{"id":583515,"date":"2026-04-03T20:17:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T20:17:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/583515\/"},"modified":"2026-04-03T20:17:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T20:17:13","slug":"millwall-leapfrog-middlesbrough-in-championship-promotion-race-after-coburn-double-championship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/583515\/","title":{"rendered":"Millwall leapfrog Middlesbrough in Championship promotion race after Coburn double | Championship"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kim Hellberg believes his aptitude for mathematics helps him solve complex tactical problems but the Middlesbrough<\/a> manager\u2019s on-field equations refused to balance here as two goals from Josh Coburn took Millwall second.<\/p>\n

Alex Neil\u2019s resilient team are now one point and one position above Boro in a Championship<\/a> topped by Coventry.<\/p>\n

Although fourth-placed Ipswich\u2019s two games in hand also make them strong automatic promotion contenders, it would be unwise to bet against Millwall<\/a> being part of next season\u2019s Premier League.<\/p>\n

Hellberg, meanwhile, has presided over a run of four games without a win at precisely the wrong time. How he could have done with Coburn, a boyhood Boro fan and academy graduate, still leading the line at the Riverside.<\/p>\n

Instead the 23-year-old striker, who has scored five goals in his past five games, was deemed surplus to requirements on Teesside and joined Millwall for \u00a35m last summer.<\/p>\n

It was a day when Hellberg\u2019s side dominated possession but failed to convert a litany of chances, an issue that doubtless prompted considerable post-match boardroom introspection.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a great win for us,\u201d said Neil. \u201cMiddlesbrough were excellent in the first half and won every duel. But in the second half we showed much more composure on the ball and our press was better.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re never going to be able to pass Middlesbrough off the pitch but we were brilliant in both boxes and Josh Coburn was excellent.<\/p>\n

Josh Coburn scores Millwall\u2019s equaliser after Middlesbrough failed to clear a corner. Photograph: Owen Humphreys\/PA<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a lot of emotion for Josh but in football some things are written in the stars. Josh has always had great movement and been a really good finisher but he\u2019s added power and aggression this season. At this level he\u2019s a top striker.\u201d<\/p>\n

The teamsheet had brought bad news for Boro fans and neutrals, with a calf strain once again keeping Hayden Hackney out of Hellberg\u2019s squad. Hackney\u2019s passing and movement is a joy to watch and without him to control the midfield tempo Boro are almost always a poorer team.<\/p>\n

A strong start initially suggested that this might be an exception to that rule. Indeed, Boro had already conjured \u2013 and missed \u2013 numerous half-chances by the time Dael Fry headed them into a 26th-minute lead.<\/p>\n

When Millwall failed to clear a corner Alan Browne crossed to the far post and, with Tristan Crama losing concentration, Fry nodded beyond the Sunderland loanee Anthony Patterson.<\/p>\n

That goal prefaced a period of intense Boro pressure as they repeatedly dismantled Millwall\u2019s press and Neil\u2019s players seemed flummoxed by Adilson Malanda stepping out of the back three and joining midfield.<\/p>\n

Yet if there was much to like about Hellberg\u2019s possession-heavy passing game, it tended to peter out in the penalty area. Bar the moment when only Femi Azeez\u2019s brilliant goalline clearance came between Fry and a second goal, Patterson remained relatively well protected.<\/p>\n

Locals started to fear that a momentum-gathering Millwall might prosper on the counter and, sure enough, in the 58th minute Sol Brynn was beaten after Boro struggled to cope with a corner. Eventually the ball dropped for a sharp, turning Coburn to unleash a powerful close-range volley.<\/p>\n

Although Brynn \u201csaved\u201d the shot, the ball had crossed the line and the Boro old boy from just down the road in Bedale enjoyed a special moment in front of a former public including a mini-army of family and friends.<\/p>\n

In the 86th minute Coburn celebrated again after Malanda\u2019s tired pass was intercepted and Barry Bannan advanced. The former Sheffield Wednesday midfielder is 36 now but he still knows how to pick a pass and his delivery led to Coburn sweeping a gloriously angled shot past Brynn.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe deserved to win but football is about scoring,\u201d said Hellberg. \u201cThe disappointment is unbelievable. This result breaks my heart.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kim Hellberg believes his aptitude for mathematics helps him solve complex tactical problems but the Middlesbrough manager\u2019s on-field…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":583516,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[563],"tags":[64,63,596,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-583515","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-football","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/583515","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=583515"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/583515\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/583516"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=583515"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=583515"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=583515"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}