Midfielder so puzzled by Boro’s lack of goals

BORO battler Jonny Howson was quick to make a serious point after his promotion chasers threw away the chance to collect all three.

His message was simple and direct: Where’s our killer instinct?

The midfielder had a go at breaking the deadlock at Stoke. So did team-mate Jordan Hugill.

But after 90-plus minutes of toil and little trouble, Middlesbrough boss Tony Pulis left his old club three games without a league win with just 17 goals in their 16 matches.

And as promotion hopefuls, that is just not deadly enough when the huge prize of a place in the Premier League is there.

Howson said: “On another night we could possibly have won it with the chances in the second half. Obviously we would have liked to have won, got three points and gone top.

“But it wasn’t to be. We got the next best thing and we are still right in there. That’s the main thing, staying in around that top group.

“We had some chances and missed them all. I missed one myself, which clipped the keeper’s legs.

“As a team we have been creating chances and missing them. Sometimes, you have runs like that.

“But we’ll get working and keep creating the chances and sooner or later we’ll get the breaks and they will start to go in.

“An own goal. A freak deflection. We’ll take it. But the time to really worry is when you are not getting the chances. Possibly with the chances REF: we had then maybe we could have won it, but we had to dig in at times too and we did a good job against them.

“They had a lot of possession, but I don’t really think they had a serious sight of goal.”

Striker Saido Berahino would dispute that dig at Stoke’s own lack of firepower after wanting to prove a point of his own against his old West Brom boss Pulis, who after a string of fall-outs was not his best buddie.

Berahino said: “It was exactly what we expected. I thought we were sharp and it was just unfortunate we couldn’t break through.

“We just need to be a bit more clinical. The gaffer has told us that’s what we need to do and for the forward players to take more risks.

“I just have to keep going and get on the score-sheet.”

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