Far from a classic, but job done for grafters

IT WAS a welcome win that will be remembered more for its strategic importance than for the quality on show.

Boro were punished for a scrappy start as they let surprised City take an early lead with a scrappy goal.

Stung into action, Boro then slowly and cautiously started to take control before first levelling then clawing into the lead from corners. It was a game straight out of the Tony Pulis playbook.

It was never comfortable though – Bristol missed a last-gasp sitter – and at times Boro looked disjointed and nervous as the stakes and tension for both sides weighed heavily.

But they got the job done, and, while it wasn’t a classic, a few individuals put in excellent displays.

George Friend has looked laboured of late but was superb against City at both end of the pitch.

The physical left-back was full of surging runs and crunching tackles, always available for an out ball and an overlap, and his cavalier carving into the box caused all kinds of problems – and, of course, he scored a crucial leveller.

Anytime scoring specialist Dani Ayala was on hand to head home a winning goal that transformed the table and swung the play-off maths back in Boro’s favour.

But he was also a powerhouse at the back, winning some big grappling battles with Bristol’s man mountain Aden Flint in the Boro box. And, once again, Adama Traore was the eye-catching, unpredictable element that terrorised the opposition.

His weaving runs, shifts of pace and electric footwork bamboozled Bristol and carved out space and angles, and he put in some killer balls, although they came to

little.