Morgan Whittaker’s twelfth aim of the season cemented Middlesbrough’s place within the Sky Wager Championship play-offs as they edged previous Sheffield Wednesday to finish their eight-game look forward to a victory.
Kim Hellberg’s males closed to inside three factors of the automated promotion locations courtesy of a prosaic 1-0 win over already relegated Wednesday on the Riverside Stadium, however extra importantly went six away from seventh-placed Hull with simply two video games to play.
Maybe fittingly on an evening after they dominated, however have been as soon as once more unable to kill the sport off, Whittaker’s Eleventh-minute winner was served up on a plate by defender Gabriel Otegbayo.
On a cool Spring night time on Teesside, it was the hosts who made the extra progressive begin, however Wednesday had arrived in decided temper and weren’t making life snug for the promotion-chasers.
Nevertheless, Boro took the lead with 11 minutes gone, albeit from a present when Whittaker anticipated Otegbayo’s ill-judged back-pass and intercepted earlier than rounding stranded goalkeeper Murphy Cooper and sliding the ball into the empty web.
Full-back Matt Targett dragged a long-range drive nicely large as the house facet went seeking a second, however Charlie McNeill was equally inaccurate on the different finish after operating on to Tayo Adaramola’s inviting pull-back.
Otegbayo headed Alan Browne’s stabbed Twenty first-minute shot away from aim and Cooper needed to palm Whittaker’s well-struck try out for a nook seconds later, however Otegbayo unwittingly got here to the rescue as soon as once more when David Strelec’s first-time effort hit him on its method to aim.
Browne looped a header from a Targett cross nicely over and Cooper repelled Whittaker’s shot from a decent angle as the primary half, a late flurry apart, moderately ambled to its conclusion with out additional addition to the scoreline.
Please use Chrome browser for a extra accessible video participant
Highlights of the Sky Wager Championship match between Middlesbrough and Sheffield Wednesday.
The second half started in comparable vein with Boro probing, however getting nowhere quick as they have been unable to transform possession and territory into real probabilities.
Whittaker scuffed a 54th-minute shot from distance nicely large and Aidan Morris blazed over after robbing Marvelous Nakamba and charging forwards seconds later, and though Jeremy Sarmiento added contemporary vigour from the bench, the guests remained stubbornly within the contest.
Adilson Malanda needed to throw himself into the trail of substitute Jamal Lowe’ 69th-minute try to stop them from gaining an excellent firmer foothold, and it took a strong save by Sol Brynn eight minutes later to disclaim an equaliser from substitute Will Grainger.
Substitute Kaly Sene ought to have doubled Boro’s benefit in stoppage time after being performed via by Morris, however Cooper gained their duel earlier than Adaramola cleared Sarmiento’s follow-up off the road, and a single aim in the end proved sufficient, if solely simply.
The managers
Middlesbrough’s Kim Hellberg:
“To get to the play-offs is a massive thing.
“You at all times need to be first or second however to get to the play-offs means you could have a 25 per cent likelihood of ending up within the Premier League within the play-offs and that chance does not come typically, which signifies that it is a huge factor for the membership and for me and for the gamers to already know that we’re in that one.
“Then like you said, there are still possibilities. We’ll go out here on Saturday against Watford to win and try to take it to the last day of the season, where we know that everything can happen.
“For us, it was simply necessary to win. Once more, it was not fairly, particularly not the final 10 minutes, nevertheless it was necessary to win and I am very, very glad for that.”
Sheffield Wednesday’s Henrik Pedersen:
“A powerful, robust efficiency in opposition to a very, actually good staff. We began the sport actually, rather well with huge perception, with huge confidence. We have been nicely organised.
“Especially on the ball, we were strong until Gabby made a little mistake on the ball. It’s a part of this. We want to play with courage, we want to play with belief and here, it was a little bit to much.
“Then from 60 minutes and the remainder of the sport, I feel we have been a stronger staff than them.”
