"It’s pretty obvious" - Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick left fuming with controversial moment v Blackburn | OneFootball

Boro were held scoreless by Rovers for the first time since the start of November.

Michael Carrick believes that the assistant referee made a 'clear' error for Dominic Hyam's goal in Middlesbrough's 1-0 loss to Blackburn Rovers.

The high-flying Boro weren't the version of themselves that we have become accustomed to seeing over recent weeks. They'd scored 15 goals in their three matches leading up to the Blackburn match, but weren't able to fashion any opportunities that were good enough to lead to a goal.

Middlesbrough were without some key players due to illness. Seny Dieng missed his second game running because of the bug that has gone around the Wearsiders camp. Finn Azaz and Delano Burgzorg were also forced to miss the Rovers game due to being sick. Whether they will be fit to face Hull City this weekend remains in doubt.

The clash at the Riverside was not a contest that was full of moments that got you off of your seat. There were only four shots on target in the game, but one close-range effort from Hyam was all that was needed to separate the sides.

The goal wasn't without controversy though. Replays showed that as Todd Cantwell squared the ball across the box to the defender, Hyam appeared to be in an offside position.

Michael Carrick's reaction to controversial Blackburn goal

The former Manchester United midfielder didn't want to make too many excuses for his team's performance, but was clear in his stance that Blackburn's goal should not have stood.

He said, via the Northern Echo: "We weren’t at our best, but we’ve ended up losing the game to a goal that’s not a goal. It was offside. There’s nothing much else to say, it’s clearly offside. It’s pretty obvious, but the less said the better probably from my point of view.

"A point would have been a point really. We had a few opportunities, half-chances really. Manu (Emmanuel Latte Lath) had a header, Neto (Borges) has had a header and Ben’s (Doak) hit the post. We just couldn’t quite find that answer."

The loss signals the end of Boro's short but magnificent three-game run - a run that Carrick didn't expect to last.

"It was going to come at some point. You couldn’t keep scoring goals at the rate we were. Some of the football we’ve been playing has been really, really good, and this won’t knock us too much. It’s one of those games that happen. It could have been a draw and should have been a draw. It is what it is...

"I thought we had a bit of flow at the start of the game, and started okay, but then it was a bit stop-start and the game sort of slowed down really. We couldn’t quite find that spark," continued the boss.

"It didn’t really suit us because we were trying to create and make something happen, but it ended up just drifting a bit. It wasn’t for the want of trying, the boys wanted to try, it just didn’t quite have that moment or that little something different we were after.

"A point would have been a point and we would have moved on, but with the way the goal went in, and with us ending up losing the game, it’s pretty hard to take really."

Fixing inconsistency issues will be key for Middlesbrough

The ambitions and talents of the manager and the players put the expectations for this Boro side high. They are a well-constructed, well-run operation, but their fatal flaw is their seeming inability to sustain high levels of performance on the pitch for a long run of games.

It's not an issue that has always plagued them, they weren't like this in the 2022/23 campaign. It was present last season though, so this is not a one-off occurrence of peaks and troughs.

Middlesbrough are still in the top six, despite the rollercoaster ride of results they have had so far this term, but a team that is going to challenge the likes of Leeds United, Sheffield United, Burnley and local rivals Sunderland for the top spots has to become more consistent.