Kim Hellberg’s verdict after Middlesbrough’s goalless draw at Blackburn Rovers
Middlesbrough head coach Kim Hellberg reacts(Image: CameraSport via Getty Images)
Kim Hellberg tried to offer perspective after Middlesbrough’s goalless draw at Blackburn Rovers – but acknowledged their goalscoring woes are a problem.
Boro’s lack of conviction in the final third when dominating a game was costly once again, as they dropped points for a third consecutive game when drawing 0-0 at Ewood Park. Again, they wasted a number of positive openings and good chances.
But thanks to rivals Ipswich and Millwall only draw at the same time, Boro do at least head into the final international break sitting second in the table – something Hellberg was keen to emphasise after.
“It was a very good first half,” Hellberg reflected. “The second half felt good for the first 15 or 20 minutes, but then it became a little bit open at the end from us trying to chase the game.
“We wanted it so much, so we lost a bit of control and quality in that moment in terms of how we play. That last 25 minutes can become a bit open, but otherwise, it was a good performance in many ways.
“We have to remember we are second in the league. That is the thing. We are doing our best. We kept a clean sheet away from the league. We hadn’t kept many of those, but that is two in a row now. That’s good.
“We are trying to score goals and create a lot of opportunities. Today it didn’t fall for us, but we will keep working on it. Of course, we need to score goals to win games. If we do not score, we will not win any of the seven goals that are left.
“But I don’t think that is the thing. You need to look at more things. Millwall lost at home to Blackburn six days ago. If you go away from home and take one point, then overall it is a good performance. But, of course, we need to score more goals to be winning games. That is clear.”
The frustrating draw followed a free week for Boro in which the head coach spoke about how they used their extra training time to work more on their chance creation and finishing. But it didn’t pay off, as the same problems cost them.
Hellberg added: “We spent a lot of time on that part [attacking]. We have spoken a lot about keeping on improving those things. I think Bristol was a big step forward in terms of creating big chances, and I think we were around that again today.
“I think the first half was one of our best first halves in terms of creating opportunities against that sort of team set-up. Often, the first half can be tricky to do that because everyone is fresh and it can be difficult to break them down.
FOLLOW ON FACEBOOK! Keep up with all the Middlesbrough FC latest via the Gazette’s dedicated Facebook page
“But I thought we did it very well. Of course, everyone can see that we should be ahead in the first half. It’s a top performance in this league away from home. That’s disappointing.
“Then it comes down to getting frustrated about not scoring goals in the second half and we try to do different things. That is something you need to handle in a better way. Parts of the second half are where the frustration is.
“You need to take care of those things better. That could be a problem for us because the second half wasn’t as good after the first 20 minutes or so. That is something I need to handle and work with.”
———-
Here at TeessideLive, we are dedicated to bringing you the best Middlesbrough FC coverage and analysis.
Make sure you don’t miss out on the latest Boro news by joining our free WhatsApp group. You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here to subscribe.
Your information will be hidden, you’ll only ever receive messages from the Teesside Live sports team, and you can leave any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose ‘Exit group’. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice .
You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service. Click here to be sent all the day’s biggest stories.