Middlesbrough celebrated their 150th anniversary in style with a 1-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers at a sold-out Riverside Stadium. The victory, secured by Will Lankshear's second-half header, lifted Boro into the Championship's automatic promotion places and delivered their first home clean sheet of the season.
Will Lankshear broke the deadlock in the 57th minute, meeting a Tommy Conway cross with a close-range header for his ninth goal of the campaign. The £6.9m summer signing is now the club's top scorer with eight league goals from ten appearances, a key reason why Middlesbrough sit second in the table with 21 points. Head coach Kim Hellberg made four changes from the side that drew at Birmingham, restoring Conway to the attack and handing starts to Neto Borges and Sebastian Berhalter.
Defensive monster
While Lankshear provided the decisive moment, the platform for the win was built on a rock-solid defensive performance. Adilson Malanda, the 24-year-old signed last summer, was immense at the heart of the back line, winning over half of his duels and showing composure on the ball.
Hellberg's tactical shift to a back three after introducing Ayling helped see out the game against a Wolves side claiming one of the division's most potent attacks. The visitors introduced Fer Lopez and Jordan James in search of an equaliser, but Boro held firm. Referee Farai Hallam was booed off at half-time by the home crowd after showing only a yellow card to Wolves' Nasser Djiga for a pull on Conway earlier in the match.
The three points are a huge boost to Middlesbrough's promotion ambitions, moving them two points behind leaders Swansea. The win continues an impressive run of form that includes a 3-2 comeback victory at Stoke City just three days prior. Attention now turns to maintaining this momentum. Cardiff currently sit 18th in the Championship.
More detail at footballleagueworld.co.uk
