Hows-on about that for hitting play-offs?
BORO guaranteed themselvs a place in the play-offs after goals from Britt Assombalonga and Jonny Howson secured a win over Millwall.
Boro have booked their play-off place with a game to spare, although the identity of their opponents will not be clear until they have completed their campaign at Ipswich next weekend.
Millwall still have a statistical chance of claiming a play-off place, although in reality their hopes are gone as they would need a nine-goal swing to overhaul Derby on goal difference even if they were to win their final game against Aston Villa and both the Rams and Preston were to lose.
They were up against it from the moment Assombalonga opened the scoring, and their fate was effectively sealed when Jordan Archer’s goalkeeping error enabled Howson to double Middlesbrough’s lead midway through the second half.
Boro went into the game knowing only a victory would guarantee their place in the play-offs and Tony Pulis’ side made an ideal start as they claimed the lead after just
12 minutes.
Pulis opted to keep Assombalonga in the starting line-up and his faith in his club’s record signing was rewarded as he claimed his
15th goal of the season with the first opportunity that came his way.
Controlling Daniel Ayala’s long ball out of defence with a delicate first touch, Assombalonga spun inside Mahlon Romeo before drilling home a low finish via the inside of the left-hand post.
Stewart Downing twice went close with efforts that were blocked, first by Ryan Tunnicliffe and then by Shaun Hutchinson, who produced an excellent last-ditch challenge in the heart of his own penalty area.
The Teessiders finally doubled their lead in the 66th minute, and their second goal owed much to a glaring error from Archer. The Millwall goalkeeper allowed Downing’s left-wing cross to slip through his grasp, leaving Howson with the simple task of slotting home.