Middlesbrough 3-1 Queens Park Rangers: Kim Hellberg maintains perfect start with fourth win from four games

Kim Hellberg's perfect start to life as Middlesbrough head coach continued as his high-flying side earned a 3-1 Championship victory over QPR at the Riverside.

Hellberg has now won his first four matches since replacing Rob Edwards on Teesside, following in the footsteps of Bryan Robson to become only the second Boro boss to achieve the feat.

His side's latest success was thoroughly deserved and came courtesy of first-half goals from David Strelec and Morgan Whittaker and a second-half penalty from Tommy Conway.

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Nicolas Madsen also scored from the spot as he pulled a goal back for QPR, but Julien Stephan's side were well beaten as they suffered only a second defeat in their last six games.

Middlesbrough thought they should have been awarded a penalty in the opening two minutes, but QPR defender Amadou Mbengue just got a touch on the ball as he sent Conway sprawling after the Scotland striker had broken clear and nudged the ball past goalkeeper Paul Nardi.

Mbengue was involved again shortly after, sticking out a leg to deflect Conway's curled strike just wide of the post, but Boro's first-half dominance was rewarded when they opened the scoring on the half-hour mark.

Hayden Hackney's driving run and defence-splitting pass released Strelec between QPR's two centre-halves and the Slovakia international slotted a slick low finish past Nardi.

Strelec made it two goals in his last three games after also scoring at Hull, but the striker's good run is nothing compared to that of Whittaker.

The winger scored for the fifth game in a row at Charlton on Tuesday night and made it six in six when he doubled Boro's lead just six minutes after Strelec's opener.

Sol Brynn's quick thinking set him up, with the goalkeeper arrowing a long pass out to the left-hand side.

Whittaker, brimming with confidence at the moment, stepped inside Rhys Norrington-Davies and curled the ball into the bottom corner.

The visitors failed to threaten at all before the break and their afternoon became even more difficult when they conceded a third goal just five minutes into the second half.

Koki Saito brought down Callum Brittain as he stepped across the Middlesbrough full-back on the edge of the area, and Conway converted from the spot to claim his first goal since late August.

Brynn saved from Richard Kone as QPR finally stirred and the visitors pulled a goal back through a penalty of their own with 20 minutes remaining.

Brittain fouled Paul Smyth as the QPR winger broke into the left-hand side of the 18-yard box and Madsen successfully beat Brynn from the spot.

The managers

Middlesbrough's Kim Hellberg:

"Sometimes, I just looked at the players in the first half and thought, 'Wow, there is so much quality there'. There were so many situations where we showed so much quality.

"I think we had 76 per cent of the ball and it felt like such a quick game where we had so much control of it.

"We were very good in transition and the reaction was very good when we lost the ball.

"It is mainly because of having a lot of good players, who have been terrific.

"You have seen the quality they have and they deserve so much credit for getting a new coach in the middle of the season and dealing with it so well.

"You are always going to want to change some things, so for them to adapt and so quickly understand is unbelievable.

"I have a very good group of players and I can also see that so many of them have been taking their chances, that then pushes the group forward.

"It is not an easy job for a player to start the season, then have to switch when it is going well.

"The challenge for me was to use those things that were good, then try to get what I want into the team. Credit to the players for the way they have adapted."

QPR's Julien Stephan:

"I think we faced the best team we have played since the start of the season.

"In the first hour, they played very well collectively and technically. Physically, they were very strong, they won their duels.

"They were better than us and we lost because we played against a team stronger than us.

"It's very simply and easy to explain the result. We had a good reaction in the last 20 or 25 minutes, but I think the result is logical.

"We showed some character to react and after we scored the first goal, we had opportunities to create danger and score a second one.

"If that had happened, I would have liked to have seen the end of the game if it was 3-2 for the last 10 minutes.

"But, to be honest, they were stronger than us and we just have to accept the situation and see what will happen when we play against Middlesbrough again at home in March.

"Let's see what improvements we are able to do in order to compete against them in March."

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