Michael Carrick salutes Middlesbrough pair after mixed World Cup fortunes
Posted Sunday, November 13, 2022 by PA
Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick had words of praise for two of his players with very different World Cup stories after watching his side come from behind to grab a dramatic 2-1 Championship win at Norwich.
Young Australian midfielder Riley McGree equalised for the hosts just after the hour mark with a quite stunning volley, setting the scene for a dramatic finale which saw substitute Matts Crooks score with his first touch to secure all three points.
Goalkeeper Zach Steffen also shone for the visitors, making a string of top quality saves to keep his side in it, but unlike McGree won’t be heading to Qatar having been overlooked by the United States.
Carrick felt both men reacted well to the very different emotions they were feeling going into the game.
He said: “Obviously this is a very exciting time for Riley and what a way to celebrate his World Cup call-up.
“He has shown everybody what he can do and it was an absolutely brilliant strike – probably one of the best moments of his career so far.
“It was one of those moments when the ground just went quiet – I don’t think people could believe what they had just seen.
“He is a talented lad and we will all be watching out for him at the World Cup.
“It’s also only fair to mention Zach as well. He was obviously very disappointed to miss out and got the call four hours before our game with Blackpool in midweek, which was poor in my opinion.
“He kept it to himself, just went out and played – and only let us know afterwards. It shows the class and quality of the man.
“He was excellent on Tuesday and was excellent again today, making a lot of good saves.”
Carrick added: “It was obviously a very pleasing win against a good side.
“I don’t like going behind in games but it provided us with a challenge and we showed we could come from behind to win a game while sticking to our footballing principles.
“At the moment everyone at the club is together – the staff, the players and the fans – and long may that continue.”
Norwich boss Dean Smith, who had seen his side take the lead after just seven minutes through Josh Sargent – a player who did make the American squad, felt they were punished for the inconsistent levels of their performances.
“That game sums up where we are at the moment,” said Smith. “For the first 25 minutes or so I thought we played really well and would have more than one goal if we had taken a few more of our chances.
“Then we dropped off for the final 15 minutes of the first half and the first 15 minutes of the second and were punished for it.
“We were just too slow to get the ball back when we lost it and that is something we will be working hard on during the break.
“From 70 minutes onwards I thought we would go on and win it and we would have won it had some of the chances we created been taken.
“Then if you don’t win a game you make sure you don’t lose it and we go and give away a silly goal at the end. It was a very frustrating afternoon.”
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