Michael Carrick revealed details of Middlesbrough’s scary 24 hours before securing a late 1-1 draw with promotion-chasing Southampton.
Emmanuel Latte Lath headed in a 90th-minute equaliser after Adam Armstrong had put Saints into the driving seat.
It had come after 70mph winds battered the south coast and forced a hairy two attempts at landing into Southampton Airport on Thursday.
Boro boss Carrick said: “We didn’t get to the hotel until about 10pm last night after our flight was abandoned coming into land.
“We were getting blown all over the place as we were trying to coming into land and then we ended up having to take off again. We almost got diverted to Birmingham.
“It was tasty. Some of the boys were slightly tetchy, it wasn’t pleasant.
“Some of the boys are talking about getting onto the coach on the way back!”
Middlesbrough have 11 injuries, including four centre-backs on the sidelines, which forced midfielder Jonny Howson into the backline.
Howson’s horrifically sliced attempt to clear Kamaldeen Sulemana’s cross gifted Armstrong the opener – his 19th goal of the season and 30th he has been involved with in the league.
“To go 1-0 down and Jonny playing centre-half, it felt like a long day but I’m proud of them,” said Carrick.
“The boys showed what they were capable of against a strong side and with the jabs the boys have had with injuries.
“A lot of teams have had injuries but it has been a revolving door. The boys have adapted unbelievably well.
“I am so so pleased with the boys. We felt we deserved something from the game. I enjoyed watching it. I was desperate for the boys to get something after their effort.”
Ivorian striker Latte Lath’s late header was his 10th of the season and made Saints pay after Che Adams missed a series of gilt-edged chances.
“Che will be frustrated he hasn’t scored,” said Southampton manager Russell Martin. “But it isn’t the reason we lose.
“We still need to defend properly and win the game 1-0.
“I’m really disappointed and frustrated. We should have scored three or four goals. If you aren’t going to score enough to win it you need to defend with your lives.
“The goal is rubbish, it is nowhere near as good a chance as any of ours but he has taken it well.
“We created a lot of chances and on another day we win with a lot of goals but we couldn’t get that next goal and it really hurt us.
“What better way to take out our frustration than on Monday in a really big game (away at promotion rivals Ipswich).
“The lads are annoyed. I was so angry straight after the game so I took a bit of time to talk to them because there was an opportunity there, especially with the result at Leicester (who lost 1-0 to Bristol City).
“But there will still be a lot of twists and turns and some crazy results because the end of the season does some crazy things to teams and people feel pressure in strange ways.
“The game on Monday is perfect for us to bounce back and no one needs to build it up at all.
“We will do everything we can to learn from today. Hopefully we can use the frustration and turn it into a positive.”
Postecoglou: Spurs have a confidence problem to overcome
Ange Postecoglou says that Tottenham need to "overcome" their low confidence after suffering a 4-2 defeat to Liverpool on Sunday.
Spurs slipped to their fourth consecutive Premier League defeat, being left to bemoan their slow start as they found themselves 4-0 down by the hour mark thanks to goals from Mohamed Salah, Andrew Robertson, Cody Gakpo and Harvey Elliott.
Richarlison came off the bench to salvage some pride for Spurs, scoring one before setting up Son Heung-min for a goal on his 300th Premier League appearance.
Spurs had the opportunity to cut the gap to the top four after Aston Villa’s defeat to Brighton, but they remain seven points off a Champions League spot.
Postecoglou’s side still have a game in hand over the Villans, though he was sure that Spurs would be able to put their recent poor run behind them.
Asked if Spurs had a confidence problem, Postecoglou told Sky Sports: "Maybe in the front third there is.
"It probably is a bit of a lack of confidence, but again, that's something the guys have to work through.
"You have to find a way to overcome that because, ultimately, if you don't put pressure on the opposition in the front third after you've worked your way up there, they're going to get comfortable with their position."
Spurs have won just one of their last nine Premier League away games, failing to win any of the last five.
Despite that run extending at Anfield, Postecoglou highlighted what he thought was an improvement on their recent performances.
He continued: "Obviously a hugely disappointing outcome for us but at least we were more like ourselves today in terms of our football.
"Our last two away games at Newcastle and Chelsea, apart from the results which weren't great either, we just didn't try and play our football.
"I thought today, even in the first half, some of our football, our pressing was back to where it should be."
Roma 1-1 Juventus: Juve miss chance to close gap to second after draw with Roma
Juventus were held to a 1-1 draw at Roma on Sunday, missing the chance to close in on Milan in second place in Serie A.
Roma took the lead after 15 minutes when Romelu Lukaku found himself in the perfect position to tap in the rebound from a Bryan Cristante shot.
Bremer levelled with a header for Juventus just after the half-hour mark when Federico Chiesa picked him out inside the box from a corner.
Both sides had chances to find a winner in the final minutes, with Roma keeper Mile Svilar making a fingertip save to push Manuel Locatelli's volley over the bar.
Third-placed Juventus have 66 points, five fewer than Milan, who drew 3-3 with Genoa earlier on Sunday. Roma are fifth with 60 points.
Data Debrief: Leading from the back
Since scoring his first Serie A goal in the 2019-20 season, Bremer is the defender with the most headed goals in the Big-5 European leagues, netting 13 in total. Each of his last seven goals have been headers.
His goal was enough to earn Juventus a point today, but it means that they have drawn each of their last four in the competition - a first since February-March 2012 under Antonio Conte.
Chelsea 8-0 Bristol City: Blues rout hands Hayes perfect home send off
Guro Reiten starred as Chelsea thrashed already-relegated Bristol City 8-0 to keep their title hopes alive in the Women's Super League on Sunday.
The Norwegian scored four goals, netting the opener from the penalty spot to get Emma Hayes' last home game in charge off to the best start.
She scored the other three in the second half in just over 20 minutes, while teeing up Agnes Beever-Jones for the seventh goal with just two minutes left.
Beever-Jones got two, with Sjoeke Nusken and Niamh Charles also adding to the scoreline to eradicate the goal-difference advantage that Manchester City, who lost to Arsenal earlier on Sunday, had over them.
Chelsea move to within three points of the Citizens, with a game in hand over them, remaining in the fight to lift their fifth-consecutive league title.
Data Debrief:
Chelsea have scored eight goals in a game for the first time since December 2022 against Leicester City, a match they also won 8-0.
The Blues have scored in their last six games in the WSL, though it does not come close to their longest run of games with a goal in the competition - a run of 20 from April 2023 to February 2024.
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