Michael Carrick was pleased to see Isaiah Jones “light up” the Riverside Stadium by helping Middlesbrough beat Hull 3-1 and move to the brink of securing a Championship play-off spot.
Fourth-placed Boro effectively secured a top-six finish as they boast a considerably superior goal difference to Millwall who are nine points behind with three games left to play.
By recovering from falling behind to a Allahyar Sayyadmanesh header four minutes before half-time to claim the points, Boro also kept alive faint hopes of catching second-placed Sheffield United.
When Carrick changed Middlesbrough’s approach after the interval by throwing on speedy winger Jones and Anfernee Dijksteel, it did not take long before they levelled.
Hayden Hackney converted from Jones’ cross in the 55th minute and less than three minutes later Cameron Archer added the second with a sweet finish from a tight angle.
Just after the hour Jones laid on Chuba Akpom’s 29th goal of the season as he became the first player to score in nine consecutive Championship home games.
Carrick said: “Funnily enough we started the game pretty well, we got a couple of chances, looked in good shape, but we lost our intensity.
“We spoke about how good a team they were and if we weren’t on it they could play through us. We weren’t as positive as we have been, a little unsure.
“But we backed ourselves in the second half, they trusted themselves a bit more, the penetration and the chances came a bit more.
“We all want to see what Isaiah is capable of and I’m delighted to see him light up the stadium and get his rewards. We have seen he is back to himself around the place. It is nice to see.
“And I love to see lads fulfilling what they are capable of, like Chuba. Winning matches is brilliant but seeing players enjoying it and understanding how good they can be gives me great satisfaction.”
Hull, who sit 16th, could not come to terms with Middlesbrough’s second-half improvements despite starting the game confidently and being deserving of the lead at the break.
Tigers boss Liam Rosenior said: “They are a very good team with outstanding individual players, like Cameron Archer, Chuba Akpom.
“I think Middlesbrough will get promoted this season.
“The frustrating thing for me, since we joined, is that I can see improvements, but we are not taking advantage and that becomes a mentality issue.
“I am not pointing the finger at players, and next season I will put pressure on myself to improve the mentality of the group to deal with pressure moments.
“And if you can bring on Isaiah Jones… Look, Michael has done a magnificent job. It was an outstanding match for the Championship, with two teams trying to play the right way.
“I have three strikers sat at home watching on Sky, those are the margins that can make a difference.
“As disappointed as I am with the result, I can still stand on that touchline and be proud of how far we have come. I have a lot of work in the summer to improve the mentality of the team.”
