Coventry 1 Middlesbrough 0

Dec 6 2010 The Journal

SPOT-KICKS are a lottery – and Middlesbrough’s numbers didn’t come up as they slipped deeper into relegation trouble in a damaging 1-0 defeat at Coventry decided from 12 yards.

The troubled Teessiders were awarded a first-half penalty, but wasted the golden chance to take control as Leroy Lita’s powerful initial effort was superbly blocked, then as the rebound fell invitingly at the striker’s feet, Coventry keeper Kieren Westwood scrambled across to deflect the follow-up shot on to the bar.

Then Boro’s misery was compounded as Coventry won a penalty of their own 12 minutes from time and bad boy former Riverside loanee Marlon King showed them exactly how it was done as he lashed home an unstoppable winner.

But philosophical boss Tony Mowbray refused to point the finger at either Lita or Bates after an eighth defeat from ten games on the road this term.

“I don’t judge people on what happens at a penalty kick,” he said. “There is a lot of pressure and expectation heaped on to whoever steps up to take the responsibility, but remember that they don’t all go in.

“For Leroy’s penalty their keeper made a fantastic save, two fantastic saves in fact. And I won’t be judging anyone on the penalty that was given away either. It was an aberration when Matthew Bates brought their man down. He knows he should have stayed on his feet. He knows it was a mistake and he is bitterly disappointed, but over the last five or six games he’s been fantastic for me and I’ll judge him on that.”

Boro are now second bottom and firmly enmeshed in the Championship basement battle after a disappointing return of one point from the last four games, but new boss Mowbray remains optimistic that his changes are starting to pay dividends.

“I thought the team played as well as they have in my time here,” he said.

“We were organised and worked hard, we contained a very direct side with a big striker that do what they do very effectively, and we passed the ball around well to create a few chances and if we can keep on finding those kind of performance levels then we will continue to improve and will start to get the results.

“If we scored the penalty we would have won. If that had gone in it would have changed the game.

“If we had scored from that or when Marvin Emnes hit the bar we would probably have gone on to take the points because we were on top for long spells.

“We controlled possession, used the ball well and worked hard, but the chances did not go in for us. The big issue is scoring the goals when we are on top, that is why we are not winning games but it will come.”

Boro’s ill-fated spot kick came on the half-hour after Tony McMahon slotted a ball into the box for Lita, but as he turned on to it he was sliced down from behind by defender Nathan Cameron.

Having fended off Gary O’Neil for the right to take the kick, Lita stuttered through a theatrical run-up then slammed a waist-high piledriver kick to the keeper’s right and Westwood guessed correctly and did well to block it.

He could only push the ball back into the striker’s path and when the Boro man cracked the second effort straight down the middle, the keeper just did enough to scramble back and stretch out to push the ball up on to the bar and when it bounced back down it was hooked clear.

The second act of the punishing penalty drama came on 78 minutes as Bates brought down Gary McSheffrey as he tried to wriggle into the box, and when the referee pointed to the spot there was an air of inevitability as rehabilitated jail bird Marlon King – barracked throughout by Boro fans – slammed it home low and to the right to open his account for Sky Blues with his first goal since a Premier League strike against Hull 19 months ago when he was at the Riverside on loan.

King had gone close on 17 minutes too as McMahon fouled McMahon on the left and the striker whipped in a free-kick that Steele spilled but gathered at the second attempt as he dived into a scrum in the box.

Coventry went close again soon after as Steele saved a powerful close-range header from Clive Platt and Michale Doyle blazed the rebound just over.

Boro almost carved out the opener on 23 minutes when an O’Neil corner on the right was only half cleared to the edge of the box for Arca to send a dipping shot towards the far top corner that sent Westwood scrambling to claw it away.

In the second half Boro had the edge, but although they dominated possession and pushed play deep into the Coventry half, chances were few and far between.

But they almost broke through on 67 minutes as McMahon sent Lita racing into the box to slot a low shot under the advancing keeper, but the ball clipped Westwood’s trailing leg and deflected.

Two minutes after the hammer blow of the King penalty Boro could have snatched something as Joe Bennett delivered a cross from the left into a crowded box and Marvin Emnes stretched to stab the ball goalwards but it came back off the bar.

COVENTRY: Westwood, Keogh, McPake, Cameron, Wood, Gunnarsson (Eastwood 68), Carsley, Doyle, McSheffrey (Clarke 83), King (Jutkiewicz 82), Platt. Subs (not used): Ireland, Bell, Cranie, Baker.

Booked: McSheffrey, Jutkiewicz.

Goal: King 78 pen.

MIDDLESBROUGH: Steele, McMahon (Hoyte 79), Wheater, Bates, Bennett, Emnes, O’Neil, Bailey, Arca (Boyd 80), McDonald, Lita. Subs (not used): Coyne, Kink, Hines, Tavares.

Booked: Wheater, Bennett.

Attendance: 15,768

Referee: Dean Whitestone (Northamptonshire).