A very good and positive first half performance from a real footballing team who are thoroughly deserving of the lead, with two well take goals from McGree and Whittaker; if not for Kaminski it could have been more.
It is good to see at last the speed of movement and dominance from a Boro team who are more than a match for any team in this league. More of the same second half please. 😎
Stop press !!
Just noticed Boro are on Sky - Red button.
So I can watch the second half.
Dominated the first half and deserved 2-0. Commentators full of praise for Gilbert.
I will be pleased with a final score of 2-0
philip of Huddersfield 👍👍👍
Hard to know where to start.
There was so much movement in that first half which created so many opportunities to suddenly change tempo and drive forward. Bangura and Brittain have been brilliant. Hackney, Gilbert and McGree are slicing them apart. Conway looks so much sharper and Whittaker looks like a different player. My only query was Burgzorg who had been a bit anonymous but he then produced a superb cutback for McGree's goal. I can see Sene coming on at around the hour mark and am curious to see what he can do.
They are playing like a team transformed. It seems impossible that Hellberg has done so much in a couple of weeks.
Fingers crossed for the second half.
UTB
@Jarkko - I read your starter during the first half as I listened to BBC Tees. I am delighted with the HT score with Boro 2-0 up at Charlton, but equally delighted with your Match Preview. That is the sort of starter that Boro's newly-discovered form merits. Excellent stuff from Boro and from you, Jarkko.
If this form continues Boro will become a magnet for people who insist they have always been supporters through thin and thinner. To be fair, there were 75,000 fans at the Port Vale game played at The Victoria Ground, and that remains a Hartlepool crowd record to this day.
Now for the second half. Maybe for more goals?
@jarkko - The Match Preview for the QPR game. Ahhh....! Or should that be Arrrgh? So quick, such a rapid turnaround between games.
Red button is playing up. Game disappeared. Possibly my reception ? Frustrating.
philip
Edmundson & Ayling on for Whittaker & Bangura in the 63rd minute.
After the subs, according to CJ:
Boro go to a back three. Edmundson and Ayling alongside Jones at the back. Targett to lwb. Burgzorg and McGree off Conway
What has Hellberg put into Whittaker's tea? I could do with some of that myself. It is no secret that Whittaker was suffering a bit under the Coach Who Cannot Be Named so his improvement under Boro's new Head Coach is very welcome and something of a revelation. And all done so quickly as if by the flick of a switch.
After the subs, according to CJ:
Boro go to a back three. Edmundson and Ayling alongside Jones at the back. Targett to lwb. Burgzorg and McGree off Conway
Browne & Nypan on for Conway & McGree in the 73rd minute.
Gilbert booked in 69th minute.
The Addicks get one back in the 81st minute: Edmundson OG! Thank God for that cushion!
Phew! A 2-1 away win is always a good result even if the last 10 mninutes or so were very nervous. Five points caught up on Coventry in 4 days. I'll bet the players are quietly confident.
Phew! Good to see KH reacting to Charlton’s changes in the second half. Still very nervy though.
"Frank Lampard's Coventry" could manage only a draw at PNE, so Boro reduces its lead by a point (now down to 6).
Excellent win. Very much on top in the first half. Second half had to repel a revitalised Charlton.
Then Ayling hits the bar with a header to make it 3-0 and game over.
But then an own goal by Edmundson to produce a nervous end to the game with some desperate defending.
But all credit to the team as they held out to win.
So, it’s 3 out of 3 for the new coach - we couldn’t ask for more.
Philip of Huddersfield
👍🤗👍
Serious upgrade in coach is now confirmed! Only 3 games in but the style of play and points return bodes well. UTB
Although fair to point out that Hellberg and Edwards now both have 100% records
A brilliant first-half performance by Boro who could've scored several more than two goals and I'm still unsure how much of the second-half Charlton revival was down to Boro's switch in tactics or game management that seemed to suggest to them that they were more of a threat than they deserved to be - an extra defender and extra midfielder with the loss of Whittaker and Bangura meant more back-foot than front. Nypan looked a bit off the pace and perhaps Emundson was less comfortable with the ball than Targett had been.
Still a good win and a perfect three games for Hellberg as he appears to have added several dimensions to Boro's game - the 'discovery' of Gilbert has been a masterstoke and sometimes can't immediately distinguish whether it's Hackney or Gilbert on the ball. What's more it looks like the players are enjoying life under the new head coach.
Another couple of wins could well see Boro look a solid bet for a top-two finish and three of the next 4 games are at home too!
Phew! Like Philip’s, my Sky connection packed up at half-time. I reckon it was something to do with Storm Bram, which has been battering us all day. The broadcast occasionally returned for a two or three minute spell second half - just to see Edmondson’s howler, unfortunately - but I was forced to resort to BBC Tees. Listening to those last seven or eight minutes was purgatory - it sounded as if Charlton must equalise, such was the apparent desperation of our defending. Was it really that nervy, those of you who were able to watch the entire game?
Anyway, job done! 3 wins from 3 games, and playing some genuinely thrilling football first half. I think KH is doing a fantastic job.
Sorry, but I calculated that Boro and Coventry are separated only by five (5) points now 😉."Frank Lampard's Coventry" could manage only a draw at PNE, so Boro reduces its lead by a point (now down to 6).
Or am I missing something?
Anyway, Daniel Jebbison's equaliser for 10-man Preston North End denied Championship leaders Coventry City their first-ever win at Deepdale.
Up the Boro!
I think this was one of the best performances of Whittaker.What has Hellberg put into Whittaker's tea? I could do with some of that myself. It is no secret that Whittaker was suffering a bit under the Coach Who Cannot Be Named so his improvement under Boro's new Head Coach is very welcome and something of a revelation. And all done so quickly as if by the flick of a switch.
I think everyone saw his involvement in going forward. Scoring a goal and making the other one. But I think he also defended very well yesterday. He did not have mamy mistakes in his performance at Charlton.
Well done. And naturally five goals in five matches now. Up the Boro!
Along with everyone else, I have to say that we were excellent in the first half. Possession football, but unlike under previous incumbents, played at a pace, with intent, an uncisive forward thrust, with lots of movement off the ball. It almost looked like we might score every time we approached their box. Just brilliant.
Then a gritty second half which made it clear we have not lost that solidity that stood us in good stead earlier in the season. Strong, but controlled .. was it one booking only and that for Gilbert kicking the ball away. A different, but equally impressive performance in this half. That said, Charlton made it very difficult in the second half by attacking the player on the ball quickly. Other teams' coaches are sure to have seen that and we might see a few teams try that from the start. All the same, despite that, we were still able to play some fast, neat football and carve out some decent chances for ourselves.
It is still early days under Hellberg, but we have a good opportunity this month to rein Coventry right back in. I wouldn't be looking forward to the weekend if I was QPR fan...
Does anybody know if Sontje Hansen is injured? He wasn’t on the bench last night.
I wonder if he had the same illness as Strelec.
Another excellent performance again last night with some quite excellent attacking football. We seem to have now got much more speed in the team and are getting bodies forward much more quickly than previously. Maddo kept saying in commentary that we are now able to slow the game down and then speed it up when required. Another amazing stat, we only conceded 5 fouls in the whole game, Charlton conceded 18. At half time it was only 1 foul conceded. Alex Gilbert's yellow was the first under KH, and that was for kicking the ball away.
- •https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/sport/25685778.charlton-1-2-middlesbrough-kim-hellbergs-boro-win /" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Middlesbrough have Championship promotion target in sight after latest victory
- •https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/sport/25685803.middlesbrough-player-ratings-charlton-brittain-mcgree-star /" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Now we know why Middlesbrough were so happy to play transfer & injury long game
- •https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/sport/25685839.kim-hellbergs-verdict-middlesbroughs-charlton-win /" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The moment that gave Kim Hellberg most pride in Middlesbrough's Charlton win
Only saw the first half but what was there not to like, speed, creating space and movement another wow half. Pleased for whittaker now showing why we paid a large sum of money for him and long may it continue.
To quote russell crowe in gladiator "are you not entertained".
Sorry, but I calculated that Boro and Coventry are separated only by five (5) points now 😉."Frank Lampard's Coventry" could manage only a draw at PNE, so Boro reduces its lead by a point (now down to 6).
Or am I missing something?
Anyway, Daniel Jebbison's equaliser for 10-man Preston North End denied Championship leaders Coventry City their first-ever win at Deepdale.
Up the Boro!
You're quite right, Jarkko, my mistake. It is "only" five! Mental arithmetic has never been my strong suit! 