Middlesbrough head coach Michael Carrick wants to shoulder the blame for the way his side suffered a 2-0 defeat at the Riverside to Plymouth.
Boro were booed off the pitch at half-time and full-time having been unable to break down a Plymouth side who scored twice in the first half.
Matthew Sorinola’s seventh-minute opener arrived when he turned in the rebound following Tom Glover’s failure to put Darko Gyabi’s curling effort out of harm’s way.
And Ryan Hardie’s 13th of the season, after controlling a Gyabi pass and then finishing coolly in the 31st minute, was enough to claim a second away win of the season.
But Middlesbrough, who have not won at the Riverside in the Sky Bet Championship since before Christmas, could not conjure up anything to reduce the arrears.
Despite a 69 per cent share of the possession, Middlesbrough did not have a shot on target and are now 11 points off the top six.
Carrick, whose side beat leaders Leicester seven days earlier, said: “That’s football. The challenge is being successful in the league and to be able to put performances together and results together, every game is different, and we are not getting that mix right at all.
“We know what we are capable of on any given day, but this was not one of those days. As a group, I will take the hit today in terms of decisions I make and how I put the team out. That was on me.
“The boys tried and gave their best today. The longer it went the harder it became, that’s on me today. I will take that one.
“Not many things went right to be truthful. We had an idea of how it would go, what we wanted to do, the way we play. It didn’t pan out that way, that’s on me.”
Plymouth were delighted with their performance on the back of a run of four games without a win. They could have scored more in the first half.
Ian Foster, who took over at the start of the year, said: “The boys were outstanding to a man, and it was probably the perfect away performance. We had a strategy, a game plan and the players implemented it brilliantly.
“I’m disappointed it was only two at half-time and the second half was terrific in terms of our tactical discipline and transition, the building up.
“We don’t get too disappointed when results don’t go our way and we won’t get too excited when they do. We will get results we don’t like and we will enjoy them when we do get the ones we like.
“In terms of a new coach coming in, and the games we have had, the players have done everyone proud.
“I don’t think it has been a turnaround after recent results. Our levels have been very good.”
Southampton 3-1 West Brom (3-1 agg): Saints set up play-off final with Leeds United
Southampton saw off West Brom 3-1 at St Mary's on Friday to set up a Championship play-off final showdown with Leeds United.
Leeds thumped Norwich City 4-0 at Elland Road 24 hours earlier to book their place at Wembley, where Southampton now await on May 26.
The first leg between the Saints and West Brom finished goalless - just like the other semi-final - but the home side's quality told in the end.
Russell Martin's side dominated the first-half possession, with David Brooks going closest to scoring with a shot that hit the outside of the post.
Southampton made the breakthrough via a powerful Will Smallbone finish four minutes into the second half after Gray Diangana lost possession.
Darnell Furlong had a shot helped over by Alex McCarthy, while David Brooks - who assisted the opener - had a strong penalty appeal rejected.
Southampton remained in control, though, and Adam Armstrong scored a second with a shot through Furlong's legs and past Alex Palmer.
Armstrong's second goal arrived from the penalty spot in the 86th minute after Tom Fellows fouled Ryan Manning in the box, rendering Cedric Kipre's late header a mere consolation.
Al-Nassr 1-1 Al-Hilal: Mitrovic scores last-gasp penalty
Aleksandar Mitrovic scored a penalty in the 10th minute of second-half stoppage time as Al-Hilal denied Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr victory in a 1-1 draw.
Mitrovic netted his 27th Saudi Pro League goal of the campaign after Sadio Mane was harshly judged to have fouled Saud Abdulhamid in the area.
Mane stuck out an arm to shield the ball, catching his opponent in the throat, though the contact appeared to have been outside of the box.
Mitrovic made no mistake to keep Al-Hilal's unbeaten campaign going.
The Serbian's spot-kick cancelled out Otavio's first-minute opener, with Ronaldo having set up his compatriot.
Champions Al-Hilal remain 12 points clear of Al-Nassr at the summit of the Pro League standings.
Data Debrief: Ronaldo the provider
Ronaldo leads the scoring charts in Saudi Arabia this season, though he had to settle for an assist on Friday.
That came from the only chance he created, with the 39-year-old limited to 25 touches, though he did have four shots.
Leeds' belief never wavered as Wembley beckons
Ethan Ampadu said Leeds United's players never let their belief waver despite a poor end to their Championship campaign, with a trip to Wembley now coming up.
Leeds will face either Southampton or West Brom in the play-off final on May 26 after thrashing Norwich City 4-0 at Elland Road on Thursday.
The Whites endured a miserable end to their campaign, losing 4-0 at Queens Park Rangers before going down at home to Southampton on the final day, as Ipswich Town claimed automatic promotion behind Leicester City.
But after their emphatic defeat of the Canaries, who they drew with 0-0 in the first leg, Ampadu claimed Leeds never lost their way.
"Towards the end of the season there was a lot of talk about how we were playing, how we weren't on the front foot, how we weren't aggressive or clinical," he told Sky Sports.
"But we always had our belief that on our day, when we are firing, we can be hard for anyone to play against.
"When the front four, five, six play like that, they make the job of us defenders a lot easier.
"Whoever we play in the final it's going to be a hard game but to go in like this, to put in a performance like this, we can take momentum and confidence into it.
"The fans were second to none and we enjoyed their support – now we are going to prepare for the big one."
Georginio Rutter scored one and set up another in the rout, and he put the onus on Leeds to replicate the same level at Wembley.
"It's incredible. Today we go to Wembley," he said.
"We played a good game. I'm happy, everybody is happy. One more game and we will see.
"We played very good. 4-0 is a clean sheet. Today, we were mature. It's a very good performance from the team.
"I want to try my best and help the team. If we play like this [at the final], we have a good chance but we have to play like this."
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