Middlesbrough FC boss Kim Hellberg salutes 'impressive 60 minutes' despite 3-0 loss to Crystal Palace
Kim Hellberg has reflected on Middlesbrough’s 3-0 Carabao Cup loss to Crystal Palace
Middlesbrough boss Kim Hellberg felt his side delivered an impressive 60 minutes during their 3-0 loss to Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup.
A trip to Premier League side Palace was the reward for wins over Wrexham and Doncaster Rovers, but it proved to be a step too far for second-tier Boro.
They bowed out at the third-round stage last night (September 8), seeing Palace emerge victorious with a Jorgen Strand Larsen brace and a Daichi Kamada effort.
Kim Hellberg’s verdict
Hellberg said: “It’s always tough when you lose a game 3-0 when it’s about scoring goals. But if you look at the performance, that was quite an impressive 60 minutes away from home against a Premier League side.
“We got into a lot of good positions on the pitch, more than them, but their quality around those areas and what they did there was nice.
“There are very few teams that go to the Premier League sides and take control of the game, which I think we did.
“We tried to play our best football and we did that very well. We were very good in long spells and matched the Premier League side with intensity and how we pressed, bravery on the ball and played through them a lot of times.
“But in those moments, we weren’t good enough to create more out of it, even if we had some good chances to score.”
Pierre Sage reflects
The hosts started slowly at Selhurst Park but Eagles boss Pierre Sage was pleased with the way in which his side recovered.
He said: “We didn’t play well at the beginning of the game and we started to play when we scored the first goal. It was a good collective action.
“We controlled the ball at this moment. At the end, we scored. It’s a good sign. During the first half, I was not very happy with our way of defending.
“We struggled when they played between our lines, but we corrected this kind of thing during half-time.
“It was better in the second half and we were able to score. We didn’t have possession, but they’re a good team. I want to congratulate them, they played well.”