Middlesbrough made it three straight wins on Tuesday night, with victory over Birmingham City.
Michael Carrick‘s side travelled to St Andrew’s, on a high after back to back wins over Norwich City and QPR in their last two games.
It was ‘Boro who would take the lead in this one as well. Riley McGree’s stunning long-range effort with 17 minutes on the clock opened the scoring against his former club.
That was enough to give Middlesbrough a 1-0 lead at half time, that was on the whole a deserved one.
Despite some considerable pressure from their hosts after the break, ‘Boro were able to hold on to advantage, and secure another big three points.
As a result, Middlesbrough are now 9th in the Championship table, five points adrift of the play-offs with nine games of the regular season to play.
Not surprisingly given the quality of the strike, that effort from McGree is one that has won plenty of praise.
Riley McGree praised for goal at Birmingham City
The goal from McGree proved to be a big moment for the Middlesbrough man on a personal level as well.
Not only did it come against one of his old teams, it was the first time he had got on the scoresheet since September.
That wait for a goal arguably made it even more impressive. After Luke Ayling did well to rob Alex Pritchard of possession, the right-back teed up McGree.
From around 25 yards out, the Middlesbrough midfielder then unleased an unstoppable left-footed strike into the top corner of the Birmingham City net.
Describing McGree’s strike in The Northern Echo‘s live coverage of the game at 8:06PM, journaliist Dom Shaw said:
“Luke Ayling – who has had a really positive start down that right side – dispossessed Pritchard and teed up McGree. Stunning hit. His first goal since September.”
A big moment for Middlesbrough
This does feel like it could prove to be a really significant moment in Middlesbrough’s season.
Of course, that goal has helped to make it three straight wins for Carrick’s side. That has ensured that they are still not out of the play-off race just yet.
Indeed, the form they are now in, thanks to this win, may give them hope that they can go on and claim a top six spot.
Beyond that, this goal should also be a huge confidence booster for McGree himself. After so long without a goal, this is a reminder of just what he can do.
According to SofaScore, McGree recorded an Expected Goals tally of just 0.09 during the game, highlighting how good his strike was.
The Middlesbrough midfielder also recorded an impressive 93% pass success rate, completing one key pass in the process.
He also completed two tackles and made one interception, and was involved in eight duels, contributing defensively as well in the process.
This therefore, was an impressive all-round performance from McGree, before he was substituted after 73 minutes. As a result, this is something he can now look to build on over the rest of the season.
If he can manage to do that, not least with the goal, then he could be a key player for Middlesbrough between now and the end of the season.