Report and highlights from the Sky Bet Championship clash between Middlesbrough and Nottingham Forest at the Riverside Stadium as a Ryan Yates own goal and Andraz Sporar steered Boro into the top six
Sunday 26 December 2021 18:02, UK
Middlesbrough moved into the Sky Bet Championship play-off places for only the second time this season as they beat Nottingham Forest 2-0 at the Riverside.
Chris Wilder's in-form side claimed a fourth success from their last five matches as a comical own goal from Ryan Yates and second-half strike from Andraz Sporar secured a deserved win.
Forest were outplayed throughout, with their own good run of form under Steve Cooper coming to a resounding end.
Middlesbrough were on the front foot from the off and came close to opening the scoring in just the fifth minute. Isaiah Jones squared the ball for the recalled Onel Hernandez but the Cuban's shot from the edge of the area was deflected just wide.
Forest went into the game having suffered just one defeat in their previous 16 matches but they were unable to live with the pace and fluidity of Boro's attacking for much of the game.
That said, they were undoubtedly their own worst enemies as they conceded a farcical opener in the 17th minute.
Yates received the ball from goalkeeper Brice Samba close to the edge of his own area and after turning back towards his own goal did not look over his shoulder as he rolled a back-pass to where he thought Samba was standing. Samba was nowhere near and the pair were left red-faced as the ball rolled into the net.
That was the cue for a sustained spell of Middlesbrough pressure that should really have resulted in a second goal before the break.
A stretching Sporar just failed to reach Jones' cross before firing in a low shot that Samba saved with his legs, Hernandez saw a shot deflected just over from the edge of the 18-yard box and wing-back Neil Taylor also drilled in a dangerous effort that Samba parried.
Boro's best first-half chance to add to their lead came towards the end of the opening period but Jones volleyed Taylor's deep cross against the outside of a post.
Forest's attacking threat before the break was pretty much non-existent, although Paddy McNair produced an excellent interception just before the break when Philip Zinckernagel wasted a smart through ball from Lewis Grabban with a poor first touch.
Cooper changed things at half-time, bringing on Joao Carvalho and switching to a flat back four, and the visitors were much improved after the break. Indeed, they should have been level on the hour mark.
Brennan Johnson skipped past McNair as he broke into the right of the 18-yard box but while his pull-back was perfectly positioned for Zinckernagel, the Dane shot over from eight yards.
Forest went close again four minutes later with Joe Worrall looping a header onto the roof of the net after latching onto Johnson's cross, and their failure to take either of their second-half chances proved costly as Boro doubled their lead with 21 minutes left.
Matt Crooks crossed from the right after Jones' pass released him into space, and while Samba clawed the ball away from his goalmouth it dropped invitingly for Sporar, who swept home the rebound.
The second goal settled things, although Forest hit the woodwork with a minute left as substitute Xande Silva directed a side-footed shot against the right-hand post.
Middlesbrough's Chris Wilder: "To get a result and a performance was great for everybody. I've been here when it's been full, watching, but never been involved at the coal face. It was fabulous. It was electric.
"I know we can't replicate that all the time - obviously Boxing Day is a special day for everybody to come and watch football - but if we can carry on pulling the punters in with the way we play, then that will be great. What that does to the players is fabulous. It gives them the energy to keep going and allows them to dominate, as they did against a really good side. I think we did that, especially in the first half."
Nottingham Forest's Steve Cooper: "In terms of both the result and the performance we fell short today. In the first half especially, there were a number of reasons why we were second best. We still gave away a goal that you didn't expect to, but the message at half-time was that as poor as we had been, it was still only 1-0.
"We changed a few things tactically and to be fair, we did slowly come back into the game. We've missed a brilliant chance and momentum was maybe coming our way a little bit, but then we conceded the second goal and it was too much of a mountain to climb from then. It was clear to see why we didn't play well. Technically, I thought we were below par. We gave away the ball too much, which has not been like us, and without the ball, we just didn't get enough pressure onto them."
