Momentum and consistency needed to grab top-six spot

Garry Monk’s side ruined Mick McCarthy’s half-time team talk AS the fourth official readied his board down near the tunnel, Mick McCarthy will have been planning his half-time team talk in which the message will surely have been “More of the same, lads”.

For 44 minutes, Ipswich had stuck to their plan. Every time Boro got the ball, blue shirts got themselves into shape and effectively said “Go on then, have a crack at breaking us down”.

And Boro couldn’t. They tried. But they couldn’t. Ipswich’s back four plus the two very deep defensive midfield players were more than happy to invite Boro on, safe in the knowledge they could cope. And they did. Other than one occasion in which Britt Assombalonga managed to get in behind and called keeper Bart Bialkowski into action, Boro struggled to break down a team that had only been outscored by Wolves in the Championship before a ball was kicked but who headed to the Riverside to frustrate.

The odd moan or groan that started to creep in from the stands suggested the Tractor Boys were doing exactly that.

But then, from nothing, from nowhere, Martin Braithwaite struck, pouncing on a loose ball after a Stewart Downing cross wasn’t dealt with and hammering home his fourth goal of the season.

It was scrappy but what does that matter? For the timing and the importance of this one moment can’t be understated, both in terms of this game and perhaps the season.

Put simply, this was a game Boro had to win. After two dismal, disheartening and “unacceptable” defeats on the bounce, Boro had to bounce back. They had to give themselves something to build on. They had to give fans something to cheer about. Who knows, under pressure Monk, perhaps, had to give himself some breathing space.

And the longer this game went on goalless, the more anxious and edgy the Riverside – and in turn the players – would have grown. That’s what McCarthy will have been hoping for. That’s what his game plan was all about.

In grabbing that timely opener, though, Braithwaite ripped McCarthy’s plan from his hands and tore it up just seconds before the break. And he also settled the home side down. We’ve seen it before this season, haven’t we, Boro look a different team, free of the shackles and the pressure and the weight of expectation, when they get that first goal. That’s eight wins from eight now after going 1-0 up. And after getting their noses in front here, it was easy. Or they made it look that way.

In the second half, there was a composure about Boro that we haven’t seen in recent weeks. There was composure and class from Patrick Bamford as he struck the goal that put the game truly out of Ipswich’s reach. And after that, Boro managed it well. That’s something else we haven’t seen at times this season.

Defensively, they looked far more assured than they did against Derby and Bristol City.

In the middle of the park, they looked far more dominant than they did against Derby and Bristol City. Grant Leadbitter had a lot to do with that . And up top, they were clinical. So yes, it’s a start. It’s something to build on, which hopefully Boro will be able to do by picking up, at very minimum, four points from the next six available at Millwall and Sheffield Wednesday. With that gap to the play-offs at five points, Boro can’t afford to win one in three and offer hope without building on it. They need momentum and consistency. They need to go on a run.

If – and let’s not get carried away – they manage to do that, Monk and Boro will look back on this Ipswich victory as hugely important. One moment in