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Kim Hellberg’s determination to succeed as Middlesbrough manager runs deep. So deep that he decided it would be best if his wife and two small children spent Christmas in their native Sweden while he continued to put in long days on Teesside.
Given that the Hellberg family will soon be reunited in a new home in North Yorkshire and Blackburn’s visit represented the first of four games in nine days it seemed a sensible sacrifice – even if such pragmatism failed to pay the desired Boxing Day dividends. The former Hammarby head coach had hoped to celebrate the completion of his first month in charge at the Riverside after succeeding the Wolves bound Rob Edwards with three points but Blackburn, and their irrepressible midfielder Todd Cantwell in particular, had different ideas.
While this draw keeps Boro second in the Championship, eight points behind the leaders Coventry, it raised question marks about the long-term suitability of Hellberg’s narrow 4-2-2-2 formation.
Before last weekend’s 2-0 defeat at Bristol City, the 37-year-old had presided over four straight wins and Boro appeared to be turning into wingless wonders. Here though his preferred configuration looked overly compact and a system built on plenty of slick, short, sharp one and two-touch passing through midfield malfunctioned a little.
Admittedly the resultant congestion probably helped limit Cantwell’s room for manoeuvre behind Blackburn’s front two but he remained influential enough to make longstanding home fans pine for a Stuart Ripley or a Stewart Downing offering an outlet down the wings.
Boro’s own attacks were invariably constructed in central areas and, although players naturally drifted wide at times the resultant lack of crosses often made life relatively straightforward for Valérien Ismaël’s back five.
Hellberg preferred to blame the execution of his gameplan rather than the blueprint itself. “I think we passed the ball too much instead of driving forward,” said Edwards’s impressive, eloquent replacement. “The performance was not good enough. We didn’t deserve more than a draw. But that’s life, you have days that are tough.”
Ismaël’s post-match delight certainly seemed a testament to Boro’s potential. “It was tough, as we expected, but we played a great away game,” said Blackburn’s manager. “I think Middlesbrough might be the best side we’ve faced so far this season in possession but we managed that well. I’m very proud of the boys. We just needed to be more clinical in the final third.”
Indeed Ismaël’s side would have taken a late first-half counter attacking lead had Yuki Ohashi not dragged his shot wide at a moment when Hellberg’s defence had come completely undone.
Suitably stung, Boro were very nearly ahead themselves a couple of minutes later after David Strelec and Hayden Hackney conjured a fine break that concluded with Morgan Whittaker watching in disbelief as his right foot shot rebounded off the inside of a post.
Hellberg liberated Sverre Nypan’s midfield skills from the bench at the outset of the second half but the 19-year-old Manchester City loanee and Norway international was eclipsed by Cantwell’s increasing vision and determination.
The former Norwich and Rangers creator has recently recovered from injury and wore an enormous bandage on his already heavily strapped right knee but he refused to allow it to weigh him down.
Cantwell’s cause was helped by the introduction of Moussa Baradji in the heart of the Rovers midfield. On for the injured Ryoya Morishita, the Frenchman delighted in reducing Hackney’s control in the centre of the pitch.
Tellingly, a clearly frustrated Hackney seemed fortunate to be shown a yellow rather than a red card after kicking out aggressively at Taylor Gardner-Hickman with the ball long gone.
Granted Blackburn did not force Boro’s goalkeeper, Sol Brynn into a single significant save, let alone take advantage of the injury-induced withdrawal of three home defenders in Alfie Jones, George Edmundson and the Newcastle loanee Matt Targett but the way they stifled Boro’s creativity bodes well for Ismaël’s future.
On this evidence his improving Rovers should soon allay any lingering fears of a springtime relegation skirmish but Boro may arguably need to adopt a slightly less one-dimensional approach when Hull visit Teesside on Monday night.
