Middlesbrough 2 Rotherham United 0: Boro enjoy maximum reward as Millers toil

Middlesbrough manager Aitor Karanka was relieved fourth-placed Boro bagged maximum points after the top three Championship sides all recorded victories.
Middlesbrough manager Aitor Karanka.Middlesbrough manager Aitor Karanka.
Middlesbrough manager Aitor Karanka.

Karanka said: “We have to keep winning the games and we have to keep going in these final four games. We have to concentrate on ourselves.

“If we win four games we’ll get promotion but it’s very difficult to do that.”

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Second-half goals by Lee Tomlin and Patrick Bamford ensured Boro’s 14th home win of the season. However, it should have been more. The Teesside club missed a string of chances, and Bamford squandered a stoppage-time penalty.

“I don’t know how many chances we created to score,” added Karanka. “It could have been 5-0 in the end but the most important thing is that we won.”

Rotherham created a handful of half-chances but struggled at the Riverside.

Assistant manager Paul Raynor said: “We kept giving the ball back to them. If you do that against a good quality side they’re going to hurt you.

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“We made a cardinal error for their first goal and got punished for it. Lee Tomlin’s a good player and he’s got the quality to tuck that kind of chance away.”

The Millers remain seven points above the relegation places and Raynor added: “We can’t rely on others, we’ve got to look after ourselves. If we can stay in this division and establish ourselves we’ll get better, but this season is about survival now.”

Middlesbrough: Konstantopoulos, Kalas, Gibson, Ayala (Woodgate 70), Friend, Clayton (Whitehead 79), Forshaw, Adomah, Tomlin (Nsue 85), Bamford, Garcia. Unused substitutes: Amorebieta, Ripley, Vossen, Wildschut.

Rotherham United: Martinez, Hunt, Broadfoot, Wood, Lafferty, Smallwood, Arnason (Frecklington 69), Bowery, Green (Sammon 76),Hammill, Derbyshire (Ward 59). Unused substitutes: Milsom, Newton, Pringle, Collin.

Referee: I Williamson (Berkshire).