Middlesbrough vs Huddersfield Town. Sky Bet Championship.
Riverside StadiumAttendance25,313.
Report and highlights from the Sky Bet Championship clash at the Riverside Stadium
Thursday 26 December 2019 19:58, UK
Middlesbrough's recent renaissance continued as Djed Spence's first-half strike secured a 1-0 win over Huddersfield.
Jonathan Woodgate's side have claimed four home wins in a row to lift themselves away from the Sky Bet Championship relegation zone, with their latest success coming courtesy of Spence's first goal since stepping up to the first team at the start of the month.
Having secured a much-needed win over relegation rivals Stoke in their last game before Christmas, Boro started brightly as they looked to seize the early initiative against another side close to them in the bottom half of the table.
Marvin Johnson, who was preferred to fellow forward Stephen Walker, drove down the right-hand side in the opening five minutes, but while his cross fell invitingly for Hayden Coulson, the young full-back was unable to find the target with a drive that sailed over the crossbar.
Daniel Ayala also threatened in the opening stages, but while the centre-half rose effectively to meet Marcus Tavernier's free-kick at the back post, he was also unable to test Huddersfield goalkeeper Kamil Grabara.
Huddersfield's players gradually grew into the game, but the visitors' first opportunity came to nothing midway through the first half when Steve Mounie headed Karlan Grant's corner wide of the target at the back post.
Grant thought he should have had a penalty midway through the opening period, but referee Darren England waved away the striker's appeals after he was brushed aside by Ayala.
Huddersfield's frustrations increased eight minutes before the break, as Middlesbrough claimed the lead courtesy of one of the best passing moves of the game.
Tavernier released Ashley Fletcher into the left of the box, he slid a low cross across the face of the six-yard box, and an unmarked Spence swooped to slot home his first senior goal. Still just 19, the wing-back has made four Championship appearances since stepping up to the first team.
Huddersfield improved as they looked for an equaliser at the start of the second half, but Jon Gorenc-Stankovic passed up a glorious chance of a leveller shortly before the hour mark.
The defender was four yards out when he rose to meet Juninho Bacuna's corner, but his header sailed harmlessly over the bar.
Huddersfield wasted another excellent opportunity four minutes later, with Mounie replacing Stankovic as the guilty party inside the six-yard box.
The striker looked certain to score when Ayala and Jonny Howson both failed to cut out Elias Kachunga's cross, but he rushed his shot and blazed wastefully over.
Coulson and Fletcher wasted late chances to make things safe for Middlesbrough - the former failed to convert Spence's cross while the latter shot straight at Grabara when well-placed.
Middlesbrough's Jonathan Woodgate: "When you get opportunities you've got to take them, and Djed has done that. His future was maybe a little bit uncertain at the start of the season, but he certainly won't be going on loan in January now, that's for sure.
"You've got to be brave to do it. I could have put a left-sider on that side (instead of Spence at right wing-back), but you've got to be brave to make these decisions. I'll always go with core values, and one of those is, 'be brave in what you want to do'. I think that's paying dividends."
Huddersfield's Danny Cowley: "It was a tight game. I felt they started well, but we came into it and were able to get good control of the possession. We had to tweak how we wanted to play because Middlesbrough can be physically dominant with the three centre-halves.
"It wasn't ideal to lose Jonathan but in the second half I felt we had a good percentage of the possession and created two really good opportunities that, as the away team, if you want to get something, you have to take chances like that. It's the life of a No 9 I guess. Steve Mounie was the hero on Saturday getting the winner against Nottingham Forest, but today he was maybe slightly off balance and just wasn't able to take the chance."
