Stoke City 0-0 Middlesbrough: Teams share points in a game of few chances

Middlesbrough have lost just once in seven games against Stoke in all competitions

Stoke City and Middlesbrough took a point each from a game of few clear-cut chances in the Championship.

There were only two efforts on target throughout the match, with the Potters' Tyrese Campbell shooting wide after being put through on goal.

Boro's Duncan Watmore slipped at the crucial moment when trying to tap the ball in, while team-mate Andraz Sporar smashed a volley over the bar in the second half.

Stoke remain in the play-off places in sixth, with Middlesbrough three places below them.

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Mario Vrancic's half-volley was deflected off-target early on for the Potters, but it was the visitors who truly cursed their luck after an agonising miss saw Watmore fail to properly connect with a low cross from six yards out.

Vrancic then threaded the ball through for Campbell - a move which produced the opener in the Potters' previous game at QPR - but this time the striker was unable to find the net after rounding goalkeeper Joe Lumley.

At the other end, Sporar showed great skill to fire a shot at goal from a long ball over the top, but keeper Adam Davies gathered to make sure the score stayed level at the break.

The Slovenia international striker was then wasteful in sending his strike high and over after a brilliant cross from Boro substitute Onel Hernandez, as both sides were frustrated by their inability to break the deadlock.

Stoke City manager Michael O'Neill told BBC Radio Stoke:

"We won the ball back in the middle third of the pitch in good areas and we just probably didn't capitalise on that final ball at times.

"Tyrese gets in, he will be disappointed and maybe should have done a little bit better.

"That was the nature of the game. They probably had the clearest-cut chance that Watmore doesn't take.

"I felt second half, both teams sort of cancelled each other out."

Middlesbrough manager Chris Wilder told BBC Tees:

"We can be delighted with our day's performance. Joe has made a couple of good saves.

"We have missed a couple of good chances, to be a bit greedy from my point of view.

"But we have come to a team that has established Championship stroke Premier League players that are expected to go well.

"To come to their backyard and get a deserved result, in my opinion, is good for everybody."

Line-ups
Match Stats
Live Text

Line-ups

Stoke

Formation 3-5-2

1Davies
16Wilmot
6BatthBooked at 35mins
3Fox
2SmithBooked at 72mins
7Clucas
4Allen
8VrancicSubstituted forInceat 84'minutes
14Tymon
9FletcherSubstituted forSurridgeat 84'minutes
10CampbellSubstituted forBrownat 80'minutes

Substitutes

5Chester
11Doughty
13Bonham
18Brown
20Oakley-Boothe
22Surridge
23Ince

Middlesbrough

Formation 3-5-2

1Lumley
2DijksteelBooked at 10mins
6Fry
17McNair
35Jones
25CrooksSubstituted forBambaat 71'minutes
16Howson
7Tavernier
27Bola
11SporarSubstituted forIkpeazuat 89'minutes
18WatmoreSubstituted forHernándezat 74'minutes

Substitutes

3Taylor
8Hernández
9Ikpeazu
10Payero
22Bamba
23Léa Siliki
28Daniels

Referee:: Michael Salisbury
Attendance:: 21,140

Match Stats

Home TeamStokeAway TeamMiddlesbrough

Possession: Home41%; Away59%

Shots: Home9; Away7

Shots on Target: Home1; Away1

Corners: Home5; Away4

Fouls: Home7; Away5

Live Text

Post update
Match ends, Stoke City 0, Middlesbrough 0.
90'+4'
Full Time
Second Half ends, Stoke City 0, Middlesbrough 0.

90'+4'
Post update
Attempt missed. Sol Bamba (Middlesbrough) header from the right side of the six yard box misses to the right. Assisted by Jonny Howson with a cross following a corner.
90'+3'
Post update
Corner, Middlesbrough. Conceded by Tom Ince.
90'
Post update
Foul by Sol Bamba (Middlesbrough).
90'
Post update
Sam Surridge (Stoke City) wins a free kick on the right wing.
89'
Substitution
Substitution, Middlesbrough. Uche Ikpeazu replaces Andraz Sporar.
87'
Post update
Offside, Stoke City. Tommy Smith tries a through ball, but Sam Surridge is caught offside.
86'
Post update
Foul by Marc Bola (Middlesbrough).
86'
Post update
Jacob Brown (Stoke City) wins a free kick on the right wing.
85'
Post update
Offside, Middlesbrough. Jonny Howson tries a through ball, but Onel Hernández is caught offside.
84'
Substitution
Substitution, Stoke City. Sam Surridge replaces Steven Fletcher.
84'
Substitution
Substitution, Stoke City. Tom Ince replaces Mario Vrancic.
83'
Post update
Attempt missed. Andraz Sporar (Middlesbrough) left footed shot from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by Onel Hernández with a cross.
80'
Substitution
Substitution, Stoke City. Jacob Brown replaces Tyrese Campbell.
77'
Post update
Jonny Howson (Middlesbrough) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
77'
Post update
Foul by Mario Vrancic (Stoke City).
74'
Substitution
Substitution, Middlesbrough. Onel Hernández replaces Duncan Watmore.
72'
Booking
Tommy Smith (Stoke City) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
72'
Post update
Marc Bola (Middlesbrough) wins a free kick on the left wing.

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As It Stood

	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Fulham	22	13	6	3	51	18	33	45
2	Bournemouth	22	12	7	3	37	19	18	43

3	West Brom	22	11	7	4	30	17	13	40
4	Blackburn	22	11	6	5	37	27	10	39
5	QPR	21	10	5	6	33	27	6	35
6	Stoke	22	10	5	7	26	21	5	35

7	Coventry	22	9	7	6	29	26	3	34
8	Nottm Forest	22	8	7	7	30	24	6	31
9	Middlesbrough	22	8	6	8	24	23	1	30
10	Huddersfield	22	8	6	8	25	25	0	30
11	Millwall	22	7	9	6	24	24	0	30
12	Luton	22	7	8	7	31	27	4	29
13	Sheff Utd	21	8	5	8	28	28	0	29
14	Preston	22	7	7	8	24	28	-4	28
15	Birmingham	22	7	6	9	22	26	-4	27
16	Swansea	22	7	6	9	26	31	-5	27
17	Blackpool	22	7	6	9	20	26	-6	27
18	Bristol City	22	7	6	9	24	32	-8	27
19	Hull	22	6	5	11	19	26	-7	23
20	Cardiff	22	6	4	12	25	39	-14	22
21	Reading	22	8	3	11	27	34	-7	21

22	Peterborough	22	5	4	13	19	41	-22	19
23	Barnsley	22	2	7	13	15	34	-19	13
24	Derby	22	5	10	7	18	21	-3	4

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Comments

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9 comments

Comment posted by DaveyDoubleYou, at 17:53 11 Dec 2021
Really odd division this year. The top 2 are faltering, and the hard winter hasn’t kicked in yet. WBA fans want rid of Ismael, Blackburn have bounced back from a 0-7 home loss, and teams deep into the bottom half of the table have a sniff of the playoffs.
Reply posted by BBC123, at 18:19 11 Dec 2021
BBC123 replied:
Welcome to the Championship, it's always odd. 😂
Comment posted by john, at 18:23 11 Dec 2021
Boro are playing some better football and getting some consistent results under wilder. Warnock should have gone long ago. Boro have a real chance of the play offs now. Stoke is a tough place to get a point.
Comment posted by Wormhole, at 15:06 12 Dec 2021
Let's all hope that "hoof and hack" stoke don't get anywhere near the Premier League. Real football needs to be protected!
Comment posted by Daniel, at 20:27 11 Dec 2021
As a Stoke City fan I'm living in fear of Tyrese Campbell leaving in January and watching us slip away into mid-table. A decent result today, but a win next weekend vs Coventry is an absolute must if we are to be considered serious top 6 contenders.
Reply posted by this is me, at 00:02 12 Dec 2021
this is me replied:
Why Campbell has only scored one goal since his return from injury, possibly had our best chance today and missed ... Probably time we looked for another striker Campbell isn't our 25 goal a season player needed to get promotion from the Championship.