M’boro 2 – 0 Cardiff

Middlesbrough followed Blackburn’s lead and kept themselves in the play-off hunt when it mattered most as they beat Cardiff 2-0 at the Riverside Stadium.

After a run of two wins in nine, Rovers kept themselves in contention with a resounding 4-1 win at Preston on Monday night, and Boro – who had lost four home games on the spin in all competitions – did the same two days later, thanks to goals from Marcus Tavernier (28) and Riley McGree (53).

In spite of a performance that lacked intensity at times, Chris Wilder’s men move back up to seventh as a result, two points behind Sheffield United with two games remaining. Cardiff stay down in 19th.

How Middlesbrough got the job done on Teesside

In spite of the increasing gap between themselves and the play-off places there was no immediate urgency from Middlesbrough. Balls into the box from wide areas were mopped up relatively easily, with neither Duncan Watmore nor Folarin Balogun able to really carve out any openings.

Cardiff were able to drop back and defend well as a unit as a result of Boro labouring in attack, but just past the midway point of the first half, their resistance was broken when Boro scored at the Riverside for the first time since March 5.

The hosts’ most promising move came to fruition when Jonny Howson worked the ball over to Balogun from the right, with the on-loan Arsenal man laying it off to Tavernier, who took a touch and rifled past Bluebirds goalkeeper Dillon Phillips from 25 yards out.

With Steve Morison’s side having scored 39 of their 48 league goals in the second halves of games this season, the hosts needed to be aware of the threat posed by their opponents, but goalkeeper Luke Daniels was seldom tested after the break, though Max Watters’ cross from the left that bounced off the crossbar almost caught him out.

By this point, though, the points were already wrapped up for Middlesbrough. Shortly after the break, Howson again led the charge forward and then dropped the ball off to McGree, whose shot took a wicked deflection off Curtis Nelson and nestled beyond the wrong-footed Phillips.

It was a less than convincing performance, but one that keeps Boro in with a shout going into the final two rounds of fixtures.

Man of the match – Marcus Tavernier

Lee Hendrie on Sky Sports Football:

“He really does deserve this tonight. It was the spark that he provided in the first half that has pushed Boro on to pick three important points.”

What the managers said…

Middlesbrough’s Chris Wilder: “We got the job done. We had to – it was a big night for us. They are quite a dangerous opponent; they changed their shape and it opened the game up quite a lot. They had a little bit more possession, so we had to make sure we dealt with one ball and I felt we dealt with that. I thought Sol (Bamba), the old man, was outstanding. As soon as we got our noses in front, there was a little bit more belief flowing through our veins and we were a little bit better.

“We’ll take 2-0. You come to the back end of the season and we go to the 45th game and we’re still in the board game, so I’m delighted with that.

“Anybody who wins both games of football between now and the end of the season will deserve to be in the position that they will be in, which is most probably Luton and Sheffield United in the play-offs, so we’ve got to make sure we get our job done. Stoke have got a free week on us and they are in form as well, so that’s handy! Hopefully we’ll have a bumper crowd here on Saturday to get right behind the boys because the players will need that.”

Cardiff’s Steve Morison: “We were the masters of our own downfall, I think. In two-thirds of the pitch, I thought we were really good, but we just didn’t have anything in the final third. And then we turned the ball over a couple of times and they punished us. In transitions, they were better than us and the chances we did get, we didn’t take.

“I’m trying to pick a team that is filled with people that are going to be here next year and that are in the best form. Motivation has to come from within; the staff and I can only do so much. When you step over the white line, you have to have that inner burning desire and belief to win, to be the best version of yourself you can and we’ll keep asking them to do that every day and hope we get a result in the last two games.”

What’s next?

Both teams are back in action at 3pm on Saturday April 30. Middlesbrough host Stoke at the Riverside Stadium, while Cardiff welcome Birmingham to the Cardiff City Stadium.