BORO VS. GRIMSBY PREVIEW

Middlesbrough Futsal Club are aiming to bounce back after their defeat to Tranmere Victoria as they travel to the Gemtec Arena in Hull to take on Grimsby in a 1.15pm kick off on Valentine’s day – quite an apt fixture after lovemiddlesbrough became Boro’s main sponsor for 2010.

Middlesbrough will be without Mikey Roberts who received two bookings in his last outing and captain Jason Kilbride is a doubt with an injured foot. This could see Robbie Bettson stand in as captain. Grimsby are missing ex Boro player Mathew Payne and several other regulars, but with a lot of individual talent will still be a threat to Boro’s back line.

Grimsby have had their best start to a season and look like potential outsiders for the playoffs if they can keep a regular team.

Shaw has indicated that only 10 players will be selected for away matches, leaving him with choices to make from his squad of 13. “We’ve made this decision as on a long away trip, a player might not get much pitch time and be unhappy. If I choose 10, I will have two teams of four and two goalkeepers. I would always like 12 available, but at this level it’s just not fair to take somebody away and limit their play time.”

There will be no such issues this weekend with three forced out of contention including Dan Boswell, who has work commitments. Shaw expects the team to bounce back and avoid consecutive defeats and wants to go on a good run. “We have three winnable matches coming up and would stand us in excellent stead if we could go almost halfway through the season with only one defeat.

“We must work hard though as Grimsby will be wanting to prove themselves. We beat them 14-6 a few weeks ago (preseason), but it will be a totally different game this weekend as they are also joint top with six points.

“We’re still learning as a team but confidence is high,” he said, “we have a long way to go but we’ve shown glimpses of our potential.”

Boro travel away this week, but then bring Liverpool to Teesside in their 3rd birthday match on 21st February. Ticket information for this home fixture is available on www.BoroFutsal.com.


Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com