Middlesbrough vs Derby County. Sky Bet Championship.
Riverside StadiumAttendance26,266.
Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship clash between Middlesbrough and Derby County at the Riverside Stadium as Boro eased past the Rams to secure all three points on Saturday afternoon.
Saturday 12 February 2022 19:19, UK
Middlesbrough moved into the Sky Bet Championship play-off places with a resounding 4-1 victory over Derby at the Riverside Stadium.
All the talk in the build-up to the game was surrounding the off-field drama between the two clubs, with a resolution to Boro's legal claim against the Rams having been agreed this week.
But Derby were left with plenty to resolve on the pitch after being dismantled by Boro - a defeat which leaves them four points from safety.
Lee Buchanan's own goal was cancelled out by Max Bird, but Boro led 3-1 at the break after quickfire goals from Aaron Connolly and Matt Crooks before Duncan Watmore rounded off the scoring in the 89th minute.
Middlesbrough went in front when Isaiah Jones produced the first of his assists as he charged down the right and played a teasing ball across goal only for Buchanan to prod the ball through the legs of his own goalkeeper after 16 minutes.
Derby responded six minutes before the break as Bird fired a first-time volley from Paddy McNair's clearing header that managed to squeeze its way through a crowd of bodies and into the bottom left corner to send the travelling support wild.
While the concern was whether tempers would flare off the pitch, it starting boiling over on it as Marcus Tavernier and Tom Lawrence went head to head during an off-the-ball altercation while Crooks was booked for a dangerous challenge.
But with the half-time interval looming, Jones took the game by the scruff of the neck.
He played a ball to Connolly with his back to goal in the 44th minute and the Irish striker turned and saw his shot deflect off Curtis Davies into the opposite corner for his first Boro goal.
Middlesbrough might have been happy to go into the break with their slender lead but Jones was not as he completed a hat-trick of assists in first-half stoppage time.
After finding room down the right, he drove at the Derby defence, side-stepped one man and played a teasing cross through his legs to Crooks who slammed home from close range.
In the second half, Folarin Balogun, who was also looking for his first Boro goal, came within inches of doing so when neat play freed him down the left. He drove into the box and flashed a shot across goal but Ryan Allsop got his fingers to it.
Derby could not really provide an answer to Boro's attack and struggled to carve out a concrete chance.
Chris Wilder's side banged on the door with a flurry of chances for Tavernier and Connolly but Allsop was on hand to palm fierce shots away from goal.
And the game was put to bed when Balogun nicked the ball away from Buchanan and sold the 'keeper and defender with a drag back before he put it on a plate for Watmore who squirmed the ball under Davies.
Middlesbrough's Chris Wilder: "We got a bit sloppy and a bit loose after we went up in the game in terms of possession. They had a certain amount of possession as well but we settled down once we got our noses back in front and it was a great boost to go in at half-time 3-1 up. We kept moving it and yet again Jonah [Jones] has found himself in a great position. We've managed to finish that off.
"As what happens, they open up and change they shape. They have to take big chances and it opens it up for us as well. Our shape behind the ball was really good. I thought the work rate of the players, especially the front two. I thought they'd gas themselves out after about 60 or 70 minutes and Azza [Connolly] and Flo [Folarin Balogun] kept going because they got that game under their belt. Delighted with them two.
"When they gave it away, our press was good. We created opportunities. I'm not getting too carried away, it's a good result on the back of a great week for the football club. Now we rest, recover and go again next week which is obviously the key."
Derby's Wayne Rooney: "I thought it was quite an even game first half. I felt we had bits of control of it and we got the equaliser, and we were OK, and then we concede two sloppy goals, we need to look at. I take responsibility for the result because I tried something with Tom Lawrence and Luke Plange, to leave them high up the pitch and try and play a little bit on the counter attack, and that didn't pay off.
"I take full responsibility for that. It is a disappointing result. Middlesbrough are a good team but I didn't feel there was that much between the two teams."
