At Luton Town, Middlesbrough had to overcome hardship to get a point.
Boro needs that kind of mentality from now until the end of the season as they try to make the playoffs, and Michael Carrick praised two players for their tenacity against Luton Town on Saturday.
Boro remained in the running for a top-six Championship finish this season thanks to the draw at Kenilworth Road under trying conditions. They are only three points shy of the play-off spots going into the final international break, which has eight games left.
As his team prepares to fight for a spot in the playoffs, Carrick is hopeful they can continue to display the tenacity they displayed against the Hatters in order to secure the points they need to meet their season goal and give themselves a one-in-four chance to advance to the Premier League.
“We knew we’d be challenged in a different way and Neto stepped up,” Carrick added, naming two players who best embodied his team’s battle during the weekend. Once more, I thought he was amazing. He moved up, leaped up, took whacks, took fringe and displayed the fortitude to face it once more. He embraced the challenge. He is currently receiving treatment for roughly five or six different conditions! He’ll be fine, though.
“I thought he was immense today with Jonny [Howson]. We had to ride our luck at certain times, but I think we earned that really, with the spirit and the togetherness of the group. He’s played a lot of games this season. He almost needed a rest for a couple of games at one stage. Since he’s come back he’s kicked on again.
“And then Sammy, I mentioned to him at left back, it was a challenging game for him. He probably hasn’t played left back in a game of that type at all. He’s played for the 21s, but that’s a totally different type of game. So to do that on a yellow card, and defend – the big block towards the end from Sammy – it’s what we needed today.”
Aston Villa loanee Iling-Junior made two huge blocks to protect his side’s goal in the game while again covering for Boro in a position not as familiar to him. Borges, meanwhile, continues his fine moment as he once again showed heart and nous in a bruising game at centre-back.
His positive performances of late has led to some calls for the Brazilian to be made a permanent fixture at the heart of Boro’s defence. But addressing the possibility once more, the Boro head coach said: “I don’t think we need to make a decision at the point of where it’s at. I think it depends on who we can get back at what point, and what we look like after the international break. It’s great to know that he can do it. That’s the beauty of it.
Things change and progress, and he has performed incredibly well. Johnny has done it for us previously, so we knew he could do it. The worst part, though, is that his injuries was a different situation. However, now that we know Neto can accomplish it, we may or may not carry on. Having the choice is good.
