By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter
South Korean striker Lee Dong-gook finally bagged his first goal for Middlesbrough Thursday as Gareth Southgate's side booked its place in the Carling Cup third round with a 2-0 win against Northamton.
The 28-year-old forward, making a rare start since joining the club seven months ago, justified his coach's judgment by playing the best game of his young English career, contributing on the opener and sealing the deal in the 66th minute with his long-awaited goal.
However, Lee's heroics might not save him from being pushed further down the pecking order, with Boro looking to add striker options ahead of the transfer deadline to make up for Ayegbeni Yakubu's bolt to Everton.
``As far as Lee is concerned, that goal is a long time coming and he deserves it,'' said Middlesbrough assistant Malcom Crosby. "Hopefully, it will give him a big lift. He has been looking very good in training recently.''
Lee was slow to find his composure at the start of the game, botching a number of early scoring chances in the first half and looking uncomfortable in his frontline partnership with Tuncay Sanli. He nearly gave his team an early lead in the third minute, but his header off a Luke Young cross bounced wide of the post.
Lee's effort from similar distance in the 15th minute flashed wide, and he failed to get his head on a delivery from Stewart Downing inside the box just before the whistle to wrap up an ineffective first half.
The South Korean international recovered nicely from his flat first-half performance coming out of the dressing rooms, increasing his touches through frequent midfield visits. Lee's promptings were rewarded in the 53rd minute when he drew a foul from Adam Johnson from about 30 meters out. Brazilian midfielder Fabio Rochemback lashed a low free kick that found the edge of the net to put Boro ahead.
Lee almost added to the lead in the 65th minute, but his header off a Rochemback corner kick was blocked by Northampton goalkeeper Mark Bunn. Just a minute later, however, Lee wrapped up the game when he fired home a Downing cross from the edge of the box to make it 2-0.
It remains to be seen whether Lee will get enough playing time to carry the momentum further in Premiership matches.
Boro is looking to spend aggressively in the transfer market to add ammunition to its attacking unit, and Manchester City striker Georgios Samaras seems to be their newest acquisition target.
``He's a player we've spoken about,'' Crosby said. "We've shown interest in him and we'll continue to do that.''
The club is also reportedly in the hunt for a number of Brazilian strikers, including CSKA Moscow's Vagner Love, Heerenveen's Alfonso Alves, Lyon's Fred, and Cote d'Ivoire standout Arouna Kone from PSV Eindhoven.
Boro's aggressiveness in the transfer market follows an active offseason when it rebuilt its attacking lineup following the departure of Mark Viduka and now Yakubu. New additions Sanli, Jeremie Alidiere and Ahmed Mido have currently established themselves as first-team regulars, pushing Lee further to the end of the bench.