The Whittaker wonder goal:
That was some swerve! 🙂 I could watch it again & again!
Ooh, I got it all wrong. We scored "only" five against Watford.
BTW, our goal difference is now just better than that of Southampton's. Up the Boro!
KH sensibly leaning on Adi Viveash for the run-in because of his experience of the play-offs (copying & pasting in full in case the Echo site suddenly starts playing silly buggers with the paywall again):
Kim Hellberg embracing promotion pressure with Middlesbrough
Scott Wilson, 24th April 2026
WITH Middlesbrough’s season looking increasingly likely to finish in the play-offs, Kim Hellberg is looking forward to seeing how his players handle the pressure of the climax of the campaign.
Boro’s midweek win over Sheffield Wednesday kept their faint hopes of securing automatic promotion alive, but the fact that the Teessiders ended Wednesday night sitting in fifth position, behind Millwall, Ipswich Town and Southampton, underlines just how tough it will be to avoid the play-offs.
Things will be much clearer by the end of this weekend, with Boro hosting Watford in their final home game tomorrow lunchtime before heading to the Racecourse Ground to face Wrexham in their final match of the regular season next Saturday. After that, it is likely to be a play-off semi-final, a scenario that will test the mental capabilities of Hellberg and his players to the limit.
“There are different types of human being, different types of player, and that’s why this is a very exciting time,” said the Boro boss. “To see who grows from it, and who can be relaxed in situations where it’s very tough to be relaxed. There’s a lot of people that need to contribute to the last weeks of the season, and will play a big part of it. It can be players that come from nowhere to be ready to do what is needed. It can be very small moments that decide things at the end of the season, whatever you're playing for. I'm looking forward to seeing who grows from this experience and see this as the opportunity that it is.”
Swedish football does not have a play-off system that is similar to that of the Football League, so while Hellberg has been involved in key end-of-season matches with both Hammarby and Varnamo, the dynamics of Boro’s current situation are new to him.
“Yeah, it’s different,” he said. “In Hammarby, we were playing to get to Europe in the last two seasons, going down to the last four games. But it’s a different way of things here, going into the play-offs. I’m trying to use as much experience around me as possible, talking to people that've been around it. You can prepare in many ways, but you also have to live it. I’m just trying to pick up things from as many experienced people as possible and trying to learn. You also have to try to do it your way, because that's what you are here for, so it’s about balancing my experience with experience from different people.”
To that end, Hellberg has leaned heavily on his assistant, Adi Viveash, who was Mark Robins’ number two when Coventry City beat Michael Carrick’s Boro in the play-off semi-finals two seasons ago. “Adi, with his experience as a coach in these moments, is very, very important to me,” sad Hellberg.
KH's comments on the prospects of HH's & Riley McGree's returning before the end of the season (again from the Echo):
[Boro] will start as strong favourites against a Watford side who have nothing to play for in mid-table and are winless in six games, but will once again be without both Hackney, who is nursing a calf injury, and McGree, who is struggling with a muscular issue.
“It won’t be tomorrow for him [Hackney],” said Hellberg. “To be fair, I don’t really know how long it will be. He’s getting better with every day that’s going. I will tell you when he will be ready to play, but to be fair, I don’t know.
“Riley will probably not be playing against Watford either. I think he needs the game tomorrow and then some more days after that, to be fair. But he will be a part of the training again next week, which is good.”
Hartlepool Mail player ratings:
Whittaker MotM with a 9.
And the Echo's:
https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/sport/26053217.middlesbrough-5-1-watford-player-ratings-man-match/
Whittaker again MotM with a 9. Is he finally on the way to becoming the player we thought we were signing?
ALL SMILES 😁😁 AND 3 POINTS!!
An interesting game to any neutral supporters with Boro leading with an excellent goal by Whittaker. Then the game changed with Watford the better team and should have scored before Boro nicked a second goal. Second half and Boro the better team scoring 3 more goals.
So the home fans go home happy, perhaps with the thought that their team might be capable of surprising the opposition in the playoffs. Who knows ?
Before that there is an interesting game to play v Wrexham who are fighting hard for the playoffs and helped by Hull losing today.
Philip of Huddersfield 👍😄👍
HACKNEY FITNESS
interesting that Kim says Mcgree will be training with the players next week but no mention of Hackney training, with the only comment being he doesn’t know when he will be back.
This is not looking good . Reading between the lines he will not play v Wrexham and the playoffs might / might not be possible.
philip of Huddersfield 🤔🤔🤔
From the Echo (again copying & pasting in full, just in case - also with "tidied up" formatting):
Boro boss Kim Hellberg's message to Southampton and Ipswich
Scott Wilson, 25th April 2026
KIM HELLBERG is hoping Southampton do Middlesbrough a massive favour when they host Ipswich Town on Tuesday night after the Teessiders beat Watford 5-1 in their penultimate game of the season.
Morgan Whittaker and Tommy Conway scored two goals apiece at the Riverside, with David Strelec also finding the net in Boro’s joint-biggest win of the campaign.
If Ipswich win at St Mary’s on Tuesday, Boro will travel to Wrexham for their final game of the regular season next Saturday lunchtime knowing they will have to be content with a place in the play-offs. But if Tuesday’s game on the south coast ends in either a draw or a Southampton victory, Boro will head into the final weekend with their hopes of securing automatic promotion still alive.
“Football is an unbelievable sport, and you know that if it goes down to the last day, it is difficult to know how anyone is going to handle that,” said Hellberg, who was joined by his family on a post-match lap of appreciation at the Riverside.
“We’ve come from a position where we really felt we had nothing to lose in the last week. It felt as though it was probably gone, but if Ipswich do not win their next game, then it will come down to the last day of the season. If that happens, you never know. There are a lot of things that play into that type of game. Hopefully, Southampton can take at least a point from Ipswich, and then we will get that exciting last day of the season.”
While Boro were somewhat fortunate to be leading by two goals at the interval against Watford, their second-half performance oozed quality. Whittaker and Conway were both outstanding as they claimed two goals apiece, with Aidan Morris also starring at the heart of midfield.
“In the first half, we maybe got those goals that we deserved in previous games,” said Hellberg. “The first half was not good for us, but it was two moments of brilliance, the first goal from Morgan and then the brilliant attack that led to the second. That is how we want to play. Then the second half is one of our best performances all season, in a lot of different ways. I like how we played, how we took the ball forward and how calm we were on the ball. It was very impressive after they scored at 2-1. I’m very happy with a lot of things, and it was important to win again.”
Delighted.
Was supposed to watch the game today, but - I had errands to run and there was too much sun in the Belfast streets! So I relied on a combination of the live feed and my friend Rob's updates.
Prior to the match, I got myself in the mood with a handful of tunes.
Back For Good - McAlmont & Butler
Faithful - Go West
Alive And Kicking - Simple Minds
Think - Aretha Franklin (the Blues Brothers' version)
The middle two seem apt, as they're a show of faith in the big prize that is somehow still attainable, for the dream is still, literally, alive and kicking. The first is an expression of longing, perhaps in Boro's case, for a time when the goals flowed and we weren't inhibited by collective anxiety throughout the club. When the buzz wasn't being killed and when the belief was strong. When it really seemed like we were just relaxing, lightening up and enjoying the ride instead of grumbling and trembling. It's like, we were still well placed and dips in form naturally happen to anyone, so why the fragility?
The final song is indicative of a call for freedom - Aretha even says that word eight times in the chorus - with the other prominent message being, of course, to stop and think. In the Boro context, this seems to imply striking a balance between treading with caution and open expression on the pitch. And with Aretha's Blues Brothers performance carrying a higher tempo than the original recording, this translates to an urgency and energy which, it seems, was beautifully reflected at the Riverside today.
It didn't always feel like that, even after the free kick that would make Fabio Rochemback, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Stewart Downing proud. I approved of Hellberg's line-up - I admired his willingness to go for an open approach, as if to say, let's give the fans a final league game at home to remember no matter what. But even so, Watford finding their way back into the game made me ponder if we should have switched to a more Karankian approach of the "dual shield" and locking down the centre of the park. How wrong I ultimately was - and how happy I was to be wrong. The second half sounded like a welcome return to the goal feasts we took for granted at more than one stage of the season, and Tommy Conway's second goal was astonishingly good. As was his perfectly placed penalty.
York City have won promotion from the National League today by equalising in the 103rd minute after Rochdale scored on 95 minutes - you’ve got to feel sorry for The Dale, 106 points but now relying on the playoffs.
Here are our goalscorers in the league this season. To date.
Morgan Whittaker - 14
Tommy Conway - 12
David Strelec - 7
Hayden Hackney - 5
Riley McGree - 5
Alan Browne - 4
Matt Targett - 4
Dael Fry - 3
Own Goals - 3
Delano Burgzorg - 2
Kaly Sène - 2
Sammy Silvera - 2
Luke Ayling - 1
Finn Azaz - 1
Alex Bangura - 1
Leo Castledine - 1
Alex Gilbert - 1
Sontje Hansen - 1
Alfie Jones - 1
@simonfallaha Whitaker’s today was an absolute beauty.
I wasn’t very impressed with the first half today but we got ourselves two up somehow - pretty much the opposition of how things have been going since Feb.
The second half was much better, however, although I didn’t think Watford offered a great deal of resistance.
The important thing is we’re still in with an outside chance of automatic, but more realistically that the team - Whittaker and Conway in particular - will surely have taken some much needed confidence from the game.
Here's another scenario for automatic promotion - Southampton draw with Ipswich nil-nil on Tuesday and Ipswich also draw their last game 0-0 - Boro beat Wrexham 5-0. Millwall fail to win their final game.
That would leave Boro and Ipswich level on 82 points - they would also both have +30 goal difference - they would both also have scored 75 goals and conceded 45 - therefor it goes to the team with the best head-to-head record - It was 2-2 at Ipswich but Boro won 2-1 at the Riverside - Boro finish 2nd!
What a goal from Azaz for Southampton.
@stircrazy and martin
Whittaker’s first goal was indeed a thing of beauty. Am I correct in thinking Hackney has scored a direct free kick this season? Or has anyone else? If not, the last one I can recall Boro scoring - at least at The Riverside - was Sam Greenwood versus Leicester, and that must have been at least 3 seasons ago. We’ve been pretty hopeless at them for ages. Credit to MW for having a go and getting it spot on.
There were some flaws in our performance today, especially in the first half when a creative, spirited and pacy Watford got past our defence on three or four occasions but were denied by a combination of some last-ditch and somewhat unconventional defending, some poor finishing and a brilliant save from Brynn. But the second half, in contrast, was a joy. Boro were back to their best, playing the ball around sweetly and creating numerous opportunities. Goals flowed!! It was great, too, to watch our forwards interchanging positions frequently, so we got a welcome return to the fluidity we used to love before our barren spell.
Our bench looked much stronger today and it was good to see a change in starting personnel. I don’t think anyone let us down. And what a confidence boost to have all 3 strikers scoring just before the playoffs, if, as looks likely, we will face them. Now we have some momentum! Fans went home very happy and with renewed belief.
I was just thinking, as I woke up, because werder helped me my Watford preview, do we think we can put that down to his first (assist) preview win
I was just thinking, as I woke up, because werder helped me my Watford preview, do we think we can put that down to his first (assist) preview win
With the playoffs looming, maybe we should do winner stays on?!
If anyone does want to put their hand up for previewing a playoff game or two (assuming it’s needed of course) please shout up 👍
Good morning, friends of the DiasBoro.
I've run a check on our goalscoring form of late, but firstly, I think our form at the back is worth mentioning. We've had legitimate concerns there, with injuries, loss of form and below par defensive work all playing their part.
And yet our defensive statistics are actually reasonably good - the joint second best in the division along with Ipswich's, an average of exactly one concession a game. Our thirteen clean sheets aren't going to equal our 18 from 1997-98, our 22 in 2014-15 or our 22 (again) in 2015-16, but it's a commendable record nonetheless. On twenty-three occasions, we've conceded just one goal, too - agonisingly, three of our four defeats since the Sheffield United game have been by a single goal.
Quality, more than quantity, has got to be a defining factor. Heavy concessions have come against the team we were once genuinely competing for the title with (Coventry, and the 3-7 aggregate score) and then you have the game changing or confidence deflating opposition goals either at the worst possible time (like at the very last second against Bristol City, after Hayden Hackney's injury) or against close rivals (like at home to Millwall and at Ipswich, where wins were certainly warranted).
But we deserve tremendous credit for bouncing back against all these odds. And my recent check on our goal form reads as three in two for Morgan Whittaker, four in five for Tommy Conway and two in three for David Strelec - at the very time it's most needed.
I'll have more for you later.
So here’s the equation:
- Boro MUST win at Wrexham
- Ipswich must get no more than 1 point from Southampton away and QPR at home. If they pick up 2 points, Boro would have to overturn a goal difference of -5. Ideally therefore we need Southampton to beat them.
- Millwall must pick up no more than 1 point at home to Oxford.
- Southampton can pick up all 6 points available, from Ipswich at home and PNE away but then it would come down to goal difference between them and us. If this were equal, we’d go up as our record against them is better (drawn one, won one). Ideally, we would like PNE to take at least one point off them.
Well my visit to the Riverside yesterday turned out much better than anticipated, although the train journey back to the in laws in Ipswich was another story. With a small sample size the last time I saw a Boro player score at the Riverside was in 2014, Chalobah in a 1-0 win against Derby. Was impressed by the atmosphere, it is so much better being in the ground than watching on TV. I still think that there is room for improvement. Brittain looked a bit off the pace and was caught out by their left sided attack in the first half, and rarely did he go outside Whittaker and get to the bi-line. Despite Clive's permutation I think that the playoffs is going to the route we will have to go down. As to goals from free kicks I don't think that there has been one this season.
I agree, MW. Brittain left Marc Bola in acres of space virtually all first half, which allowed Watford to attack us down that flank almost at will. Of course, Callum had little support from anyone in midfield or further forward. Nonetheless, I was surprised KH did not react to this by getting a message across to the team to get tighter. There was a notable improvement immediately after half-time, thankfully.
Just noticed that Whittaker and Conway are both in the top 10 Championship goal scorers, and have scored 37% of our goals.
Well it was definitely worth a long day on the trains to see us bag 5 goals. Funny, but my brother just remarked that it didn't really feel like a 4-1 game, then Tommy bagged his second, prompting me to say, it didn't feel like a 5-1 game either!
It really was a little strange. I think mainly because after Whittaker's wonder goal it really was Watford that dominated and should have been a couple of goals to the good on us when we grabbed that second. We definitely played wirh more intent and pace in the second. Castledine and Conway on made the most difference for me.
We have nothing to fear in the playoffs. We really are good enough to take on any of the likely potential protagonists. But who knows what will happen on Tuesday night....
Good result today at Coventry as I think Wrexham will not be able to sit back and play for a draw against us and risk being caught by either Hull or Derby; a win for us would could see us secure a home second leg in the semi’s if second spot cannot be achieved. 😎
I was just thinking, as I woke up, because werder helped me my Watford preview, do we think we can put that down to his first (assist) preview win
With the playoffs looming, maybe we should do winner stays on?!
If anyone does want to put their hand up for previewing a playoff game or two (assuming it’s needed of course) please shout up 👍
I’m happy to do one if needed, if you can stomach more of my nonsense !
I was just thinking, as I woke up, because werder helped me my Watford preview, do we think we can put that down to his first (assist) preview win
With the playoffs looming, maybe we should do winner stays on?!
If anyone does want to put their hand up for previewing a playoff game or two (assuming it’s needed of course) please shout up 👍
I’m happy to do one if needed, if you can stomach more of my nonsense !
Sold!
Many thanks, Martin. I hope it’s not needed but only because it means we’ve gone up automatically.
Back home after our trip to London and caught up on the posts. Delighted for the win and especially for those who had travelled long distances to see the game - MW and Powmill the lucky charms! My offspring also went - they have seen 9 Boro goals this season in 3 games!
Seen the highlights and from the reports, we were second best in the first half and KH perhaps said the right things at half time - Ipswich drawing also gives us a very very slim hope of 2nd place.
Fingers crossed that we can keep the momentum going now for next week and into the playoffs - finishing 3rd or 4th will be preferable although with our away form as it is, maybe not.
As we keep on saying, it is the hope that gets us in the end although I feel better about the playoffs then I did after Wednesday night.
QUOTE: “@andy-r
Sold!
Many thanks, Martin. I hope it’s not needed but only because it means we’ve gone up automatically.”
I can’t even start prepping until we know who we’ll be playing but I’m sure I can come up with something. Hopefully I won’t be needed.
A three part column for you today, everyone. Enjoy...
POPPED IN, SOULED OUT...
My classic album of the year is Wet Wet Wet's debut album, Popped In Souled Out. Like Boro's season of 2025-26 in general, its overall trajectory surprises me greatly - perhaps because the band were, at the time, still searching for a definitive voice and hadn't gotten into the groove of their possibly more successful but also more predictable balladry. Not everything the band do on the album works, and you could certainly highlight a melodic overload - like the equivalent of Boro trying too hard? - but I can't not admire the audacity, the experimentation. Like Kim Hellberg's Boro at this very moment, the best of Popped In Souled Out is alive and fresh, and Marti Pellow takes his voice where he arguably didn't even on excellent later works like Sweet Surrender and Goodnight Girl.
It's as if Boro are like Wishing I Was Lucky, Angel Eyes, Sweet Little Mystery and Temptation all together. In that there hasn't been a consistent flow to the overall state of affairs, but the aspects which work have, well, worked better than anything. That is more than laudable.
YOU'VE GOT TO BE CAREFULLY TAUGHT
It is quite possible that Hayden Hackney is to Boro this season what Andrew Lincoln was to the early noughties TV series Teachers. A top-billed figurehead, a name, a more publicised standout actor who would help give the entity momentum - which Lincoln essentially did by successfully adapting his This Life alter ego for a school setting.
I never forgot how disjointed the programme initially seemed when Lincoln's character made what looked like a very sudden departure eight episodes into series two. Throughout that series, however, Teachers had seemed to be gradually shifting its focus away from Lincoln and more to the ensemble, and by the end James Lance had arrived to replace him. Furthermore, Lance wasn't a Lincoln clone - he elevated the quality of the show by being himself, and played a big part in helping the show through a tricky transition in tone and personnel between series two and series three. By the time Lincoln returned for a few episodes, you wondered where he'd fit in.
You can see similarities with this "period of adjustment" and Boro's - mainly in how we've learned to perform admirably well without Hackney. Even if we sadly didn't have a mid-season break to rebuild. We had to play on, and despite the dropped points it's kind of to our credit that we've still only lost four of the last fourteen games. The point I'm making is that of course the loss of a key man is impactful - but it can be worked around.
DAHL PARTS
I was reflecting recently on one of the first books I ever loved, Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, and the chapter about Charlie's Birthday. And I can't help but think about how relevant it is to our current situation.
By the time Charlie receives a chocolate bar for his birthday, the frenzy and excitement surrounding the hunt for the famous Golden Tickets is truly cranked up to the maximum. Only the day before, the second ticket has been found, and Charlie himself thinks it would be wonderful if he was the lucky finder of the third ticket.
The grown-ups around him attempt to calmly talk down his feelings of suspense on the day itself, knowing how small the chances of striking lucky are. But as small as the chance is, the chance is still there - and that's why, in Roald Dahl's words, the adults are "actually just as tense and excited" as Charlie is.
It doesn't happen for him here. It also doesn't happen on another occasion where his Grandpa Joe takes a gamble on finding the last ticket through buying another bar of chocolate. But when it does happen for him - and this is significant - his mind is focused not on the Golden Tickets but enjoying the candy, just like his family had advised him to do when the ticket was on his and their minds. The meals at home have become thinner, his family have begun to starve, and the big prize at stake is the last of his priorities by the time he gets the opportunity to buy not one, but two bars of chocolate.
There you have it - things can happen when you least expect it and how you least expect them to. Like the Boro team re-finding their form. Charlie had reached the point where, by the time he bought the bar of chocolate with the Golden Ticket, no matter what happened, he was happy in the moment - as we, the players and Hellberg no doubt were after the Watford game.
Something very positive to carry forward - whatever happens tomorrow night.