Top of the table, but scope for things to further improve

WHILE Tuesday evening's goalless draw between Middlesbrough and Stoke City may not have been the most thrilling of matches, there were still plenty of talking points from it.

- By CRAIG JOHNS

Perhaps the most interesting as far as bigger implications are concerned was the tactical switch from Rob Edwards, as he made the switch he'd been hinting at for some time. Boro reverted to a flat back four against the Potters, moving away from their successful back-three variations.

While Boro certainly had to hold on in the second half as tiredness felt like a big factor, they were also defensively short after George Edmundson’s early injury.

Unfortunately, the nature of their two-sided performance makes it difficult to fully assess the impact of the formation change.

Done, in the main, to not leave wing-backs exposed against a side who attack in numbers from the wide positions and deliver crosses into the box as often as possible, Boro seemed to handle the Stoke game-plan well in the first half.

Dominating the game and creating some positive openings, goalkeeper Sol Brynn was a spectator.

However, Stoke were far more ambitious in the second half and, as Boro’s jaded performance manifested into sloppy in-possession errors, the visitors grew in confi dence. From a defensive standpoint in the back four, Brynn was required to make as big saves in just 45 minutes of football than he’s had to all season combined to this point - and make them he did, to his credit.

You suspect coming out of the game that, for now at least, the back three remains the favoured choice.

But Edwards will be by no means discouraged by how his side adapted in the back four, particularly given their first-half dominance.

FITNESS STRUGGLES

That aspect of the Boro performance was always a risk after such a short turnaround from a long-distance away trip at Southampton.