Middlesbrough v Bristol City: Boro need late-season game-changer in mould of Uwe Fuchs and Jordan Rhodes

There was another classic example on Wednesday evening.

For the uninitiated, the above phrase - long since part of the club lexicon - was coined to collectively describe the litany of episodes where Boro, from a position of strength with virtually everything in their favour ahead of facing unfancied opponents, contrive to spurn a big opportunity, sometimes badly and occasionally in infamous fashion.

The historic examples? Try a mid-table top-tier side messing up a chance to reach the semi-finals of the FA Cup for the first time ever against a mid-table second-tier opponent (Orient 1978). Or Boro's Premier League version losing at home in a cup quarter-final against a Championship mid-tabler (Cardiff 2009) to miss out on Wembley.

And what about blowing the chance of automatic promotion to the top-flight on the final day of the season at home to a team with absolutely nothing to play for. (Leicester 1988).

There's several others too in fairness.

But back to the present. Several Boro sages might just have uttered that aforesaid phrase when their side - after two stellar away performances - lost out to visiting Charlton on Wednesday and spurned a huge chance to put daylight between them and several top-two rivals.

Maddening, it came after previously dropping home points against two others at the wrong end of the table in Oxford and Leicester. Typical Boro.

These three aforementioned games haven't necessarily showcased a Boro side particularly suffering from a bout of stage-fright, that said. They have showcased one who have recently displayed the propensity to float like a butterfly and sting like one on Teesside.

Boro mustered 75 goal attempts against Oxford, Leicester and Charlton, but scored just twice against opponents who have successfully stymied them with low defensive blocks.

It's also happened earlier this season - Hull on December 29 for one - and they can expect more of the same. So what has to change?

Head coach Kim Hellberg said: "We change every game. If you watch the game from a tactical point of view, it's been different set-ups in all those three games.

"Sometimes you see them, sometimes you don't. There are different positional spaces and set-ups.

"From what we created, it would be stupid to do something else (fundamentally different). If you're creating that much, the performance is good in many ways, You just need to score the goals and that's what you need to look at all the time to try to find solutions.

"We try to find more ways of scoring goals. Against low blocks, high blocks or whatever, there's no team creating more chances than us. That's what you can control, then you also need to put it in between the posts and that's a smaller area. It's how we put our best players into finishing in most positions."

In several of Boro's successful promotion campaigns of yore from the second-tier level, they have been indebted to a late-season catalyst from a forward to help them get over the line.

A decade ago, it was Jordan Rhodes, who scored six times in the run-in of 2015-16. In Bryan Robson's first season in charge in 1994-95, a big German forward called Uwe Fuchs assumed cult-hero status for boosting Boro's charge and also scoring some vital goals.

Boro could do with someone stepping up now from the shadows. Perhaps Jeremy Sarmiento, a two-time promotion winner at this level, or maybe fit-again Leo Castledine, who scored 12 times in the first half of the season on loan at Huddersfield Town.

Hellberg said: "I think Jeremy is now starting to get up to speed.

"We've worked with him for a period since he arrived (now), when he was coming from not playing football at all and almost not training and not playing any games.

"He's done some brilliant performances, especially coming in from the bench. He's had one start where he benefited from that, so he's getting better and better. He will be very, very important for us.

"With Leo, you can see the quality he has in getting the chances. He's a top finisher and a young player who is very fun to work with, so he will be important for us and it's good to have him back from an injury that was longer than we thought.

To add to Boro's angst this week, their next opponents are a bogey side who - while lying in mid-table - thoroughly enjoy facing them.

Bristol City have won their last five league fixtures against the Teessiders. All told they have triumphed in 16 out of 27 meetings in games in the 21st century, losing just six.

Robins striker Emile Riis also has a liking for Boro. The Dane has scored eight times in his last nine games against them, incorporating his time at former club Preston.