Lucky 13 but Jon’s boys are not out of the woods just yet
JON WOODGATE is still feeling the heat despite seeing his Middlesbrough team jump out of the bottom three with a first win in 13 matches.
The Boro boss got the better of old Leeds team-mate Lee Bowyer’s Charlton who were plunged into the relegation zone themselves.
But Woodgate is not prepared to relax now after the relief of Paddy McNair’s 17th-minute winner.
The former England central defender said: “The pressure is still on me – and the pressure is on Lee.
“We’re still in a dogfight and we won’t be getting complacent.
“There’s a long way to go, we cannot afford to too excited, but I’m really pleased with this display.
“At times I thought we were exceptional. I hope Lee has enough to keep Charlton up.
“He has hardly any money to spend.
“If he was backed a bit more he would do a lot better.
“You need to cut him a bit of slack.
“If he had more good players he would do very well.”
Neither Woodgate nor Bowyer were famous for being particularly pretty as players – and neither were their sides in an old-fashioned scrap of a six-pointer.
This game was won for the visitors after Charlton froze in the first half.
Hayden Coulson could not convert early on from McNair’s cross but it was the latter who took advantage of sloppy home defending to grab the only goal.
Rudy Gestede laid the ball into the path of the former Manchester United youngster who slotted home low to break the deadlock.
Charlton were well off the pace in the first half and were booed by home fans during the second half, although they were much better after the interval.
Macauley Bonne impressed after coming on as a half-time substitute but could not convert a Lyle Taylor cross while Darren Pratley also lost his footing at the crucial moment.
Middlesbrough, though, looked poor at times and their finishing was particularly woeful with Coulson miscuing one shot while Lewis Wing was denied by Dillon Phillips.
Luckless Taylor had two penalty shouts waved away while Bonne headed Deji Oshilaja’s cross over in the dying seconds.
Bowyer blasted his players at the break for their first-half display.
He said afterwards: “You can’t give teams 1-0 leads. We’re not good enough for that.
“We have to learn from it.
“It was schoolboy, basic, so poor.
“Some players were nervous and scared in the first half.
“I need people who are men and want to fight.
“I still believe we can do it. Everyone thought we had to win this but nothing changes.”