Middlesbrough made a welcome return to winning ways on Wednesday night.
Having won just one of their last seven league games going into the midweek round of fixtures, Michael Carrick‘s side were in need of three points from this game.
That is something they were able to secure, coming from 1-0 down to beat Norwich City 3-1 at The Riverside Stadium.
Thanks to that win, Middlesbrough have now climbed to 12th in the Championship table, nine points clear of the relegation zone.
There were a number of impressive performances for ‘Boro in that win. One of the most notable of those, came from Jonny Howson in the centre of midfield.
Jonny Howson delivers a big performance
Howson came back into the Middlesbrough starting XI on Wednesday, and was involved in the game’s key flashpoint.
With half an hour on the clock, and Norwich City leading 1-0, Howson was involved in a 50/50 challenge with winger Borja Sainz.
The fall out from that saw Sainz sent off for apparently kicking out at the Middlesbrough man.
After that, the hosts took control to score three goals without reply, turning the game around and picking up a big win. However, it was not just with the red card that Howson made his mark on the game.
Writing about Howson’s performance in the game, the Teeside Gazette said:
“Instrumental on his return from injury. He proved why even though he approaches 36, he is still so important to Boro. Even during an opening 30 minutes that weren’t going well for Boro, he was the one driving his side to be better with his own example. A real leader’s display.”
As a result, the Middlesbrough captain was given a rating of 8/10 for his latest performance against Norwich City.
Indeed, according to SofaScore, Howson recorded an 88% pass success rate in Wednesday night’s game.
He was also a combative presence in the centre of the park during that match. The Middlesbrough man won both of the two duels he was involved in against Norwich City.
Furthermore, the veteran midfielder also contributed with two clearances, one interception and one blocked shot while he was on the pitch on Wednesday.
Middlesbrough have big Jonny Howson call to make
This was an excellent performance from Howson, at a time when his side needed it badly.
That is made all the more impressive by the fact that Carrick had suggested last week he would not be fit for this match.
To come back ahead of schedule and do such a job for Middlesbrough, is therefore something Howson deserves huge credit for.
It does however, leave Carrick with a rather big decision to make for the weekend.
With a trip to Loftus Road to face in-form QPR to come on Saturday, Howson is a player they will surely want available for this game on the back of that performance.
But having just returned from injury, there may be questions about whether Middlesbrough can risk him after such a short turnaround.
It will therefore be interesting to see just what sort of role Howson does play at the weekend.