Boro Mania

A very young Middlesbrough reserve side beat Blackburn 1-0 at The Riverside Stadium tonight with impressive forward Nathan Porritt grabbing the only goal of the game on a chilly night in Middlesbrough.

Brad Jones started in goal and was the oldest player on the pitch for Boro as Martin Scott fielded a side made up of Academy graduates and Marvin Emnes.

The game got off to a slow start with neither side capable of keeping possesion. The first chance of the games fell to Emnes as a corner was cleared to the edge of the area, the Dutchman latched on to it but saw his drive fly over the bar.

Boro took the lead on 28 minutes as some quick thinking saw Porritt latch on to quickly taken free kick, the teenager cooly prodded the ball past the Blackburn keeper to give Boro a deserved lead.

Into the second half and it was all Boro with Emnes running the Rovers backline ragged with good movement and excellent hold up play. Boro and Porritt thought they had a second goal of the night as Seb Hines headed a the ball back into the danger area following a corner and Porrit flicked the ball goalward, beating the Rovers' keeper. Unfortunately there was a defender on hand to clear it off the line, even if it looked over the line from where I was sat

As the game was winding down to it's conclusion, Blackburn must have thought they had an equaliser. A close-range effort was seemingly past Jones, but a superb one-handed save kept Boro ahead.

Down the other end, Emnes won a free kick after some good close control. The resulting ball in from Josh Walker was flicked goalward by Matty Bates but the ball rebounded back off the post with the goalkeeper beaten.

Middlesbrough: Jones; Bates, Corker, Walker (Capt.), Hines, Grounds, Franks, Smallwood, Emnes, Porritt, Owens (Martin 83). Unused subs: Steele (gk); Robinson, Shead, Furness.

Middlesbrough Reserves Player Ratings

Brad Jones - 7 - Jones didn't really have a lot to do for most of the night. Made some routine saves and dealt with high balls into the box well, except one in the second half that I thought he flapped at. Excellent save late on to keep Boro in front.

Matthew Bates - 9 - I thought Bates was superb tonight, playing at right back. His defensive ability was top class, never caught out of position and always quick in the tackle. Got forward well too and put a couple of good crosses into the box.

Ashley Corker - 6 - Corker had a mixed game for me, I thought at times he looked very impressive, won a lot in the air and looked comfortable on the ball. My main gripe was he let the winger get a cross in too many times and should have got tighter to his man.

Jon Grounds - 8 - Very solid again at centre back, he was strong in the air and read the game superbly. I definately see his future as a central defender rather than a left back.

Seb Hines - 8 - One lapse in concentration that lead to a Blackburn attack, but other than that he defended superbly. Very strong and quick in the tackle, his use of the ball was better than in previous games too.

Graeme Owens - 7 - Bit of a frustrating evening for Owens I thought, he obviously has a lot of ability on the ball but I feel he needs to get his head up a bit and see things happening around him.

Jonathan Franks - 7 - Much quieter than on previous occasions i've seen him play. Is extremely quick and direct with ball and had a couple of strikes on goal.

Josh Walker - 7 - Worked very hard and saw a lot of the ball, linked the play up between the defence and forward line. I'd like to see him be a bit more adventurous in the last 3rd and get a few shots on goal.

Richie Smallwood - 7 - A real terrier in the midfield, worked very hard alongside Walker. Needs to improve his passing a little as I thought he gave the ball away a bit tonight but he shows a lot of promise.

Nathan Porritt - 8 - Porritt is obviously a very talented individual and he took his goal very well. At times, when he gets the ball at his feet and commits defenders he looks an extremely promising player. I just wish he would cut out the un-necessary flicks and just get hold of the ball.

Marvin Emnes - 9 - Looked very good tonight. Showed superb close control and looked very confident. What is more pleasing is that he really looks to be coming to terms with the physical aspect of the English game now, he never let himself get pushed off the ball and worked very hard. A first team run cannot be far away.

Man of the match - Matthew Bates - Excellent tonight.