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Mido suffered a groin strain in the warmup
prior to Sunderland vs Boro match. As a result, Hossam
was dropped from selection and Alves played as a lone
striker instead. On the other hand, Shawky came on in
the 67th minute to replace Digard and had a decent game.
However, Downing missed apnealty kick which could give
Boro the lead and Chopra who came from the bench scored
twice to win the game for the homeside.
Read also:
Mido injured on warm-up:
While Egyptians and Boro fans alike were
prepared to see Mido starting for Boro in the away clash
with Sunderland, the Egyptian suffered a slight groin
strain and Southgate had to drop him from the selection.
This injury won't hopefully prevent Mido
from featuring in the Carling Cup away clash with Manchester
United in the midweek.
Goalless draw in First half:
After losing his first two away matches
in the Premiership, Southgate decided to use a more
cautious approach. He didn't play 4-4-2 and instead,
he used a defensive 4-5-1 formation. He planned to play
Mido as a long striker but the Egyptian's injury left
him with no other option but to start with Alves as
the only forward while Aliadiere and Johnson assisted
from the right and left wings.
Despite being the better side in the first
half, Boro failed to score. They didn't create enough
chances thanks to their defensive style but Alves had
a golden chance to score when Johnson laid the ball
to him behind the defense and he had only the keeper
to beat but Alves shot went staight into the body of
the goalkeeper.
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A missed penalty:
There is a very thin line between success
and failure. Boro were on verge of winning minutes after
the introduction of Shawky at expense of Digard in the
67th minute. Particularly in the 73rd minute, Aliadiere
made a good run into the box only to be brought on inside
the box. The referee awarded Boro a penaly kick but
Downing blasted it over the bar.
It should be noted that this is the second
penalty kick that Downing misses as he hit the bar from
the spot in the home match versus Stoke City and squandered
the spot kick as well.
Chopra's Double:
The substitute Michael Chopra scored twice
to win the game for Sunderland. His first goal came
in the 81st minute from a one on one situation with
the keeper while the 2nd came in stoppage time after
Boro pushed men forward and left wide gaps behind the
defense.
Another away defeat:
This loss means that Boro collected zero
points from their three away matches. They lost by two
goals to one to Liverpool and Portsmouth and today,
they lost by two goals without reply.
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