Middlesbrough coach Tony Pulis was pleased to see his table-toppers bounce back from defeat with victory over Sheffield Wednesday – but says they still need to improve in front of goal.
Boro, beaten 2-0 at home by Nottingham Forest in their last match before the international break, got their promotion bid back on track with a 2-1 win at Hillsborough on Friday night.
Goals from Muhamed Besic and Britt Assombalonga at the start of the second half set the visitors on their way and, despite Adam Reach pulling one back, they held on for a victory that moves them above Sheffield United and into first place on goal difference.
Pulis was happy to see his side’s response to the Forest setback, but admits they still have areas of their game they need to work on.
He said of his team: “They were better today, they were brighter. Looking back at the Forest game I’ve got to take some stick myself.
“They’re really responded. The disappointing thing is we do so well up to the final third and we have chances that we don’t turn into goals.
“We should have scored three or four goals tonight and we’ve got to improve in the final third to make us a better team.”
Besic fired home the opener after 49 minutes, before turning provider Assombalonga to net his 50th Championship goal on his return to the starting line-up.
Former Boro man Reach got Wednesday back into the game with a volley from 18 yards out, but the visitors remained resolute at the back and held on for all three points.
Pulis believes it was a deserved win and singled out Besic and Stewart Downing for special praise.
He said: “I’ve got a lot of time for Mo. I think on his day he’s as good as anything in this league.
“He and Stewart at times were sublime.
“To come here and win was very good and I thought we were by far the better team.”
Boro may be setting the pace right now, but the former Stoke and West Brom boss is well aware that a 46-game regular season can take its toll on teams in the Championship and had a word of warning to the powers that be.
He said: “The Championship wants to get better and it is getting better. There are young players coming in from the Premier League and they’re getting call-ups for international football.
“What has got to happen is that the Championship have got to recognise that they can’t play the amount of games they’re playing and have the quality to take this league up again.”
Wednesday manager Jos Luhukay felt his side did not help themselves after conceding twice in six minutes just after half-time.
He said: “It was what we expected, a very difficult game with a high intensity.
“In the first half Middlesbrough had no chances and we had two or three to get a goal – but we didn’t.
“Middlesbrough profited from mistakes in our defending. Then it’s difficult to come back, they don’t give many chances away.
“But we made it to 2-1 and in the last 10 minutes perhaps you need luck to make it 2-2.
“When we see the game back and see the goals back, maybe we can see that we could get a draw.
“We could not win today. In possession we were not strong enough and not good enough to cause Middlesbrough problems.
“We now have three days to find the physical side and the mental side to hopefully find a way back to success against Queens Park Rangers.”
