Boro got back to winning ways last night with a 3-0 demolition of a mediocre Huddersfield side. Simon Grayson provided a candid post-match interview, and despite turning the second half into more of a battle, in truth Huddersfield were never in the contest.

Boro started (and continued almost throughout with) a basic 442 formation, with the only idiosyncrasy being the two wide midfielders (Emmanuel Ledesma and Richard Smallwood) coming inside to help control possession and to allow the full backs space to overlap. The main feature of Boro’s display was how comfortable everyone was on the ball in tight spaces, exemplified by the fantastic Josh McEachran and Ledesma. The result of this was that Huddersfield stopped pressing Boro, and so the home side had complete control of possession in the first period. Another feature was the directness of the first ball, with both Lukas Jutkiewicz and Scott McDonald regularly receiving long, flat passes from Andre Bikey and McEachran in particular. The success both the frontmen had at retaining possession from these balls was instrumental to Boro’s success, as it allowed Boro’s technicians like Ledesma to get the ball in good areas before the Huddersfield defence had time to organise. Also, the poor service to Jutkiewicz in particular in the second half helps to explain why the contest was much more even after the break.

When out of possession, Boro defended deep with two narrow banks of four, with Jutkiewicz and McDonald also dropping behind the ball. As a result, Huddersfield found it very difficult to pass the ball into midfield, and nearly always resorted to a long ball from defence into a channel for Lee Novak to battle for (often to some success against a poor Seb Hines).

Huddersfield switched from a 4411 to a 442 in the second half, the result being that Boro found it more difficult to get McEachran on the ball without the centre backs having time to pick a pass. This resulted in the game becoming a scrappy, uncontrolled affair, with Nicky Bailey – who looked like he’d rather pass a kidney stone than the ball in the second half – typifying this description. After Ledesma capped a wonderful display with a fine free-kick, both sides seemed to accept that the game had been decided, although Boro still looked sharp on the counter, with Andy Halliday in particular showing excellent application and skill from left back.

Overall, a comfortable home win for Boro despite the absence of key men such as Grant Leadbitter, Jonathan Woodgate, George Friend, Rhys Williams and Mustapha Carayol. Tony Mowbray should take great satisfaction in the depth of his squad, and it is for this reason that I see Boro finishing very close to the automatic promotion places come May. Highlights of the game can be found here.

Note: I intend to record and write about passing stats after the Birmingham game on Friday.