Wayne Rooney suffers heartbreak as first Birmingham City game ends in late drama

21 October 2023 , 16:01

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Wayne Rooney had to swallow a bitter defeat (Image: Ashley Allen/Getty Images)

Wayne Rooney's first game in charge of Birmingham City ended in late heartbreak, as Middlesbrough nabbed an 89th-minute winner.

Former Manchester United teammate Michael Carrick was the boss left smiling when substitute Morgan Rogers slotted home in dying embers. Carrick's men produced an utterly dominant performance against Rooney's new side, who struggled to get a foot in the Championship clash from minute one.

The United legend was named as the Blues' new manager last week following the hotly-debated sacking of John Eustace. Rooney, 37, left North American side DC United to take the job at St Andrew's, but his first task was a trip north and to face someone who he describes as a "great friend."

Following a fast start to the match, Middlesbrough had the ball in the net on 21 minutes thanks to a through ball from Josh Coburn which found Isaiah Jones, who coolly slid the ball past John Ruddy - but after the offside flag had already been raised. Just before half-time Coburn should've had the ball in the net himself, but Boro's 20-year-old striker dragged his shot wide when most of the Riverside were on their feet in anticipation.

Despite not being able to break Birmingham's rear guard, the home side kept up their dominance until the half-time break. Veteran goalkeeper Ruddy almost gave Middlesbrough a golden chance, rushing out of his penalty area in an attempt to clear and finding himself tackling Boro's midfielders near the centre circle, eventually giving a foul away and picking up a yellow card.

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During the interval, the news broke that Sir Bobby Charlton had passed away at the age of 86 and stories of the England legend were shared around the stadium between fans old and young. During his final season with United in 2017, Rooney surpassed Charlton's tally of 249 goals for the club, making him their all-time top scorer.

An announcement was made moments before the second half - shocking both Carrick and Rooney - with fans of both sides breaking out into a chant of 'There's only one Bobby Charlton' before Rebecca Welch got the game back underway. It was more of the same in the second period, with Birmingham relying on short-lived counter attacks and Middlesbrough dominating, as Rooney attempted to make tactical tweaks to no avail.

Middlesbrough dominated proceedings at the Riverside Stadium (Ashley Allen/Getty Images)

Carrick also made changes, with Coburn brought off in place of Emmanuel Latte Lath, the man signed to replace last season's top goalscorer at the Riverside, Chuba Akpom. The home crowd had strong appeals for a penalty after Birmingham defender Kevin Long appeared to pull his marker to the ground while clearing the ball.

Finally, Boro made the breakthrough just before eight minutes of added time were signalled. Rogers' rather laboured one-two with teammate Matt Crooks resulted in the 21-year-old slotting past Ruddy, deservedly winning it at the death for the hosts and making it six successive victories.

Have your say! Will Rooney lead Birmingham City to the Premier League? Give us your prediction in the comments section.

Morgan Rogers was the hero for Middlesbrough, who've won six on the bounce (Ashley Allen/Getty Images)

Rooney's men dropped one place down to seventh and the new Blues boss admitted post-match: "We need to be better. We need to improve and be better with the ball. Defensively we did okay, Middlesbrough cause you problems, we know that, they are a good team.

"With the ball, in possession, we need to be better. We need to be more comfortable taking the ball while marked and being more creative by doing that. I thought Middlesbrough had good periods in the game when they got through, and then we got a bit of a foothold on it."

Nathan Ridley