Michael Carrick praised his players for not getting distracted by their Carabao Cup exploits as Middlesbrough rounded off an impressive week with a deserved 1-0 win over West Brom.
Boro beat Port Vale in midweek to reach the last four of the League Cup for the first time since winning the competition 20 seasons ago and have a two-legged tie with Chelsea to look forward to in the new year.
But Carrick is determined to ensure league form does not suffer and was delighted after his side’s victory over Albion as Boro closed the gap on the Championship’s top six to three points.
“Naturally after Tuesday and the highs and the draw and people talking about Chelsea, I thought our mentality was top quality to reset and start again and put a top performance in,” Carrick said after Morgan Rogers’ first-half goal secured a third successive win in all competitions.
“There was so much to take from it. It was a proper performance and a proper win.
“It’s been an excellent week and for different reasons. The battling performance at Swansea wasn’t pretty, but we found a way to win. The boys showed plenty of courage to do that.
“The performance in midweek was totally different. It was a different environment and a very good performance for what we needed on that occasion.
“And then today, I felt we showed a bit of all sorts against a really good team. The boys will take a lot from it, I’m sure.”
Rogers, a summer signing from Manchester City, has played most of his football as a substitute so far for Boro this season but was handed a start after impressing and scoring against Port Vale in midweek.
He scored the winner against Albion five minutes before half-time and created a string of opportunities after the break as Boro pushed for more goals.
Carrick said: “He creates, he’s dangerous. He’s a huge talent. He’s fantastic to work with, he wants to learn and get better all the time and is desperate to give what he can for the team which is brilliant.
“He’s got a terrific attitude for the game and is showing his quality.
“You can see he’s growing here, he’s at home here and belongs here and you can see him growing all the time.”
West Brom remain fifth in the table but have now won just one of their last five games.
Boss Carlos Corberan had no complaints about the outcome at the Riverside.
He said: “I think the result was fair. I saw Middlesbrough in general were better than us. The early stages were balanced and we had a couple of possibilities to score a goal, but they made us defend deeper and found a way to attack us.
“When we did break their press we couldn’t create something. In the second half we needed to be more aggressive but couldn’t find the energy.
“Little by little Middlesbrough found a way to move us deeper. In the second half it was clear we needed to react and be more aggressive, but we lost the ball too often and they were comfortable defending against us.
“I like how Middlesbrough attack and defend. They will be fighting for the play-off positions because they have a very good squad with a very good coach.”
Hull City 3-3 Ipswich Town: Tigers fight back three times to deny Tractor Boys
Ipswich Town missed the chance to move into an automatic promotion spot as play-off-chasing Hull City came from behind three times in a thrilling 3-3 Championship draw at The MKM Stadium.
Ipswich knew a victory would take them second after Leeds United were surprisingly beaten 4-0 by Queens Park Rangers on Friday, and they led on three separate occasions, George Hirst opening the scoring before Omari Hutchinson produced two brilliant strikes from the edge of the area.
However, buoyed by slip-ups from rivals Norwich City and West Brom earlier on Saturday, Hull dug deep to fight back on each occasion, Ozan Tufan and Liam Delap scoring their first two equalisers.
With Liam Rosenior's men 3-2 down with just four minutes to play, substitute Noah Ohio blasted his shot in off the crossbar to punish an error from Ipswich goalkeeper Vaclav Hladky.
The result keeps Ipswich behind second-placed Leeds on goal difference, though the Tractor Boys have a game in hand to come at Coventry City on Tuesday.
Hull, meanwhile, are two points adrift of the top six, with Norwich's goal difference advantage meaning their top-six spot is all but assured. The Tigers will, however, leapfrog West Brom if they beat Plymouth Argyle on the final day and Albion lose to Preston North End.
Data Debrief: Hutchinson's best not enough
Hutchinson was a man who deserved to be on the winning side on Saturday, giving Ryan Allsop no chance with two near-identical left-footed strikes from the right corner of the penalty area.
His goals came from an expected goals (xG) total of just 0.6, and he led all players on the pitch for shots (eight) and passes in the final third (21), also laying on three chances for his team-mates.
Al-Khaleej 0-1 Al-Nassr: Ronaldo misfires on return as Laporte nets winner
Cristiano Ronaldo returned from suspension but failed to find the net as Al-Nassr secured a 1-0 win over Al-Khaleej on Saturday, with Aymeric Laporte coming up with the decisive goal.
Ronaldo was in action for the first time since being sent off for an elbow in a 2-1 Saudi Super Cup loss to Al-Hilal earlier this month, with his initial two-match ban being reduced to one on appeal.
He missed three good chances as Al-Nassr threatened to fall further behind runaway Saudi Pro League leaders Al-Hilal, but former Manchester City defender Laporte spared his blushes by nodding Marcelo Brozovic's deep free-kick into the bottom-left corner with 68 minutes gone.
Al-Nassr remain nine points adrift of Al-Hilal at the summit in spite of their win, with Jorge Jesus' team unbeaten through 28 games this season as they close in on a record-extending 18th title.
Data Debrief: Ronaldo misfires on return
Ronaldo was presented with the Saudi Pro League's Player of the Month award for March ahead of kick-off, having scored four goals in three league appearances last month.
However, his sights were off on Saturday as he failed to net despite three of the visitors' four big chances, as defined by Opta, falling his way. He led all players on the pitch for expected goals (1.27 xG), shots (five), shots on target (three) and touches in the area (nine) without reward.
Huddersfield all but relegated from Championship while League Two play-off spots decided
Huddersfield Town saw their relegation from the Championship all but confirmed after a 1-1 draw with fellow strugglers Birmingham City on Saturday.
The Terriers avoided a defeat that would have seen them relegated on Saturday, but even a win on the final day over promotion hopefuls Ipswich Town will not be enough unless they overcome a huge goal difference of 15 goals with Plymouth Argyle.
Birmingham remain in the other relegation place and now must beat Norwich City to stand a chance of staying up with Sheffield Wednesday, Plymouth and Blackburn Rovers also still in danger.
At the other end of the table, the Canaries dropped points in a 2-2 draw with Swansea City, leaving the door open for Hull City, who face Ipswich Town later today.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
