How did the players fare in Middlesbrough's 1-0 win over Swansea?
MIDDLESBROUGH (3-5-2):
6 Daniels: Made a couple of routine saves, but would have had his heart in mouth when he dived in at Paterson’s feet in the first half
7 Dijksteel: Defended solidly throughout and has helped bring about a marked defensive improvement since returning to fitness
8 BAMBA: Rock solid once again at the heart of the Boro defence – and produced a sublime piece of skill to set up Jones’ winner
8 McNair: Kept Swansea’s forwards in check for the vast majority of the game and made a brilliant goalline clearance from Piroe
7 Jones: Opened his goalscoring account for Boro in fine style and looked perfectly at home playing at wing-back
6 Crooks: Covered a lot of ground at the heart of midfield but wasn’t able to get on the front foot as he would have liked
6 Howson: Held things together at the base of midfield, preventing Swansea’s central midfielders from breaking too far forward
6 Tavernier: A fairly quiet afternoon for the midfielder, although Wilder is right to state he looks more dangerous in an advanced role
6 Bola: Covered a lot of ground up and down the left flank and kept Laird fairly quiet for most of the game
7 Watmore: Pressed effectively at the top end of the field, but spurned a glorious chance to settle things when he took an age to shoot in the second half
6 Sporar: Battled away gamely to try to win headers, although it doesn’t really feel like Boro are playing to his strengths
Subs:
Hernandez (for Watmore, 73)
Ikpeazu (for Sporar, 73)
Fry (for Dijksteel, 90)
(not used): Lumley (gk), Taylor, Lea-Siliki, Payero.
SWANSEA (3-4-3):
Hamer 6; Cabango 5, Naughton 6, Williams 6 (Obafemi 67, 5); Laird 5 (Latibeaudiere 78), Grimes 6, Downes 5, MANNING 7; Smith 5 (Ntcham 46, 5), Piroe 6, Paterson 6.
Subs (not used): Benda (gk), Bennett, Cullen, Bidwell.
Man Of The Match: SOL BAMBA – Once again, Boro’s veteran centre-half rolled back the years with a performance of spirit and resolve.
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