Riverside reaction: Carlos Carvalhal refuses to blame rookie Wildsmith after FA Cup exit to Middlesbrough
Wildsmith, making just his second start of the season, had a horror moment on 67 minutes when his tardy clearance was charged down by Boro striker Alvaro Negredo to gift the Teessiders a second goal en route to a comfortable 3-0 victory.
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Hide AdBut head coach Carvalhal perhaps not to dwell on that unfortunate moment during what ultimately proved a forgettable afternoon against a Boro side who played the final half-hour with ten men following Dani Ayala’s dismissal, but still managed to score three unanswered goals
On Wildsmith’s faux pas, Carvalhal said: “I do not what to talk too much about this. This is team work and all of us have responsibility and I never put responsibility on one player because we lost one game. We lose together.”
Adamant that he was happy enough with his side’s overall performance, despite it taking 83 minutes for the Owls to register their first effort on target, the Portugeuse head coach added: “We played our game and moved the ball and controlled the game and I am happy with the players with the way that we played against a Premier team.
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Hide Ad“I am unhappy with the score, of course. But circumstances made us lose this game.
“We did not lose because we did not try or put our energy in or play our football. We blocked the dynamic of Boro very well and they did not have too many chances in the game.”
Revealing his delight in his side’s strong second-half performance after a low-key first half which had angered him, Boro head coach Aitor Karanka said: “The second half was completely different.
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Hide Ad“I told them at half-time that I thought we were playing a friendly game and for me, the FA Cup is not a friendly game, but a really important game.
“Sometimes, it is difficult to play a game against a team from a lower division with the right mentality. But we went onto the pitch with the right attitude and mentality and when lost Dani, we were consistent on the pitch.
“Everyone was committed and fighting for every single ball, which was the main thing for me.”