Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick was pleased with his side’s defensive performance as they made it back-to-back Championship wins with a 1-0 victory over West Brom.
The visitors were a constant threat and the Baggies had goalkeeper Alex Palmer to thank as he denied Finn Azaz, Emmanuel Latte Lath and Ben Doak to keep the game goalless.
Boro had to wait until the 74th minute for the winner courtesy of Hayden Hackney’s wonderfully-placed finish from outside the box.
Victory moves Carrick’s side up to sixth, while West Brom fell to back-to-back defeats for the first time this campaign.
Carrick said: “We had to be at our best and I thought we were.
“This one had a bit of an extra edge, it’s a tough place to come. We haven’t had much success here the couple of times I’ve been here and they’re a good team and will be up near the top come the end of the season.
“We looked dangerous and had chances early on, it was a fantastic goal when it came and I thought the lads got their rewards for all their good play.
“It’s (the clean sheet) as pleasing as anything. As a team we are all buying into it, all working for each other. To have success in this league you have to defend well, tonight was for the boys to show the importance of the other side of our game.”
Hackney notched his second goal in as many games, which Carrick was also pleased to see.
“He’s adding to his game all the time and he’s having a good spell at the moment, you can see that,” Carrick added.
“That level of confidence and personality, he doesn’t say an awful lot but shows personality when he’s on the pitch.
“We are trying to help him, develop him and improve his level – as a midfielder it can be dangerous chasing goals and next opportunities, but that will come with good play.
“He got the decisions spot on and he arrived at the right time to get his goal off the back of good play.”
West Brom did not manage a shot on target in the second half as they failed to score for the first time since a goalless draw with Leeds in August.
Baggies boss Carlos Corberan said: “It’s important for us to improve on this because we didn’t find a clear chance or right way to finish our attacks.
“I believe in the quality of my players but this is a question we need to find the answer to. We didn’t do enough good things and didn’t finish our attacks well today.
“We didn’t find a way to create the same danger as them.
“I think our team is capable of competing in games, even in the ones we have lost it’s been by one which means we are close.”
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