It is one of the most basic rules of defending: always play to the whistle. Never stop, even when you think that you have been fouled and the referee is going to award a free-kick. Always keep going. Better to be safe than sorry.
Daniel Ayala played with fire, praying that Mike Dean would come to his rescue after his needless concession of the ball to Cameron Jerome, but the Middlesbrough defender was too clever for his own good and, instead of getting the free-kick he was after, the young Spaniard ended up with first-degree burns and the nagging sense he had just chucked his team’s hopes of returning to the Premier League into the incinerator. Ayala paused for a second, and it was the briefest of glances over his shoulder at Dean, but Middlesbrough were always in trouble once the referee had decided not to penalise the Norwich City striker for his tackle.
Ayala’s kidology masterfarce against his old club backfired spectacularly and his plaintive look at Dean was as much a cry for help as it was an attempt to bluff his way out of a mess of his own making. He picked the wrong moment to take a risk, delaying his clearance and allowing Jerome to win possession, and the way Ayala was muscled to the floor will gnaw away at him during the long and painful summer months.
In Ayala’s defence his fellow centre-back, Ben Gibson, was also at fault for clearing Jerome’s path to goal and allowing him to shoot. Middlesbrough’s goalkeeper, Dimitrios Konstantopoulos, will also wonder if he could have done more to stop Jerome.
The goal summed up Middlesbrough. They froze and will have regrets. Three minutes later Norwich sliced them open on the right and Nathan Redmond doubled the lead by pinging a low shot into the far corner.
Aitor Karanka looked stunned on the touchline. Middlesbrough’s defence was the stingiest in the Championship this season, conceding only 37 goals, and Karanka must have been stunned to see his side’s greatest strength become their downfall when the stakes were this high.
Karanka was José Mourinho’s assistant at Real Madrid and, as Middlesbrough capitulated, he might have recalled his former mentor’s line about finals after Chelsea won the Capital One Cup in March. “Finals are not for playing, they are for winning,” Mourinho said.
Middlesbrough failed to handle the pressure of the occasion. Norwich had Premier League experience and they were cannier. Jelle Vossen swerved a volley close before the catastrophe of Norwich’s opener and Ayala had a chance of redemption with a header in the second half but Middlesbrough’s attack was insipid. Albert Adomah’s final ball was poor, Lee Tomlin was uninspired and Norwich contained Patrick Bamford, who has been struggling with an ankle injury.
Bamford’s 19 goals ignited Middlesbrough’s promotion challenge and they were relying on the Chelsea loanee here. However Bamford and play-off finals are a bad mix – he was on the losing side when Queens Park Rangers beat Derby County last year.
Middlesbrough’s supporters, so boisterous before kick-off, fell into despondent silence after Redmond’s goal. That was swiftly followed by a roar of defiance but their team was in danger of disappearing with barely a whimper. Middlesbrough have not won a game after finding themselves two goals down since beating Steaua Bucharest on their way to the Uefa Cup final in 2006.
Those were heady days for Middlesbrough and this is a different club from the one that was able to tempt Juninho and Fabrizio Ravanelli to Teesside during the early Premier League era. Propelled by the backing of their revered chairman, Steve Gibson, Middlesbrough reached three cup finals between 1997 and 1998 and won their first major trophy in 2004, beating Bolton Wanderers in the League Cup final. They are more streamlined now.
Boro must file this defeat away and remember that after years of stagnation, they are going in the right direction again. Gibson, who has stuck by the club through thick and thin, still has his name sung by supporters and Middlesbrough were closer to going up this year than they have been at any point since their relegation from the Premier League in 2009.
Middlesbrough were five points above the Championship’s bottom three when Karanka took the job 18 months ago and, if they can use this disappointment as motivation next season, their young side will continue to progress, even though this final was lost in the space of 15 minutes.