‘Open your eyes ...this is how good we can be’
MONK’S DELIGHT AT WIN
MIDDLESBROUGH manager Garry Monk believes yesterday’s 2-0 win over Ipswich was an insight into what his side could achieve if they cut out the errors which have blighted so many of their performances this season.
The Teessiders returned to winning ways as goals from Martin Braithwaite and Patrick Bamford saw them leapfrog their opponents and move into eighth position in the Sky Bet Championship table.
The victory lifted some of the pressure that had been building on Monk in the wake of defeats to Derby and Bristol City, and was achieved through one of Boro’s best performances of the campaign.
Monk said: “I’m pleased for the players, and I’m pleased for our fans. The main t h i n g t o d a y was to show a response, both for our fans and for ourselves. Overall, I thought we were very comfortable in the game, and were deserved winners. “We were on top throughout, and it was a step forward in terms of showing the possibilities of what we can be. Of course, I still think we can be a lot better and there’s a lot more to come, but as I’ve said to the players, we have to learn the lessons from the last few weeks. “We’ve taken steps forward already this season, and then shot ourselves in the foot and taken a few steps backwards. “What’s important is that we have another opportunity, having taken a n o t h e r step forw a r d t o d a y , and we have to w o r k doubly hard to m a k e sure that we build some more momentum in the next game and then keep adding to that and growing that confidence.
“If we can get that to grow, I think we all know what we’re capable of.”
Ipswich’s defeat was only their second in their last seven games, but Mick McCarthy’s side failed to force Middlesbrough goalkeeper Darren Randolph into a single meaningful save.
Nevertheless, the visitors had been frustrating their opponents until their failure to clear a Stewart Downing cross enabled Braithwaite to open the scoring from close range on the stroke of half-time.
Ipswich’s players then erred again at the start of the second half, allowing Bamford to ghost in from the right-hand side unchallenged before firing into the bottom corner.
McCarthy said: “I thought we let them off the hook in the 44th minute, and then we let them off the hook again six minutes into the second half.”