@mw-in-darwin That was my only concern in the second half and unfortunately Targett lost his man more than once, which meant Malanda got pulled from the CB position. But we managed the game out, aided by Mr Rothwell.
However I think as much as I like MT, KH needs to think about that side when the opposition has a pacy wide man.
Still, that’s for later, now we can enjoy the moment and see what the next week brings.
I’m away in Scotland next week - let’s hope the cottage has a Smart tv, otherwise I’ll be watching on my phone).
We’re staying in Lauder (including a few days when our daughter, her husband and one of our grandchildren are joining us). Lauder is how my cheering will be if we beat Coventry.
I still haven’t come down off the cloud nine that is floating around our living room, but which could be miles high in the sky for all I care.
I’m too emotionally charged to comment sensibly tonight, so I’ll just say: Magnificent! Quite magnificent!
Six of the best (wins) in a row with some very tricky (difficult) fixtures in there.
Come on BORO.
Well we got over the line in the end, although the red card made it a bit more comfortable. I am enjoying how we play and we do look the goods. However, can we please keep an away clean sheet, only two all season, none under KH, and also win both halves of the game we have only done it once all season in the 4-0 win against Preston.
The upside of a Monday evening fixture is that rare bird, a match report in The Times:
The incorrect number of successive Boro wins has been pointed out by a commenter. 😉
Congrats to Martin for his correct score prediction
Will call in tomorrow morning with more thoughts, but here's three nice stats for us all...
Tommy Conway's 20th goal for Boro overall (his seventh of the season) preceded our fiftieth goal in all competitions this season, the one scored by McGree!
Last but not least, our win ratio in the league now stands at 58.1%. Not bad at all.
Echo player ratings:
McGree MotM.
And the Gazette's:
Doesn't say so in so many words, but the implication is that McGree was also its MotM.
I wouldn't argue with that.
Just a brilliant performance and a deserved win.
Good to read some compliments from CW about us being the better team and the best they have played this season; he got his tactics wrong for me, you can’t out football us, we’re the best in this league at pressing and passing.
Now for Coventry and time for pay back. 😎
We have the seasons highest possession 55.49%, highest pass accuracy 84.3%, third in shots per game 14.5, Coventry is first with 17.2, could be a high scorer on Monday. Morgan Whittaker is third in shots per game and has most left footed goals in the championship 10 out of 11.
Just a brilliant performance and a deserved win...
Now for Coventry and time for pay back. 😎
I have seen the forecast is for more wintry weather coming in over the weekend and early next week. Quite appropriate really when everyone knows, revenge is a dish best served cold.
@mw-in-darwin great stats. What they don't reflect is that it is not just possession and accurate passing, it is passing at speed and with a purpose, directly through the lines.
It is exhilerating to watch and currently proving irrisistible for most teams we are coming up against.
Great times.
Agreed! Some of the football we played last night was simply breathtaking, slick, one-touch and very quick. I have to pinch myself at times to remind myself that this is the Boro we are watching! How can this be OUR team? It is brilliant how every player is comfortable on the ball, how we play our way out of tight situations, how we create space, how we constantly seek to move the ball forward at pace. I love how Hackney, Ayling and Malanda often dash forward with verve and skill, how we have players who can thread the ball through the eye of a needle, how players are prepared to play risky long balls knowing that they will mostly reach their man and, if not, that their last man will fight like hell to get it back! Last night, the Hackney-McGree combination was outstanding; let’s hope we can keep them both fit. Sky’s commentary team labelled Hackney as the best player in the Championship: it’s hard to disagree. I reckon Coventry must be bricking it right now!
Here’s the Guardian’s report:
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/feb/09/middlesbrough?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
I’ll finish on a slightly negative note, which last night’s wonderful performance certainly doesn’t deserve. It’s just that once we started to make substitutions we lost a lot of our forward momentum. We were nowhere near as slick or as accurate with our passing once Gilbert came on, and Strelec didn’t offer much. I have absolutely no quibble with changing it - McGree needs protecting, Conway (and others) must be absolutely knackered, Whittaker ditto, and we were clearly into managing the game by that stage. They’re all no doubt schooled in the Hellberg pass-it-and-move philosophy, but I guess what I’m saying is that some of the bench players are not quite as effective as the core 11 who started, perhaps understandably.
Like many Boro fans, I am in dreamland but trying not to get too ahead of myself.
I thought a draw last night would be absolutely ok, so to bag the 3 points was just fantastic. The game was high quality Championship level and I am now greedy for more, but know that a draw vs Coventry next week but be absolutely fine as well. What we are doing at present is exceptional but for me, it is a "no lose" game on Monday. Having said that, I have no doubts that KH will set us up to attack and go for the 3 points.
I am sure with their new additions, that SU will take points off many teams until the end of the season, hopefully some off our promotion rivals. It is looking good but still 15 games to go - if we are in the same position, with 5 games left, I would start to really believe but even then, have to be wary of typical Boro! Like most teams we are only a suspension or injury away from a dip in form. Maybe I am over-pessimistic and just need to enjoy the ride. All the signs at present, are that KH is not your typical Boro manager and the players are really enjoying themselves, working so hard for each other and the club. Long may it continue. UTB
I opened my morning paper expecting to read about last night’s game and complimentary comments about the Boro. Nothing. I even had a job finding the result which was tucked away with the mass of detailed racing fixtures and results.
Yet Raducanu gets a write up about her latest withdrawal from yet another tournament and telling us yet again she has split from her latest coach.
Is it just me or are we seeing less and less in the national press about teams in the Championship and lower leagues whilst we get more and more trivial articles about Premiership teams and its players.
At least I can rely on this site for interesting comments and views even contrary to mine.
Philip of Huddersfield 👎👎👎
ps Thanks Clive for the Guardian report 👍
Suspensions are looking unlikely at the moment. The 10 booking cut off is after 37 games. Our most booked player is Ayling with 6 and Hackney has 5. So going on the average rate of bookings, probably the only chance of a suspension is if someone gets a red card.
I don't know anything about Scottish TV but the Coventry game is being screened by ITV4 next Monday so a normal TV might be enough?
Yes that was a good point about Targett - he appeared to be easily beaten for pace a few times and I did wonder if he was struggling - though no Silvera on the bench and Bangura will be out until probably March - though Munroe was on the bench and plays left-back but he's only 20 and he will need time to get up to speed (so to speak). Could be an issue if the opposition decide to target Targett with pace but Malanda has proved to be a very good defensively and covered on most occasions.
Sheff Utd looked a good team but I think their poor start has more or less scuppered any chance of them making the play-offs this season - even if they manage 2 points per game in the last 15 games they won't make 70 points so they would need something extraordinary.
I don't know anything about Scottish TV but the Coventry game is being screened by ITV4 next Monday so a normal TV might be enough?
Good call-out Werder. We get ITV 4 on free to air in our part of Perth, but there are some other parts of Perth that cannot get it. It all depends on the specific local geography and if the aerial is pointing at a main transmitter, or a local relay. In Lauder the situation is similar, depending on if your aerial points to the main Selkirk transmitter, or it is pointed at a local relay transmitter. If the latter, then it won't be available. Even on the main Selkirk transmitter, depending on the specific geography of Martin's location and the quality of his aerial, it might be hit and miss.
Digital Channel 26 is the one to tune to to see if it is there... I will keep my fingers crossed for you Martin.
Yes I find it odd that much of the national press don't cover the Championship given many of the teams involved are from large population areas with millions of potential readers not seeing their club covered. Even the Guardian report was a pool one by an anonymous PA Media journalist and not a game perhaps Louise Taylor would've covered - maybe she'll be at Coventry for the 'Top 2' encounter?
That’s really useful info about transmission of the Coventry game, although I intend to avoid doing a “Rod Hull”, so won’t be going up on to the Cottage roof to reposition the aerial.
A few observations from last night’s match.
One of my favourite elements of peak AKBoro was how there almost always seemed to be someone there to intercept and turn the tide just when it seemed the opposition had found a way through. KHBoro have that, but there is more flexibility and less rigidity, and I fully welcome it.
I think Clive made a good point about the substitutions taking the wind out of our sails, but they were also fully understandable. Football is a squad game now and we need those beyond our first XI to get time on the pitch and build their confidence. Strelec, especially - you’ve seen how great his finishing can be.
Finally, Whittaker. Frustrating and fantastic in equal measure. More than once, I longed for him to pass it - and yet I simultaneously realise that his direct and fearless approach fully reflects the confidence and mindset of KHBoro when attacking. That perhaps being, if one may have erred to miss, they at the very least erred in trying to do the right thing - and sooner or later, the ball will go in.
As it did for Boro, if not MW, twice. And victory was ours.
Well, @Jarkko, let me tell you that I floated home after the game last night. The temperature was mild, there was hardly a breath of wind and it was dry, but the spirits were running high and free after that victory at Bramall Lane.
But before I go further, could I politely suggest you all read the short last paragraph to my Match Preview at the head of this thread? No need for any future redactions after that performance and result!
Obviously that was a well-executed plan with Boro having to rebuff a lot of early pressure from a determined Sheffield United team, and a goal might easily have been conceded in that early spell of 10-15 minutes. That might have changed the feeling which was palpably optimistic from the Boro supporters around me in the Drunken Dragon. However even in those early exchanges there were still attacks and chances made by Boro and this was a game that certainly didn't LOOK like it was going to end up goal-less.
Boro's first goal came in a flowing move forwards with a lovely ball put through by Riley McGree to Tommy Conway, who hit it well with his right foot across the keeper and into the net just inside the far post. That was the cue for much joy. Violence broke out with many punches delivered into the air by my friends. It is a good job that the Christmas decorations and lights had been taken down because there might easily have been some collateral damage. The second goal was delivered by Riley McGree in the 45th minute - perfect both from the view of giving the team a decent safety margin and because it meant Agent CW would have to rip up the half-time speech he had no doubt been preparing to deliver in the changing room. McGree's shot, which may have had a slight deflection from the defender trying to block it, beat the keeper only to smack against the post before looping up invitingly for the on-rushing McGree to leap up and head into the goal. The Blades had a very good early third of the first half but Boro had taken control after that and the two goals were simply the result of Boro's subsequent possession and domination.
In the second half the Blades flashed more vigorously and could have inflicted wounds, but Boro also parried and thrust and both sides could have scored before Paddy Bamford (who else could it have been?) struck on 73 minutes with an assist from Hamer. That was another well-taken goal and Bamford had other opportunities and looked dangerous. The goal led to a more nervous period of play but Joe Rothwell, who came on as a half-time substitute for Arblaster, received a red card after 80 minutes when he scythed down Browne who was breaking out of defence and looking like mounting a dangerous attack down Sheffield United's right side. The commentary team on Sky TV suggested at the time that it looked like an "orange card" offence but, seeing it again in replay, it was a cynical and dangerous tackle well worth the red. Agent Wilder was unable, at the time of the offence, to keep a poker face. He grimaced almost before Browne had hit the ground and clearly knew what would inevitably follow.
Both sides attacked in the time that was left even though Sheffield United had a man fewer on the field. The final whistle was welcomed in the pub like the reappearance of a much-loved relative previously lost in the jungle. "Never in doubt" was heard but quite a phew (OK - that pun WAS intended!) releases of breath from clenched jaws. The league table was acclaimed by the assembled multitude. The new Championship reality under Hellberg was acknowledged and optimism was allowed free reign again after the team successfully negotitated a real test.
Sheffield United had been a team in much improved form. The early poor start to the season, which at one point seemed might be catastrophic for the club and might lead to a second successive relegation (perhaps Leicester might prove a capable deputy in that regard following its 6 point deduction for "financial irregularities), appears to have been arrested by much improved form in recent months. It is not impossible the Blades might mount a late charge into the play-offs but there is still ground to be made up and other teams will have a say in that. But beating Sheffield United at Bramall Lane, where results for the away teams have been very hard to find, seems like a real statement - a challenge thrown out to the rest of the promotion-chasing teams: "Pick up the gauntlet if you think you think you could survive the duel!"
It is difficult to find a Boro player who was less than "good" on the night. The danger in naming some of the better players is that we end up with a list of the starting XI and some of the 4 substitutes who came on during the game. But if I may be permitted to mention a few: McGree with his goal and his assist, Hayden Hackney (MoM?) with his assist for McGree's goal and Malanda at the back were excellent. I guess that Sol Brynn may pass underneath the radar but, without his (at least) two good saves in the first half, the story of the game would have been different.
Lots of energy, defenders throwing themselves into blocks when shots came in, quick passing between the players (often in very tight situations), and individual examples of quality when it was needed together with an obviously high team morale all combined to give the result. There must be a Duracell Bunny out there, somewhere, looking to find who has stolen its batteries. It was a wonderful performance by the team and I have heard others say the first half, in particular, was as good football as they have seen this season - miles ahead of anything in the Championship and good enough to match many games seen in the Premier League.
The feet may remain anchored to the ground but only because we realise that hubris frequently leads to a downfall. This period of incarceration in the Championship has gone on long enough and I don't want to do anything to prolong it. However I think this manager and this squad of players together have found the key to the lock and the map to safety when the cell door is opened.
At the start of the season I thought that upper mid-table but clearly outside the play-off places, was Boro's likely resting place at the end of this season - maybe about 8th or so (if I remember correctly). After a while, a play-off place looked a real possibility. More recently it looked as though an automatic promotion spot might be there for the taking if things went well and the gods smiled upon us (for a change!). Now even the No 1 spot, and therefore some silverware to accompany a trip to the Promised Land, seems probable rather than only just possible.
We have a game next Monday evening away to a Coventry team that has been labouring in recent weeks but has been holding onto its top spot in the league by virtue of the clear lead the team had accrued by overpowering other teams even when not playing to full capacity and, more recently, by virtue of the impressive goal difference built up during those earlier perfomances. Until last night, that is, when Boro leapfrogged the long-time league leaders with the win in Sheffield. Now Boro stands 2 points clear, although the goal difference is still below Coventry's. A win, or even avoiding defeat next week, means Boro will retain the top spot. A win at Coventry, however, would mark a change of the tide and should Boro come back with 3 points from that fixture, I suspect most Championship followers would have Boro marked down as probable Champions and therefore wondering which of the other teams will manage to bag the other automatic promotion spot.
On the one hand Boro's form is currently imperious and Coventry's recent form is faltering, and Coventry supporters are now fearing the worst (not just losing the Championship Title race but failing to be promoted at all). On the other hand this is Coventry we are talking about. Middlesbrough's recent history against Coventry will not permit optimism. Too many times in the past has Boro been foiled by Coventry. Hopefully not this season but let's just get the next game out of the way first, shall we? The crystal balls can be safely stored until after that game. Obviously AFTER that game all bets will be off (or at least the odds massively changed as if by a landslide, should the game go Boro's way).
Good, isn't it?
My wife (implausibly, an Arsenal* fan) commented that the players looked as though they were enjoying themselves last night, something that, I suspect, wasn’t always true of life under our previous two managers. Winning games helps of course - the more you win, the more you enjoy playing, but, maybe also, the more you enjoy playing, the more you win.
*The Bellamy household would love to be celebrating two title winning teams at the end of the season!
If you do go on the roof to sort out the aerial make sure you are accompanied by a bird that can fly...
@werdermouth I had an acquaintance who was married to a Nolan sister (he’d played football for Torquay, amongst others) and lived in Blackpool. He invited me and my family to a show in the Winter Gardens, which included a performance by Keith Harris and Orville the Duck.
His girls took my two backstage and they were devastated when they discovered there was more than one Orville in there! Childhood innocence ended right there!