'Middlesbrough 0-2 Norwich City - Championship Play-Off Final'

'Middlesbrough 0-2 Norwich City - Championship Play-Off Final'

Norwich claimed an immediate return to the Barclays Premier League as a lightning start helped them record a 2-0 Sky Bet Championship play-off final triumph against Middlesbrough at Wembley.

Cameron Jerome and Nathan Redmond put Norwich 2-0 up inside 15 minutes as the Canaries bounced back up to the top flight just one year after relegation.


Jelle Vossen cracked the bar for Boro and Daniel Ayala twice went close but we never recuperated from Norwich's quickfire double.


Patrick Bamford shrugged off an ankle injury to start for Boro and Jerome got the nod ahead of Lewis Grabban, available after a three-match ban, for Norwich and justified his selection early on.

The game had already started at a frantic speed with both Norwich and Boro smashing the bar inside a minute of each other. 
First Bradley Johnson clattered the woodwork with an audacious half-volley from the edge of the box before Boro broke quickly and Vossen's snarling effort rattled John Ruddy's bar.


But Jerome broke the deadlock when he cashed in on Ayala's sloppy mistake in the 12th minute. Ayala was under no real pressure and seemed to just freeze as he should have just cleared his lines, but he was lackadaisical in his attempt to clear the ball and Jerome nipped in and tucked the ball into the back of the net, although our keeper should have saved it, two colossal mistakes which ultimately cost us the game. 



And three minutes later the Canaries doubled their lead with a terrific 17-pass flowing move which finished with Redmond lashing the ball beyond Konstantopoulos. I highlighted Redmond in my match preview, as I assumed the wide Wembley pitch would aid his pace and trickery, yet it was a clinical finish which fired into the corner, sending the Canaries into ecstasy and us Boro into anguish. The Wembley dream seemed all but over after just a measly 15 minutes…

Martin Olsson started the move, intercepting the ball, and it ended when Steven Whittaker found Redmond and his touch gave him space to drill across goal and into the bottom corner from 12 yards.


Shell-shocked, Middlesbrough could not respond in the first half despite managing to regain some composure.

Boro tried to change the tie at the break as Emilio Nsue replaced Dean Whitehead and Ayala headed over five minutes into the second half.


Ruddy then claimed Bamford's 20-yard shot just before the hour mark with Boro desperately stepping their play up a gear, in hope of breaking through the resolute Norwich defence.


Ayala then saw a header blocked off the line by Grabban with eight minutes remaining, if that creeped over the line then we could have put together a real surge and flooded the penalty box in hope of a dramatic equaliser but Norwich saw out the final stages with ease to clinch promotion.

Middlesbrough's lengthy six year absence will be prolonged by at least another year. I highlighted in my match preview that we really needed to score first and somewhat shellshock Norwich, but missing the opportunity when we hit the bar and then conceding just minutes later and then again just 3 minutes after that really knocked the stuffing out of us and although coming close, we never really looked like getting back into the game.

Overall, although we are bitterly disappointed we have to realise what an outstanding season this has been for everyone associated with the club. Beating Manchester City, the Premier League Champions, on their own turf and easily being the better team on the day too. Going away to Anfield and showing the character, grit and determination to never give in and taking Liverpool all the way to a dramatic penalty shoot-out after Patrick Bamford’s 123rd minute penalty which resulted in a 14-13 shoot-out win to the Scousers was an unbelievable night. Beating Norwich City 4-0 at home and 0-1 away from home shows how even though Norwich won the ultimate prize, Middlesbrough were good enough to win promotion but just didn’t get the rub of the green which you sometimes need on the big day. Thumping other promotion rivals like Ipswich 4-1 at home and doing the double over Brentford illustrates how this wasn’t just a flash in the plan but it we will challenge again for promotion next year.

We need to make sure we don’t take any backwards steps during the summer, we need to make sure we improve and invest as the teams coming down from the Premier League have the ability to bounce straight back up so we need to make sure we aren’t left behind. Bamford has been a great loanee and we need someone like him again, if not him again! I cannot see him being used in Chelsea’s squad and the Championship seems to be his level right now, stepping up the Premier League would only stint his development right now and Chelsea surely must see that loaning him back out to us would allow him to flourish and maybe even fire us to promotion – he’s only going to get better! A good start for any team is vital, build momentum early and get the people believing… why can’t we push for the title?

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