Middlesbrough talking points after the 4-0 victory over QPR
Middlesbrough’s Alan Browne (centre) celebrates scoring(Image: PA)
It was a brilliant day for Middlesbrough in London. An emphatic 4-0 victory over QPR moved them closer to their promotion goal, as they took advantage of Ipswich Town’s slip-up.
It was another excellent day for Kim Hellberg’s side, whose joy in playing away from home continues to excite. Building on Monday’s win at Birmingham, the Loftus Road victory secured a seventh win from ten away games in the Championship under the Swede.
Boro have certainly found a lot of enjoyment in going away from home and ruining the party this term, and particularly since Hellberg’s arrival. Perhaps it’s a lot to do with the level of expectation for a home side to attack a little more.
Adding to the 13 points that Rob Edwards’ Boro secured from his nine away games in charge of the club, they now top the away table in the Championship, with 34 points.
And, with four away games remaining this term, they’re just four points away from securing a club record. Boro’s highest ever points tally from away games in a single Championship season was 37 under Tony Pulis in 2018-19. They still have to visit Blackburn Rovers, Swansea City, Ipswich Town and finally Wrexham.
While not a record as such, Boro did make a bit of history by beating QPR, too. Having won earlier in the season at Millwall and Charlton, this was the first time in Boro’s history that they’ve won three or more league games in the capital.
In fact, they’ve won all four games against London-based opposition so far this season, with QPR dispatched at the Riverside too. Charlton visit next up on Wednesday, with promotion rivals Millwall visiting on Good Friday. If they can win both of those home games, you could certainly call that capital gains.
Bold team selection
Perhaps the biggest and most encouraging talking point of the QPR win was Hellberg’s bold team selection. After struggling at Birmingham City on Monday, just days after his manager had noted he’d played more than was ideal, seeing Adilson Malanda come out of the team wasn’t much of a surprise.
But resting Tommy Conway was bold. The only other game he didn’t start this season was against Wrexham. Struggling at the interval and 1-0 down, Conway came on and helped Boro fight back for a draw in the second half.
Encouragingly, as Strelec shows signs of finally finding his feet and connecting ever more with team-mates, Hellberg’s decision paid off, as Boro were 1-0 up when Conway came on and was only needed for the final 25 minutes.
In typical Conway fashion, he still had a big role to play though. He set up Boro’s third goal and won and converted the penalty for Boro’s fourth, as they ruthlessly cast QPR aside when they tried to step out more to get back into the game.
Sadly, Malanda didn’t quite get the rest that was hoped for him. He was forced on after 30 minutes due to an injury to Dael Fry, which hopefully doesn’t prove serious for the Teessider. Hellberg was of the belief after that it was just a precaution.
Low-block success
Sticking with the records theme of this QPR win, Boro also maintained their superb record of winning every game this season where they’ve taken the lead. This was the 20th time they scored first in a game and won.
That’s some record and highlights for Boro, the importance of scoring first. That was a key theme to this match, with Aidan Morris highlighting after that ‘patience’ was key.
While Birmingham came out and tried to play against Boro, this QPR game always had the element of being a tricky one, because they were likely to approach the game in a similar way to Oxford and Leicester, who Boro struggled against recently.
Thankfully, Boro found a way on this occasion and, having got that one goal, they were able to patiently wait for a time in the game that QPR inevitably became more adventurous in search of an equaliser.
Having completely dominated and moved the home side around for 65 minutes, however, Boro were the fresher side. They were ruthless. Three goals in the final 22 minutes secured a big win.
That was the blueprint for Boro in terms of beating the low-block, which they’re highly likely to face again and again now. As Ipswich have proven in their last two – a narrow 1-0 win over Hull and their 1-1 draw with Leicester, beating the low block isn’t easy. This could be a huge psychological boost for Boro.
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Middlesbrough’s massive opportunity
And so we enter the final ten games. And what a run-in this promises to be. Based on the evidence at Loftus Road, how can you not be confident that Boro are finally going to end their nine-year wait for Premier League football?
There’s likely to be a few more twists and turns to ride out yet. Boro have some tough games to come, not least the trip to Portman Road, which could prove absolutely vital.
As for the pressure of the promotion race, Boro show absolutely no signs of being affected by it. This was as assured and commanding a performance as you’re likely to see. Julien Stephan could do little more than commend Boro as the best team in the division.
Potentially a huge factor too, will be Ipswich’s interesting fixture list. They still await a new date for their game in hand against Portsmouth at Fratton Park, which has twice been postponed now.
On top of that, Southampton’s progression in the FA Cup on Sunday means their Good Friday clash with the Tractor Boys will have to be rescheduled. They’re two tough away games which are going to have to be sandwiched in somewhere to the final two months of the season.
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