By the end they had sustained a couple of worrying casualties but a tense night on Teesside left Aitor Karanka’s Middlesbrough celebrating three potentially invaluable points as Wolves’ play-off hopes hit a wall. Karanka could have done without the second-half injuries which deprived his side of a pair of key individuals in Jonathan Woodgate and Albert Adomah, but Boro remain in touching distance of the Premier League.
Early goals from Jelle Vossen and the excellent Patrick Bamford left them third, one point behind second-placed Norwich, two short of Bournemouth and two ahead of Watford, who visit Nottingham Forest on Wednesday evening.
Although four will not go into two, Boro’s trip to Norwich on Friday night could go a long way towards determining the automatic promotion places. Three points outside the top six Wolves, meanwhile, were left with nothing to show for a second-half renaissance during which it was sometimes difficult to comprehend they were in League One this time last year.
The Chelsea loanee Bamford – described by Karanka as “amazing” – not only scored himself but created Vossen’s goal. “For me he’s the best young player in this league,” added Boro’s manager who will assess the damage to the hamstrung Woodgate and Adomah on Wednesday.
As dusk descended on the Riverside Boro enjoyed the brightest of beginnings. Only three minutes had passed when Vossen’s right-footed shot furnished them with a psychologically helpful lead.
“Don’t you worry, we’re going up,” chorused the home fans after a long ball confounded the visitors’ defence, permitting Bamford to square for Vossen before getting in on the scoring act himself.
The second goal featured a superb left-footed shot directed into the bottom corner after Bamford was cleverly cued up by Tomas Kalas. It was his 19th goal of a wonderful season and seemed to stun a Wolves side still struggling to escape their own half.
With Woodgate heading wide and Adomah curling a shot against the bar Kenny Jackett’s team looked increasingly bewildered. Indeed Richard Stearman’s booking for a nasty, rather desperate foul on Bamford appeared emblematic of the visiting frustration as Karanka’s players showed off some stellar passing to go with their subtle movement.
With Benik Afobe thoroughly subdued, first-half visiting chances were few and far between although Rajiv van La Parra and Bakary Sako both had their moments. Yet assured as Ben Gibson and the impressively elegant Woodgate were proving in the home defence, Karanka’s nervous, slightly hyperactive, pacing of his technical area betrayed a certain anxiety.
As half-time approached Wolves were finally stringing a few passes together as they belatedly began getting to grips with a game that had initially not so much threatened to run away from them as to career out of their control.
Everything changed when Sako connected with Dave Edwards’s second-half cross and Dimi Konstantopoulos proved powerless to repel his left-footed shot. With the news that Norwich had scored at Leeds filtering through, the evening assumed a slightly edgy air. The sight of the ever fragile Woodgate hobbling off – to a deserved ovation – hardly served as a relaxant.
Indeed despite still being very much on top at this stage, Boro very nearly came undone as Wolves countered, La Parra lashing the ball against the bar following Golbourne’s cross. The sense that fortune was suddenly frowning on the home side mounted when Adomah was forced off. Almost imperceptibly, the game had turned. Although Bamford’s shot hit the bar at the death, Karanka’s players were forced into some last ditch defending.
“Middlesbrough are ruthless,” said Jackett. “They’re very, very good and probably the best side in this division. It was their night and Bamford – who is very good – was a handful but we fought back and showed a lot of spirit, a lot of character. The opportunity to reach the play-offs is still there.”
