Middlesbrough boss Kim Hellberg's verdict on 'tricky' Sheffield Wednesday after win
The Owls lost for the first time in four matches on Wednesday night
Middlesbrough manager Kim Hellberg said he was not surprised by Sheffield Wednesday’s approach against his side, admitting he was expecting a ‘tricky’ game.
Boro won 1-0 at the Riverside Stadium thanks to Morgan Whittaker’s early strike after a mistake from Gabriel Otegbayo.
The Owls recovered and stayed in the contest, appealing strongly for a penalty against Aidan Morris for handball before going close through teenager Will Grainger, but in the end it was another game without a win for Henrik Pedersen’s men.
When asked if he was surprised by Wednesday’s high-press approach early on, Hellborg replied: “No, not at all. I think they've done the same the whole season. They had a lot of confidence from picking up a draw against Coventry away. And then before that, two draws in a row. They've been quite good, to be fair, lately, and have been very difficult to beat.”
After three draws in a row against Leicester City, Coventry City and Charlton Athletic, this was Wednesday’s first defeat in four and Hellberg was of the view that it was always going to be a ‘tricky’ game for his side, who still have slim hopes of automatic promotion.
He continued: “They play with a lot of that energy when you have nothing to lose, just enjoy football, and so there's a very tricky team for the moment to be beat, and there have been a lot of close games.
“For us, I know this was going to be a tough one, because you just had to chase and spin the momentum. And we did that with a win, not our best performance. But that was not important. I am very happy with the win.”
Wednesday have two games of the season remaining, starting away at Oxford United on Saturday before finishing at home to West Brom.