![\"Kim](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0_Middlesbrough-v-Portsmouth-Sky-Bet-Championship-Football-Riverside-Stadium-Middlesbrough-UK-1.jpg\")
<\/p>\nKim Hellberg’s verdict as Middlesbrough lost 1-0 to Portsmouth<\/p>\n
Kim Hellberg, head coach of Middlesbrough(Image: Richard Lee\/Shutterstock)<\/p>\n
Kim Hellberg pulled no punches in a scathing post-match press conference after Middlesbrough<\/a>\u2019s 1-0 defeat to Portsmouth.<\/p>\n Clearly angered by the nature of his side\u2019s 1-0 defeat at home to Portsmouth, the Boro<\/a> boss described his side\u2019s first half in particular as \u2018like watching paint dry\u2019, describing it as a \u2018terrible\u2019 and \u2018boring\u2019 performance.<\/p>\n The Riverside loss was a sixth straight game without a win for Boro, and leaves their automatic promotion chances in tatters. It was another game where they had all the ball, and conceded so few chances, but failed to do much with it in the final third.<\/p>\n Pompey\u2019s 96th-minute winner was their first shot on target, and came via Conor Chaplin deflecting what had been a poor initial effort from Adrian Segecic into the back of the net for the ultimate smash and grab.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m disappointed, devastated\u2026 yeah, something like that,\u201d a distraught-looking Hellberg said at full-time. \u201cThe performance was poor, actually. First half was terrible. It was like watching paint dry.<\/p>\n \u201cI don’t know why. I must have failed with everything I told them before the game because we weren’t good enough. Second half, we came out better. Our best spell was in that first 15-20 minutes in the second half when we created enough to at least score the goal.<\/p>\n \u201cBut we are not efficient enough to do that. To be fair, the defensive part is okay during the whole game. I don’t recognise them having any goal-scoring opportunities through the whole game.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd then it’s a set piece again. Ball comes out, shoots, deflects. I think it’s their two shots in that whole game. 96 minutes. Deja vu from the Bristol City game. It\u2019s tough to take.\u201d<\/p>\n Hellberg has praised his Boro side throughout this difficult run, which now stretches to six without a win, and just two in 12. Despite not winning games, Boro have been playing well in the main, with a failure to kill games off their only real weakness.<\/p>\n In contrast, however, the Swede said of this one: \u201cThis was different, we have to be honest with that. I don’t think this was a good performance at all. I\u2019ve praised the performances even when we\u2019ve not won. But not today.<\/p>\n \u201cAgain, we created most of the chances, but this performance was not good enough. It was boring, it was lazy, it had no energy, except in that first 15-20 minutes in the second half.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the first half, it’s slow, it’s boring, and there’s no energy. It’s not the same way taking the ball back. It’s passive. That is the disappointment.<\/p>\n \u201cBut, I want to be clear, we should not lose this game. This was poor by the high bar we\u2019ve set ourselves. We maybe don’t deserve to win, but we have enough chances second half to. You cannot lose this game, when they have no chances in the whole game.<\/p>\n \u201cFor the moment at home, we’re struggling in terms of that, and we for the moment find a way to not win. I have to be honest, because everyone sees it. There\u2019s no hiding from that, and that we have to sort out.\u201d<\/p>\n A rarity for Hellberg, so disappointed in Boro\u2019s first half was the head coach, he made two changes at the break. Matt Targett and Jeremy Sarmiento were axed.<\/p>\n Hellberg explained: \u201cIn general, our structure was not as good as we wanted. That was the negative thing. I\u2019ve praised the performances when they’ve been good enough.<\/p>\n \u201cThis game, I don’t think the performance was good enough. They were unclear with the structure, which means that how we wanted to attack them doesn\u2019t happen. That is a big failure from me, if that was unclear.<\/p>\n \u201cWe switched it and tried to bring in some energy at half-time and succeeded better. I could have taken any one of them off. I think everyone felt that energy was not good enough in the first half.\u201d<\/p>\n ———-<\/strong><\/p>\n Here at TeessideLive, we are dedicated to bringing you the best <\/strong>Middlesbrough FC<\/a> <\/strong>coverage and analysis.<\/strong><\/p>\n Make sure you don’t miss out on the latest Boro news by joining our free WhatsApp group. You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking<\/strong> here<\/strong> <\/a>to subscribe.<\/strong><\/p>\n Your information will be hidden, you’ll only ever receive messages from the Teesside Live sports team, and you can leave any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose ‘Exit group’. If you\u2019re curious, you<\/strong> can read our Privacy Notice<\/strong> <\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n