It was difficult to predict how we might approach this game as our place in the play-offs is secured, with automatic promotion still a theoretical possibility. Should Hellberg rest some of the better players or should he play his strongest side? What even is his strongest side?
He made four changes, leaving out Targett, Fry, Brown and Conway, bringing in Bangura, Gilbert, Sarmiento and Hansen. I could see the benefit in giving Fry a rest and as Targett had limped off against Sheff Wed, it made sense not to start him either. Sarmiento and Hansen were novel choices though, neither of whom would usually be in line for a start.
The atmosphere inside the ground was better than the Sheff Wed game. It was probably helped by Watford not bringing many fans and by us scoring an early goal. What a goal it was, with Whittaker striking a direct free-kick from distance into the top corner.
We played better too, with both Hansen and Sarmiento fitting in well. Whittaker was the star man, but Strelec looked good as did Conway when he came on for the last half-hour. The five-one scoreline was a fair reflection of our dominance over a Watford side that were clearly gearing up for their holidays.
The win left us behind Ipswich and Millwall going into the final game. I couldn’t help but think of all the points dropped during that recent seven-game winless run and how if Ipswich hadn’t equalized with that last-gasp spawny penalty, we would have been going to Wrexham in second place with promotion entirely in our own hands. It’s unlikely that results on Saturday will go our way for automatic, but maybe we are hitting form again at the right time for the play-offs.
Tags: Middlesbrough FC
Trail of the Lion King 
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