Boro hold on to claim crucial home victory

IT started as a stroll, but ended with nerves jangling left, right and centre. Such is the way of things as the tightest of Championship promotion battles draws to a conclusion.

Two goals ahead inside the opening 11 minutes, Middlesbrough were forced to sweat as they edged out Wolves to remain within two points of top spot ahead of Friday’s potentially decisive trip to Norwich.

Handed a dream start when Jelle Vossen broke the deadlock in the third minute, Boro looked to be cruising to a comfortable win when Patrick Bamford doubled their advantage and became the Teessiders’ most prolific goalscorer in a single league season for 25 years in the process.

Things are never that easy in this most competitive of divisions though, and after Bakary Sako handed Wolves a lifeline shortly after the interval, fingernails were bitten to the quick as Boro produced an increasingly frantic rearguard action in the closing stages.

Ultimately, their efforts enabled them to pull through, and for all that there was much to admire in the fluency of their early attacking play, it was their second-half resolve that eventually proved decisive. They will have to be every bit as determined and committed in the three matches that remain.

Boro’s performance in October’s 2-0 defeat at Molineux was one of their poorest of the campaign, with Aitor Karanka conceding that his side had underestimated their recently-promoted opponents.

Wolves’ position on the fringe of the play-off places meant they were never going to make the same mistake last night, although even Karanka cannot have expected to see his side claim two goals inside the opening 11 minutes.

The Boro head coach recalled Vossen in preference to Kike, who was involved in the penalty dispute that provided an unseemly footnote to Saturday’s win over Rotherham, and the decision paid immediate dividends.

Adam Clayton’s long ball should really have been cut out by Richard Stearman, but when the Wolves centre-half appeared to lose his bearings as he dawdled inside his own half, Bamford surged ahead to claim possession.

His square ball was perfectly weighted for Vossen, and with goalkeeper Carl Ikeme compelled to leave his line, the Belgian was left with the simple task of rolling home from inside the area.

It was the perfect way to settle any pre-match nerves on such a pressurised occasion, but even better was to follow eight minutes later as the Wolves defence collapsed once again.

Albert Adomah released Tomas Kalas on the overlap, and the full-back, whose fine form has prevented the need to rush Ryan Fredericks back from injury, displayed impressive drive as he powered to the byline.

His cut back forced Bamford to control a ball that was slightly behind him, but Boro’s leading goalscorer did superbly, flicking the ball over his shoulder before swivelling to drive a low strike into the bottom right-hand corner.

The 21-year-old was shortlisted for the Football League’s Young Player of the Year award yesterday, and his 17th Championship goal of the season provided a perfect illustration of why he has been so crucial to Boro’s promotion push.

In fairness, the entire Boro line up were in sparkling form in the early stages, with Lee Tomlin providing a constant threat as he cut in from the left-hand side, Adam Forshaw ensuring Grant Leadbitter would not be missed for the second game in succession and Adomah enjoying one of his more productive evenings as he comprehensively outclassed Wolves full-back Kortney Hause.

The Ghana international has been enjoying himself at the Riverside recently, and he almost scored what would have been one of the goals of the season midway through the first half.

Dancing in from the right-hand side, he wriggled past two Wolves defenders before curling a left-footed strike against the crossbar from the edge of the 18-yard box.

The visitors were unable to cope with the pace and intensity of Boro’s first-half attacking play, and when Bamford threatened to break clear again from close to the halfway line, Stearman was forced to manhandle him to the ground.

His fellow centre-half, Danny Batth, was in reasonably close proximity, so referee Neil Swarbrick’s decision to award a yellow card was probably right. However, the panicked nature of Stearman’s challenge underlined the extent of Wolves’ collective discomfort.

The visitors’ only first-half opportunity came to nothing when Benik Afobe was unable to get onto the end of the cross-shot that Rajiv van La Parra flashed across the area, but there were signs of Wolves at least gaining a foothold as they enjoyed more possession at the end of the opening period, and the game changed complexion as they clawed a goal back eight minutes into the second half.

Kalas’ attacking runs were a feature of Boro’s play all night, and the full-back did well to tee up Vossen for a 51st minute strike that sailed over the crossbar.

However, his defensive work was nowhere near as effective two minutes later as he afforded Sako much too much space in the area. Dave Edwards drove at the heart of the Boro defence and, with Kalas tucking too far infield, Sako found himself in acres of space as he drilled a fierce drive past Dimi Konstantopoulos’ right hand.

Suddenly, Boro found themselves on the back foot, and their cause was hardly helped when both Adomah and Jonathan Woodgate were forced off with injuries before the end.

Kenneth Omeruo replaced Woodgate, making only his second appearance since the middle of February, but Wolves continued to pour men forward and Boro nerves were jangling as the woodwork was shaken in the 73rd minute.

Scott Golbourne swung over a deep cross from the left, and van La Parra pulled into space before steering a first-time volley against the crossbar.

Boro fought valiantly the preserve their lead in the final ten minutes, and their win was confirmed moments after Bamford also hit the bar in the sixth minute of stoppage time.