Red Card costs Boro at Leeds

Red Card costs Boro at Leeds

A goalkeeping red card often ruins the game if it’s your stopper who gets his marching orders. It is difficult to find a way back into the fight when you are losing and it’s even harder on the drained players the next day.

Hopefully, new boss, Aitor Karanka, will get a good reaction from the Boro squad this week after a disappointing defeat at Leeds United on Saturday – which stemmed from Jason Steele’s silly red card.

From the vantage point of travelling supporters at Elland Road, it certainly looked a worthy dismissal as Steele came charging out his area to rather clumsily bring Dexter Blackstock down outside the area.

Yet, on closer inspection, some football betting pundits have argued Steele wasn’t the last man, nor was he preventing a clear goalscoring opportunity (as defenders were just about level with the keeper when the challenge was made). There is also a case to be heard that Blackstock went down too easily, but the decision stood.

Had we not had the red, few fans who bet on football would have backed against us getting at least a point against Leeds. We didn’t play our best but we certainly looked an improved outfit from recent weeks and it’s clear the few days Karanka has had with the squad is already producing a reverse in attitude.

Boro looked far tighter at the back, terrorised as we were by a rapid Blackstock and the in-form Ross McCormack, who scored four at Charlton before the international break. Our midfield held its own against a team chasing the playoffs while Mustapha Carayol’s smooth finish shows our attacking threat extends further than Kei Kamara and Albert Adomah.

We should remain positive and hope Karanka’s home debut against Bolton yields a different result. The playoffs may be a little too far for us now but this outfit is too good for relegation and fans should instead view the rest of this season as a building project for a new era.

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