Michael Carrick made a surprising call when Middlesbrough faced West Bromwich Albion on Tuesday evening.
Middlesbrough faced a daunting trip to The Hawthorns in midweek for a clash with a then table-topping West Bromwich Albion.
The Baggies had lost to Sheffield Wednesday over the weekend but they were still one of the best-performing sides in the Championship going into the match, with top-scorer Josh Maja expected to prove a real threat after already netting seven league goals prior to the meeting.
To Boro’s credit though, they looked the better side for much of the 90 minutes and were able to beat West Brom 1-0.
After scoring the winning goal, Hayden Hackney was labelled ‘outstanding’ by Neil Maddison in his post-match assessment live on BBC Tees Sport.
A West Brom legend praised Ben Doak during the game as well, with the Liverpool loanee once again looking sharp in his second start for the Teessiders.
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Michael Carrick on surprise call he made during West Brom vs Middlesbrough
While the attackers got much of the credit during the game, Boro’s backline deserves praise for keeping Maja and co. out.
George Edmundson is proving to be a top signing for Middlesbrough, once again impressing at the heart of the back four earlier this week.
Elsewhere against West Brom, academy product George McCormick was handed his league debut by the Boro manager late in the tie.
Now, speaking in his pre-Watford press conference on Thursday, Carrick has explained the surprising decision to hand McCormick his league debut in such a tight game.
He said: “They were pushing for a goal and we just needed that little bit down our left-hand side with Riley [McGree] coming back, we just need a little bit more of a defensive nature really in terms of managing the crosses and defending the box and that’s what George [McCormick] does.
“I didn’t think twice. I thought he’s earned it. He’s trained with us a lot and it was a big seven or eight minutes for him on the pitch and it just shows how important that is for the boys to be ready, and then the boys that came on were brilliant.”
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George McCormick can feature for Middlesbrough more this season
McCormick was called ‘fantastic’ by Boro’s academy manager after the centre-back earned a promotion to the first-team over the summer.
The 19-year-old excelled for the Teessiders during their 2024 pre-season schedule despite playing out of position at left-back.
Since the proper 2024/25 campaign has started, however, the Englishman has seen little action in the senior side.
He played 20 minutes of the 3-0 win over Leeds United in the Carabao Cup and started in the second round of that competition against Stoke City before being forced off with injury after 45 minutes of that game.
West Brom was his first appearance since August but with Lukas Engel in dismal form for Middlesbrough this season, McCormick could now be used in rotation with summer signing Neto Borges at left-back moving forward.