A NEW Year’s wish for Middlesbrough? How about not having to play Coventry City again anytime soon. In his 14 months as Boro boss, Michael Carrick has taken on the Sky Blues on five separate occasions, and is yet to claim a victory.

In patches, today’s performance at the Riverside was as good as Boro have played against Coventry under Carrick, yet they still ended up losing by a two-goal margin that could have been even wider such was the extent of the visitors’ dominance in the second half. Unable to make the most of their superiority when they were on top before the interval, Boro were repeatedly sliced apart after the break.

A lack of options off the bench was a factor in the Teessiders’ second-half capitulation, with Carrick unable to make any positive changes because of a combination of injuries and international absentees. The Boro boss insists he does not want any “quick fixes” from the transfer market this month, but below the starting XI, his squad is currently threadbare.

Josh Coburn, who opened the scoring with a first-half header, was running on empty in the final quarter of the game, yet Carrick felt compelled to keep him on the field. Teenager Calum Kavanagh came on as a supporting striker for the final five minutes, but his introduction felt like an empty gesture.

Things might have been different had Boro’s early dominance been rewarded, and Carrick’s side should really have scored before Coburn broke the deadlock shortly after the half-hour mark.

Isaiah Jones could not have gone much closer in the fourth minute, racing on to Morgan Rogers’ through ball and successfully rounding goalkeeper Brad Collins before sliding in a goal-bound effort that was brilliantly flicked clear by a back-tracking Bobby Thomas.

Rogers, whose upturn in form in the last month or so has been marked, was at the heart of most of Boro’s best attacking moves, and he set up Jones for another shot that was blocked by Jake Bidwell before seeing a follow-up effort saved by Collins after the Coventry keeper could only parry an initial shot from Sam Greenwood.

It felt as though a goal was coming, and it duly arrived when Jones floated in an inviting cross from the right. Having scored as a substitute in Friday’s win at Huddersfield, Coburn found himself back in the starting line-up for the first time since mid-October, and the 21-year-old made it two goals in the space of four days as he powered home a header.

Coventry hadn’t threatened at all at that stage, but just four minutes after falling behind, the visitors struck back to equalise. Thomas’ header from a corner was saved by Tom Glover, but Lukas Engel’s clearance only found Tatsuhiro Sakamoto, and the Japanese winger threaded a fine low finish through a crowded box.

The equaliser was against the run of play, and to Boro’s credit, they continued pressing towards the end of the first half. Greenwood’s 25-yard strike was tipped over the crossbar, before Collins made an even better save as he flung himself to his left to turn Engel’s 20-yard strike around the post.

In hindsight, Boro needed a second goal before the interval because Coventry came out with a renewed sense of purpose in the second half.

The visitors should have claimed the lead when Ellis Simms hooked over a half-volley from the edge of the six-yard box, and the former Sunderland striker was at the heart of the action again when Boro’s defences were breached for a second time just a minute later. Simms’ shot from Callum O’Hare’s cross was saved by Glover, but when the ball rebounded to the forward, he rolled a square pass to Haji Wright, who was left with a simple two-yard tap-in.

Boro were on the back foot for most of the second period, and Coventry added a third goal in the 69th minute. Bidwell crossed from close to the byline, and with Boro’s defence ball-watching, Sakamoto stole in at the back post to claim his second goal of the game with a close-range header.