goal

6 Howson: Was solid enough in defence, but wasn’t really able to get forward too much down the right-hand side

6 Ayala: Made a couple of crucial interceptions, especially in the first half, and dominated things in the air

7 Shotton: Retained his place despite the deadline-day interest from Wigan and justified his inclusion with a strong display

6 Coulson: Carried on from where he had left off at Luton, and made a number of effective forward breaks in the first half

5 Clayton: Filled his usual position in front of the back four, but struggled to contain Brentford’s second-half counter-attacks

6 Wing: Didn’t quite have his shooting radar sorted, but was a key factor in Boro’s dominant first-half display

7 McNAIR: Caused the Brentford defence a number of problems before the break, and came close with a shot that flew just wide

6 Johnson: Forced Raya into a smart first-half save, but ran out of steam before he was replaced in the second period

6 Assombalonga: Drilled a decent first-half effort against the base of the post and continues to look sharp

6 Fletcher: Was extremely unfortunate not to end the afternoon with two goals to his name – looks a real threat when he drifts infield


Subs:

Browne (for Johnson, 75)

Dijksteel (for Clayton, 75)

Gestede (for Fletcher, 81)

(not used): Pears (gk), Bola, Saville, Tavernier.


BRENTFORD (3-4-3):

Raya 7; Jeanvier 7, Jansson 7, Pinnock 6 (Racic 72); Dalsgaard 7, Dasilva 7 (Yearwood 88), Jensen 6, Henry 6; CANOS 8 (Mbuemo 81), Watkins 7, Marcondes 6.

Subs (not used): Daniels (gk), Forss, Valencia, Clarke.


Man Of The Match: SERGI CANOS – The Brentford winger set up his side’s winning goal and caused the Middlesbrough defence problems as the Bees improved markedly in the second half.