91热爆

Boro 0 - Man City 2

Saturday's match against Man City was supposed to be an easy rehearsal for the FA cup qualifiers but Middlesbrough turned in a lacklustre performance that doesn鈥檛 inspire confidence for their second Manchester match tonight.

Man City needed to win on Saturday to stop the regulation rumours and they were the team that put the effort in on the day.

Boro were fielding a weaker side in preparation for Monday and definitely felt the loss of Woodgate in defence and Viduka in the first half with sloppy defending and a complacent Euell around the box.

It was an even first half in terms of possession.

Stewart Downing could do no wrong with the crowd, setting up most of Boro's first-half chances, including a great early header attempt from Andrew Davies.

It was also a mediocre first outing for new South Korean signing Lee, who had a couple of shots in the first half but Southgate didn鈥檛 give him a full game to prove himself.

It was surprising to see a defensive formation in the second half, with only Yakubu up front. Man City attacked immediately after the break and Boro seemed willing to sit back and absorb some pressure Mclaren-style to the disappointment of the crowd.

Boro's slow reaction in the box allowed Man City's Distin to crash the ball into the Boro net in the 61st minute.

Southgate attempted to inject some pace into the game by bringing on Viduka for the disappointing Euell with 25 minutes to go (one of the few delights for the home crowd), but he and Downing hardly saw the ball in the rest of the match.

By this point City seemed confident and not under threat.

Boro's Lee Cattermole accidentally set up City's 2nd goal in the 73rd minute, being caught on edge of the area by Barton who passed it through for Mpenza to score.

Boro created no more real chances, except for a frustrated shot from 30 yards by Yakubu.

Boro could have been saving energy for Monday's Man United game, but they brought no energy to the game on Saturday. Overall, a disappointing match that Boro deserved to lose.