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Middlesbrough head coach Kim Hellberg(Image: Will Cooper\/Shutterstock)<\/p>\nNext-day analysis as Middlesbrough lost 2-0 at Bristol CityMiddlesbrough head coach Kim Hellberg(Image: Will Cooper\/Shutterstock)<\/p>\n
It was mixed emotions for Kim Hellberg as his perfect start as Middlesbrough head coach came to an end at Bristol City.<\/p>\n
There was obvious disappointment and frustration to have lost 2-0, as Boro\u2019s rotten run at Ashton Gate continued. And yet, in a feeling he described as weird because of the disappointment of losing, there was a sense of pride and contentment in the performance.<\/p>\n
For Hellberg, that full-time feeling was strengthened as he and his players headed to the away end to say thank you to Boro\u2019s amazing travelling supporters.<\/p>\n
Rather than disappointment or anger from Boro fans after watching a defeat so far from home, to the surprise of no one like myself who has experienced Boro fans react to defeats of this nature on the road before, they sang loud and applauded the players for their efforts.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was a very beautiful moment in a tough, disappointing place,\u201d Hellberg said after. \u201cThat was such a beautiful moment after the game where it was massive support from our supporters.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe players were very, very disappointed in the locker room, but I cannot be disappointed how they tried to play this game. It\u2019s impossible for me. I\u2019m proud of them. Then we need to work on some things and become better and improve.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ultimately, it was just one of those days for Boro where not a lot dropped for them. Despite their best efforts, and that included 20 shots at goal, they just didn\u2019t quite find that final killer pass, or that finish in the critical moment.<\/p>\n
Ifs, buts and maybes of course, but Morgan Whittaker hitting the post and having multiple efforts blocked, Hayden Hackney having one cleared off the line, Alex Gilbert seeing another low piledriver tipped around the post, numerous low balls flashed across the box without that decisive touch. All moments where, on another day, Boro might have turned the game in their favour.<\/p>\n
Hellberg said: \u201cA coach I look up to once told me, \u2018You can only decide how you want to look when you lose\u2019. You win or lose in football, that happens.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery team will lose games. But how you lose games, how you fight through the game, that, you can decide yourself. I\u2019m proud of that part – how we looked and battled over 90 minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was the pleasing aspect of the defeat at Bristol City. It didn\u2019t quite come off for Boro, but this was by no means a poor performance. This wasn\u2019t the manner of previous away defeats at Portsmouth or Watford, where it was hard to make a case against their fate being justified.<\/p>\n
Certainly in terms of attacking performance, this wasn\u2019t too far removed from the past three victories under Hellberg. The only thing missing this time was that clinical touch to change the game.<\/p>\n
What this wasn\u2019t in comparison to Hull, Charlton and QPR was controlled out of possession. Hellberg conceded after that his side didn\u2019t quite get their counter marking right, and were maybe a little too eager to win the ball back.<\/p>\n
It was in this aspect of the game that they were poor, and the result was Boro being wide open to counter attacks. Though both soft, the two goals ultimately came from quick Bristol City transitions.<\/p>\n
Sol Brynn will know he should have saved Emil Riis\u2019 18th-minute effort, but the warning signs of Bristol\u2019s early counter attacks were there.<\/p>\n
The second was a bit more to do with circumstance as the hosts switched to a back three ten minutes after the restart. Boro started the second half so brightly and threatened an equaliser.<\/p>\n
As the Robins increasingly dropped deeper and deeper to offer Boro less space, the onus was on Hellberg\u2019s side to pile the pressure on. Counter launched, Sinclair Armstrong forced an excellent save from Brynn, only for Rob Atkinson to get a simple header from the resulting corner. Two lapses in concentration punished.<\/p>\n
Hellberg said: \u201cBristol are a team that is very good at pressing. We were very good in handling their press, which means that we were in control of the game from my point of view. We can be in control of the game in a lot of different ways.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut in the transition, I think we had some bad positioning in terms of opening up for them. We were maybe a bit too eager.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think, if you look at the first half, if I would pick one side in terms of possibilities to score, I think we had a lot of opportunities to score and I think we had maybe better opportunities, maybe.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo in the way we play, in the way we act, there\u2019s some things that always have to be better. But, I\u2019m proud of the performance. In my opinion, we were playing how we wanted it to be played. Then there were some things that we needed to do better.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s ultimately a fair summary. This was by no means a disaster. Hellberg\u2019s Boro were never going to win every game. But this wasn\u2019t a poor defeat by any means.<\/p>\n
What it does, however, is provide the self-professed \u2018football nerd\u2019 with something to go away and analyse, and then put right. Hopefully, there\u2019s a great response in front of a sold-out Riverside on Boxing Day when Blackburn Rovers visit.<\/p>\n
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