Middlesbrough returned to winning ways on Saturday with a 2-0 victory over Cardiff City.
The Teessiders were back in Championship action over the weekend, aiming to rebound from their 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Stoke City in the League Cup.
Middlesbrough took on Cardiff City in Wales and were expected to pick up three points against a team who were without a win so far this term.
The afternoon’s match got off to a very poor start with both teams lackluster on the attacking front.
The scores were level at the break and Caridff nearly found an opener early in the second half before Luke Ayling made a clearance off the line.
Despite early pressure from the home side, though, it was Middlesbrough who opened the scoring on Saturday.
Finn Azaz whipped in a corner, which an unmarked Matt Clarke headed in to put Michael Carrick and co. 1-0 up.
An Aaron Ramsey own goal on the back of an Aidan Morris strike killed the game off in the 82nd minute, with Boro moving up fourth in the Championship table as a result of their victory.
Isaiah Jones was anonymous for Middlesbrough vs Cardiff City
Overall, not too many players stood out for Boro during their 2-0 in Wales.
Morris shone for Middlesbrough vs Cardiff but outside of the American, it was not a great 90 minutes for most of the North East outfit’s players.
However, one Boro player in particular really struggled to have any sort of meaningful impact on the tie.
Isaiah Jones has not been great since the opening weekend win against Swansea City and he went missing on Saturday.
As per Sofascore, Jones had just 34 touches across the 90 minutes. In comparison, goalkeeper Seny Dieng had 37.
When the winger did get on the ball, his end product and decision-making in the final third were dismal.
Michael Carrick should drop Isaiah Jones for Ben Doak
The first international break of 2024/25 is now upon us, giving Carrick plenty of time to asses Jones.
When Boro do return to action on September 14th versus Preston North End, though, the manager should drop Jones for Ben Doak.
Jones has started every league game this season so far and continues to underperform.
Now, however, Doak will have a couple of weeks to get up to speed on Teesside and make his debut for the club when league football returns.
For those Middlesbrough fans still not familiar with Doak and what he can offer, Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish dubbed Doak ‘brilliant’, as per footballscotland, after he broke into the Reds’ first-team last year.
Ex-Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has heaped praise on Doak previously as well.