Boro fight for point

Feb 8 2010 The Journal

Ipswich Town 1, Boro 1

GORDON Strachan admitted his patched up Middlesbrough side were left shell-shocked after leaking a goal after just 22 seconds at Ipswich.

But he was full of praise after the tenacious Teessiders staged a spirited second half fight back to earn a precious point and stretch their unbeaten run to four games with a dogged 1-1 draw away at Roy Keane’s side.

Disjointed Boro were left reeling as Ipswich scored an instant opener engineered by former Sunderland duo David Healy and Daryl Murphy on their debut after being reunited with ex-Black cats boss Keane on deadline day.

“We conceded after 22 seconds and that threw the guys out of position into shock,” confessed Strachan as he reviewed a torrid first half in which Ipswich tore a new look Boro backline open repeatedly.

“The left hand side was rocking,” said Strachan. “They were so embarrassed with the goal. We crumbled for a while and it took us until half-time to settle and go again.”

In mitigation, the manager pointed to a hastily-assembled team with three debutants thrown into the fray and two full-backs played out of position in midfield.

Strachan had signed seven players in January but injuries and suspensions forced him into a impromptu reshuffle that had an unbalanced look and clunky feel about it.

At the back he gave debuts to Steve McManus signed from Celtic in the middle and Kyle Naughton, on loan from Spurs at right-back while up front new boy Lee Miller – a deadline day arrival from Aberdeen – partnered Chris Killen in a big, strong pairing that had plenty of physical presence although short of mobility or a clinical eye for goal.

But it was in the middle that creaking Boro looked most mis-matched with Justin Hoyte, a right-back who has played most of the season as a left-back, pressed into service in central midfield and Andrew Taylor, a left-back just back from a hernia operation, asked to slot into departed Adam Johnson’s berth on the flank.

Afterwards, honest Strachan admitted that the makeshift side withered in the face of a direct assault by Ipswich in the opening period.

“Ipswich were the better team in the first half,” he said. “When you think we had a right-back playing centre midfield and a left-back playing left midfield, we weren’t ready for that kind of game.

“Had it been a nice simple passing game we’d have had time to play out way into it but it was ferocious from the start and we couldn’t cope with it.”