TREV WARNS TERRIERS TO MIND THE GAP
Jordan piles pressure on hometown club
MIDDLESBROUGH-BORN Jordan Hugill delivered a hammer blow to his hometown club’s Championship survival hopes on his latest Riverside return.goal
Hugill’s stunning first-half strike – the on-loan West Ham striker’s 15th of the season – secured QPR’S first win since the restart to leave Neil Warnock facing an uphill task to steer a path to safety.
The new Boro boss admits his firefighting role on Teesside is the toughest of his career. And it was hard to disagree as the league’s lowest scorers drew another blank to stretch a seven-month winless home streak and keep them in the relegation zone.
Wigan’s impending 12-point deduction for entering administration could yet be Boro’s saviour but Warnock said: “We can’t rely on what others do, it’s down to ourselves.
“Jordan has taken their goal really well but I can’t fault my lads’ effort. We created plenty of chances, but didn’t take them, and that’s mainly about confidence. We just need something to drop for us and we’ve got to fight tooth and nail in these remaining five games.”
To be undone by one of their own simply twisted the knife for Boro, whose last home victory was way back on Boxing Day.
Teessider Hugill slipped through the academy net, and combined a job pulling pints in his local pub with scoring a hatful of goals in non-league, to be handed a chance by Port Vale and then made his name at Preston.
The 28-year-old found the net seven times for Boro in a loan spell last season – but it’s his latest return which could have more far-reaching ramifications for his boyhood heroes.
Hugill had spurned a chance to break the deadlock when delaying to allow George Friend to block his shot. He made amends in the 32nd minute, sending a stunning first-time effort over keeper Dejan Stojanovic from 25 yards after latching onto a pinpoint Ryan Manning pass.
It proved to be Hugill’s final act as he limped off with a hamstring injury sustained while scoring as Rangers hung on to secure the points.
Boro had their chances, with Ashley Fletcher wasting two first-half openings. After the break, Britt Assombalonga sent a diving header inches wide and Ravel Morrison fired narrowly off target.
And with stoppage time approaching, Assombalonga was pulled-up for diving in the box when Warnock was convinced it was a penalty.
Rangers boss Mark Warburton said: “We took Jordan off as a precaution after he felt his hamstring.
“I was going to go berserk because at first I thought he’d been injured in the goal celebration.”
BORO: Stojanovic 6, Howson 6, Fry 6, Friend 6, Johnson 4 (Coulson 80, 6), Moukoudi 6, Roberts 7 (Tavernier 80, 5), Morrison 6 (Mcnair 65, 6), Saville 5 (Wing 65, 6), Fletcher 5 (Nmecha 66, 4), Assombalonga 5 QPR: Lumley 8, Kakay 8, Cameron 9,
Barbet 9, Kane 8, Amos 8, Ball 8, Manning 9, Eze 7 (Oteh 70, 7), Osayi-samuel 8, Hugill 8 (Chair 35, 7)
Referee:
HUDDERSFIELD
PRESTON NE
TREVOH CHALOBAH believes Huddersfield have the mental strength to win their battle for Championship survival.
The Terriers remain deep in relegation trouble despite following up the midweek win over Birmingham with a goalless draw against Preston at the John Smith’s Stadium.
Danny Cowley’s side travel to Reading tomorrow night and Chalobah said: “These past two games we’ve got four points, which is a big, big plus for us. We are taking it game by game. That is our approach.”
But the games are coming thick and fast and Chalobah (above) stressed the importance of the players’ mental resilience.
He said: “How we mentally prepare, that’s as important as being physically prepared going into games, to have the right mindset and just keep going. Get that right, dig in deep.”
Preston boss Alex Neil believes his side can still make the playoffs despite being six points adrift.
The Lilywhites visit Sheffield Wednesday in midweek as they look to end a woeful seven-match run which has brought them just two points.
Neil said: “I think it’s just take each game as it comes, because if you look at the results throughout the leagues – certainly our league since we’ve come back – there have been a lot of strange results.
“So we have got to focus on trying to win our next game. In one game everything can change.
“I don’t think we are out of the equation at all, but we are not in anywhere near as good a situation as we had been.”
HUDDERSFIELD: Lossl 7, Chalobah 6 (Stankovic 85), Stearman 7, Schindler 7, Toffolo 6, O’brien 6, Hogg 6, Kachunga 5 (Quaner 46, 6), Pritchard 6 (Smith Rowe 56, 6), Grant 6 (Willock 76, 6), Campbell 6 (Mounie 46, 6)
PRESTON: Rudd 7, Rafferty 6, Bauer 7, Davies 6, Hughes 6, Pearson 6, Browne 6 (Stockley 72, 6), Ledson 6 (Sinclair 84), Harrop 6 (Maguire 72) Potts 7, Barkhuizen 6 (Bodin 89)