Michael Carrick insists Middlesbrough still in Championship play-off picture
MICHAEL CARRICK insisted Middlesbrough’s play-off hopes were not done after they failed to find the “quality” needed to overcome Norwich City.
After the goalless tussle at the Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough’s play-off hopes are now hanging by a thread after a run of just one win in their last five games.
Carrick’s side have slipped to ninth in the table and to get into the top six now need to beat Coventry City on the final day and hope Millwall and Blackburn Rovers fail to win.
“We’ll be lifted for the final day, don’t worry about that,” insisted Carrick.
“It’s natural to feel disappointed but there’s still a lot at stake. The season isn’t done by any stretch.”
“We just couldn’t quite find that bit of spark or moment really against Norwich. I can’t fault the boys for their effort – they’re out on their feet there at the end trying.
“We just couldn’t quite find that goal we needed. We just needed one to drop for us or to find that one moment of quality to create something and put a chance away.
“When we needed it most, we just couldn’t quite find it.”
Norwich looked much improved under former Arsenal and England midfielder Jack Wilshere and created the better of the chances.
Boro were first to threaten when Hayden Hackney’s curling shot from outside the box was tipped around the post by Angus Gunn.
Norwich had their first sight of the Boro goal when Jack Stacey broke away down the right but his cross was cut out by home captain Jonny Howson.
The Canaries threatened again when Jacob Wright took aim and fired just over the bar from 25 yards.
Boro’s Finn Azaz saw his shot well blocked by Callum Doyle before top scorer Tommy Conway forced a good save out of Gunn.
Boro keeper Mark Travers denied substitute Liam Gibbs shortly after the hour mark and then made a superb double save to keep out a curling effort from Borja Sainz and Josh Sargent’s rebound.
Gunn got fingertips to Aidan Morris’ precise strike to tip it onto a post but it was Norwich who went closest to finding the winning goal when Sargent broke away down the right and hit the outside of the far post.
Middlesbrough: Travers, Dijksteel, Fry, Howson, Iling-Junior (Giles 78), Hackney, Morris, Whittaker (Burgzorg 78), Iheanacho (Forss 61), Azaz, Conway. Unused substitutes: Glover, Barlaser, Edmundson, Lenihan, Borges, McCabe. Norwich City: Gunn, McConville (Sorensen 74), Duffy, Doyle (Cordoba 74), McLean, Wright (Forson 88), B Slimane (Gibbs 61), Stacey, Nunez (Schwartau 74), Sainz, Sargent. Unused substitutes: Reyes, Myles, Hernandez, Jones.
Referee: Dean Whitestone (Northamptonshire).