Peterborough 0-4 Middlesbrough: Boro boost play-off hopes with emphatic win

Middlesbrough began their Championship run-in with a bang as they brushed aside relegation-bound Peterborough 4-0 to climb into the play-off places.

Marcus Tavernier's first-half opener set Chris Wilder's men on their way to a second consecutive away win before Folarin Balogun doubled the lead soon after the break.

Josh Coburn and Duncan Watmore then jumped off the bench with goals to join the party as Boro moved into the top six in style.

Two teams with very different objectives, but a shared requirement for victory, served up a terrific opening period and the only surprise was it produced just one goal.

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That breakthrough went the way of Boro as Tavernier steered a fine strike from the edge of the box past Dai Cornell in the 26th minute.

His third goal of the season arrived after Paddy McNair laid the ball perfectly into his path.

Defender McNair had been Boro's saviour at the other end moments earlier when racing back to clear an ambitious 50-yard strike from Jack Marriott after keeper Joe Lumley's dash out of his area backfired.

Lumley redeemed himself with a reaction save from debutant Posh defender Emmanuel Fernandez - a 20-year-old former non-league player - and the Boro number one also denied Jonson Clarke-Harris from point-blank range on the stroke of the interval.

By then Balogun should have doubled the visitors' advantage when seeing a shot cleared off the line by defender Josh Knight.

That was a second crucial contribution from Knight, who had thrown himself in the way of a goalbound Matt Crooks shot when the contest was still deadlocked.

But Middlesbrough - and indeed Balogun - didn't have to wait too long to strike again as their second goal arrived only four minutes into the second half when the England Under-21 ace pounced at the back post.

A third goal in his last four Championship outings - following a midweek brace on international duty - provided another example of Balogun's predatory instincts and highlighted the flaws of the worst defence in the Championship as Knight and Fernandez failed to deal with Jonny Howson's chipped cross.

Further damage was inflicted by two Boro substitutes late on as they enjoyed an excellent away day while Posh returned to the bottom of the table.

Watmore darted down the left in the 82nd minute and cut into the box to put a tap-in on a plate for fellow replacement Coburn before getting in on the act himself by racing clear and thumping a fine finish past Cornell in the 90th minute.

It was perfect preparation for Boro ahead of a series of crucial clashes against the Championship top three - Fulham, Bournemouth and Huddersfield - this month.

Meanwhile, Posh's days at this level are surely numbered.

What the managers said...

Peterborough's Grant McCann: "It's a proper learning curve for us. We have to lick our wounds and go again. The result is a kick in the teeth but we can't complain if we make the mistakes we did. We had the better of the chances in the first half against a team right in the mix trying to get promoted. But we gave them all three of their goals in the second half and you get punished in the Championship for things like that.

"The number of goals the club has conceded this season is ridiculous and it's something we have to iron out. We lacked any sort of conviction, energy and purpose in that second half and that's unrecognisable from what I've seen from us lately. We'll have to learn from it and move on. We get paid to pick the players up and we're not giving up."

Middlesbrough's Chris Wilder: "We're in a good position and we're fighting to try to get back into the big time. I don't think anyone should back away from that thought process. It's a good day for us getting a result in a difficult arena and now it's important we carry that on. Coming to Peterborough was never going to be as straightforward as some people made it out to be - especially with a defeat at Barnsley still quite fresh in our minds. Our attitude and mentality were really good and they had to be.

"We got a bit sloppy for 10 minutes late in the first half when we couldn't extend our lead and also gave Peterborough a glimmer. But the second goal was huge at the start of the second half and we were then able to bring some good players off the bench to get goals when the game was open."

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