Boro scrape past ten-man Stoke

Middlesbrough 2 Stoke 1

Middlesbrough 2 Stoke 1

Tuncay Sanli spared the blushes of wasteful Middlesbrough with a late winner to finally see off 10-man Stoke.

The Turkey international fired home an 85th-minute clincher just as it looked as though the visitors, who had midfielder Amdy Faye sent off 10 minutes before the break, had staged a magnificent fightback.

On a dramatic afternoon at the Riverside Stadium, £12.7m striker Afonso Alves had made the most of Faye’s wild challenge on Mohamed Shawky by firing the resulting free-kick past Thomas Sorensen, and England international Stewart Downing should have wrapped up the win with a 64th-minute penalty but hit the bar.

On another day, Alves might have claimed a hat-trick, and his strike partner Tuncay was also guilty of a bad miss as Gareth Southgate’s side recovered from an indifferent start to dominate for long periods.

However, they could not kill the Potters off and when Justin Hoyte turned Liam Lawrence’s cross into his own net with 19 minutes remaining, the visitors looked to have got their reward for a committed display in front of a crowd of 27,627.

So concerned was Southgate by Stoke’s aerial prowess, he had employed one of the club’s youngsters in training to reproduce Rory Delap’s long throw in an effort to prepare his defenders for an onslaught.

In the event, the ploy was academic as the promoted side produced the better football in the first half when the misfiring Teessiders struggled to find any rhythm.

Indeed, City would almost certainly have gone in level at the break – and deservedly so – had their luck not changed so devastatingly.

Having defended resolutely for the opening 35 minutes, they contributed to their own downfall when former Newcastle midfielder Faye launched himself at Shawky as the pair closed on a loose ball.

The travelling fans behind Sorensen’s goal could not believe that referee Mike Dean produced a red card and made their feelings abundantly clear, although television replays showed the midfielder had left the ground and gone in with both feet in a rash, rather than malicious, style and left the official with few options.

Worse was to come for the Potters when Alves curled the free-kick past a flat-footed Sorensen and into the net to give the home side a lead they scarcely deserved.

The Brazilian had earlier headed wastefully wide and then completely missed his kick with just the Stoke goalkeeper to beat as Boro produced a disjointed display.

For their part, the visitors kept the Teessiders’ back four fully employed with Ricardo Fuller causing problems and Lawrence orchestrating things from midfield.

Had the unsighted Ross Turnbull not got down to turn away Lawrence’s 19th-minute free-kick as it sped past the defensive wall, his side might have taken the lead before the drama unfolded at the other end.

But it was City boss Tony Pulis with the rebuilding job to do at the break.

With striker Dave Kitson having dropped back into midfield to leave Fuller alone in attack after the red card, City set about the task of dragging themselves back into the game after the break.

However, Boro resumed in determined fashion as they looked to kill the game off.

Jeremie Aliadiere might have done so within a minute had his finish matched the quality of his run into the box, and Seyi Olofinjana had to make an important block to keep out Downing’s shot.

The England midfielder went much closer seconds later when he curled a free-kick just wide of Sorensen’s right post.

Tuncay, who was having one of his quieter games, should have cemented the victory with 57 minutes gone when Alves picked him out in the middle, but he skied his right-footed shot high over the bar.

The home side wasted another glorious opportunity with 64 minutes gone when they were awarded a penalty for Olofinjana’s trip on Alves.

Downing, who had earlier forced a good save from Sorensen with a blistering long-range effort, struck his spot-kick just as well but saw it thunder back off the crossbar to let the visitors off the hook.

Tuncay and substitute Digard both went close as Stoke rocked, but the visitors were back in the game with 19 minutes remaining with Boro paying a heavy price for their wastefulness.

Lawrence’s cross to the far post left Hoyte under pressure with Kitson breathing down his neck, and the full-back could only bundle the ball into his own net.

But Stoke’s resistance was finally broken with five minutes remaining when Tuncay controlled Digard’s mishit shot and fired past the stranded Sorensen to pinch the win.

more courts articles

Man (25) in court charged with murdering his father and attempted murder of mother Man (25) in court charged with murdering his father and attempted murder of mother
Man appears in court charged with false imprisonment of woman in van Man appears in court charged with false imprisonment of woman in van
Man in court over alleged false imprisonment of woman Man in court over alleged false imprisonment of woman

More in this section

Republic of Ireland Training Session and Media Conference Ogbene ruled out for 'few weeks'
Chelsea v Leicester City - Barclays Women's Super League - Kingsmeadow Willie Kirk sacked as Leicester boss after position became ‘untenable’
St Patrick's Athletic v Shelbourne - SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division Damien Duff: 'The leading light of Irish football is not the national team but the league itself'
Sport Push Notifications

By clicking on 'Sign Up' you will be the first to know about our latest and best sporting content on this browser.

Sign Up
Sport
Newsletter

Latest news from the world of sport, along with the best in opinion from our outstanding team of sports writers

Sign up
Cookie Policy Privacy Policy Brand Safety FAQ Help Contact Us Terms and Conditions

© Examiner Echo Group Limited