MIDDLESBROUGH conceded two quickfire second half goals to lose at Blackburn on Saturday.
Here's how the players rated:
Middlesbrough (4-3-3):
6 Vitek: Two good saves in the first half but conceded a corner he didn’t need to for the first goal and his parry led to second.
5 Brittain: Boro were caught out on the flanks on a few occasions in the first half. Brittain got into plenty of promising positions going forward but didn’t make them count and sliced wide in second half.
5 Ayling: Brilliant first half goal-line block but conceded possession in build-up to second goal. Boro’s defence looked vulnerable throughout.
5 Malanda: Needed to put his physicality to better use. Not as commanding as Boro need him to be.
6 Arfsten: Saw plenty of the ball in the first half and linked up quite well with Sarmiento. Caught out a couple of times on the counter.
6 Morris: Big boost for Boro to have the midfielder back in the side. Plenty of Boro’s positive early work went through him but couldn’t find a way through in the second half.
6 Berhalter: Busy enough but couldn’t find the killer ball as Boro probed in second half.
5 Peart-Harris: Eye-catching on the ball in the first half but was caught ball-watching for both of Blackburn’s goals, which is clearly element of his game that he needs to work on if he’s playing in midfield.
6 Whittaker: Brilliant assist for the opener and went close in second half, but decision making frustrating as Boro searched for equaliser.
6 Sarmiento: Took his goal well – his first for the club – and was clearly boosted. Bright in the first half and worked hard defensively. Faded after the break.
5 Lankshear: Wasn’t through a lack of trying but Boro didn’t create any clear cut chances for him.
Substitutes:
5 Joseph (for Sarmiento, 60): Couldn’t provide the spark Boro needed from the bench.
5 McGree (for Peart-Harris, 60): Unfortunately couldn’t find a repeat of Lincoln impact. Late shot off-target summed up frustrations.
Castledine (for Berhalter, 77): N/A
Borges (for Arfsten, 77): N/A
Subs not used: Brynn, Jones, Kante, Ibeh, Cartwright
Blackburn: Toth 7, Alebiosu 7, Atcheson 8, McLoughlin 7, Pickering 7, Morsy 7 (Forshaw, 69), Montgomery 6, Morishita 6 (Jorgensen, 61), Cantwell 7 (Carter, 80), Afolayan 6 (Fevrier, 61), Gudjohnsen 7 (Ohashi, 69)
Subs not used: Pears, Ribeiro, Garrett, Tavares
Man of the Match: Atcheson: Mowbray likened young defender to Gary Pallister afterwards. Did a fine job on Lankshear.
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