Middlesbrough FC boss Kim Hellberg admits to 'problems' for his side after defeat to Charlton Athletic
Kim Hellberg admitted his Middlesbrough side have “problems” with scoring at home after their 1-0 defeat to Charlton Athletic.
The Addicks visited the Riverside last night (March 11), emerging as surprise 1-0 winners courtesy of a Conor Coady goal.
It put a huge dent in Middlesbrough’s Championship promotion hopes, as Coventry City extended their lead at the top to eight points and third-placed Millwall are now hot on Boro heels.
Middlesbrough are now without a win in three home games, with just one goal having been registered across those fixtures.
Kim Hellberg’s admission
Hellberg said: “It’s been two points from three games at home, which is of course not the standard we want to have.
“It’s been games we are creating a lot of opportunities, we don’t let the opposition create many things.
“There was a free-kick against Leicester and a throw-in today. We conceded little in open play and now it’s been two set-play goals and we haven’t converted all the opportunities we had to score.
“That is frustrating. We scored seven in two games against tough opponents away and we don’t today.
“It’s difficult to know where you should put your frustrations because we’re doing everything we can, creating a lot of opportunities, just for the moment, we have problems scoring at home.”
Nathan Jones reflects on big win for Charlton Athletic
17th-placed Charlton saw little of the ball as Middlesbrough dominated, but their manager Nathan Jones believes the result will breed confidence.
He said: “It will give them confidence, but they trust the structure. We’ve had a bit of a chequered season because for the first 15 games we were top six, but then we had really bad injuries, key injuries and that coincided with a group of fixtures of Boro at home, Southampton at home, Stoke away, Ipswich and all the top teams in form.
“And we got hurt, we really did. We’re getting people back now, we’ve strengthened in the window. We’ve regrouped a little bit and started to move forward.
“It could’ve been so different if we hadn’t had those injuries but we trust our structure, trust what we do and nights like tonight reiterate what we’re built on.
“Can we get better? Absolutely. Will we get better? Definitely. But we have to enjoy the wins when you can because a Championship win for a newly-promoted side, any one is vital.”