Middlesbrough vs Cardiff City. Sky Bet Championship.
Riverside StadiumAttendance24,634.
Middlesbrough 1-1 Cardiff City: Calum Chambers earns point for Bluebirds
Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship match between Middlesbrough and Cardiff City at the Riverside Stadium on Saturday; Calum Chambers scores to earn Omer Riza's Bluebirds a battling point against Michael Carrick's Boro.
Saturday 4 January 2025 18:41, UK
Calum Chambers' first goal in 34 months boosted Cardiff's chances of Sky Bet Championship survival by earning a 1-1 draw at promotion hopefuls Middlesbrough.
Chambers curled in a fine equaliser in the 21nd minute against his former club to cancel out Emmanuel Latte Lath's 10th of the season that had arrived nine minutes earlier.
It was the experienced defender's only goal since finding the net for Aston Villa in March 2022, and helped Cardiff stretch their unbeaten run to three games.
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While Bluebirds head coach Omer Riza will be happy with the outcome, his former West Ham team-mate Michael Carrick will be frustrated that Middlesbrough did not follow up a late win at Hull with another three points here.
That was exactly what Boro looked like doing early on.
After Cardiff's Ollie Tanner had seen his curling effort turned behind for a corner by goalkeeper Tom Glover at one end, it did not take long for Middlesbrough to take the lead.
Liverpool loanee Ben Doak - the subject of reported offers from Crystal Palace and Ipswich in the build-up to this game - did brilliantly to dart beyond full-back Callum O'Dowda and deliver the perfect cross for Latte Lath to finish first time beyond Jak Alnwick.
Cardiff goalkeeper Alnwick had already done well to get down low and fist away an effort from Dan Barlaser, so when the first goal arrived soon after it looked like the hosts would go on to win comfortably.
Cardiff had other ideas. Not long after, a routine ball into the box was blocked by Anfernee Dijksteel and when Dael Fry struggled to clear the loose ball, an opportunity ended up at the feet of Chambers.
The 29-year-old, who spent a season on loan at the Riverside from Arsenal in 2016-17, picked out the top left corner of Glover's net from just inside the penalty area.
After the restart Cardiff, who defended superbly throughout, remained in the game because Carrick's side had not done enough in the final third.
And defender Dimitrios Goutas headed over from a corner to remind the home fans that there was still a threat to keep at bay from Cardiff.
Isaiah Jones was introduced with 27 minutes remaining to try to improve Middlesbrough's attacking performance, with Doak asked to swap to the right flank, and he shaved the side-netting with an effort soon after.
Jones' cross also led to Latte Lath forcing a fantastic save from Alnwick down to his left with a header as Middlesbrough turned up the heat in the closing stages.
Even then, though, Rubin Colwill almost won it for Cardiff when he headed wide from an unmarked position when it seemed like he would score.
The managers
Middlesbrough's Michael Carrick:
"I was disappointed we didn't create openings and trouble the keeper. The boys are trying to do a lot of things. We could be better than we were today.
"It is a mindset, it's the players, staff, supporters, everything, we have to look at what is next and create that energy and positivity to see what can be achieved. We tried to tweak things to find that spark and it didn't happen."
Cardiff's Omer Riza:
"Every point is important. This is a tough place to come, we managed to contain them with our resilience and deserved a point.
"Rubin could have scored at the end as well but that might have been unfair on them if we had nicked it. He worked endlessly, as did all the boys behind him and that is what we needed to get something from the game.
"The boys are showing fighting spirit. We probably need to show a bit more quality in possession and not turn it over, because it allows them to hit us again.
"You are under pressure though and trying to pick up points. They have come through the game and we have picked up five points from our last three games against tough opposition, Watford, Coventry and here.
"We have to keep working. We could have picked up more three points before in games and the position would have improved further, but we have to keep fighting and working to pick up those three points. This was satisfying today."
