It looks like it will be exciting. Middlesbrough’s Kim Hellberg tenure began with a victory over Derby County, the club’s first win from a losing position this season.
It was dramatic, but not without difficulties. There were early teething problems, as well as indicators that Boro will need to improve its defensive performance against more ambitious opponents. However, they are unlikely to have such low defensive stats again. The fact that they won despite having four injured centre-backs speaks volumes about this team’s perseverance.
Things couldn’t have started off worse for the new head coach. Patrick Agyemang gave the Rams the lead with less than two minutes left on the clock. He took advantage of Hellberg’s preferred high defensive line and exploited the open space behind him.
That was an early theme in the game. While Boro, as the new head coach desires, attacked aggressively and quickly on the front foot, they left themselves vulnerable to counterattack after counterattack. Alfie Jones delivered his least comfortable performance for the club yet.
But, to their credit, Boro dug deep and did enough to limit Derby while they worked through some predictable early teething problems. Despite the threat on the transition, Derby managed only one attempt on goal, while Boro continued to push and probe.
The trouble with surrendering so early against a John Eustace team is that, having given them something to defend, Boro now faces a nightmarish scenario of breaking down a low block. It’s something they’ve been struggling with for several seasons.
To Hellberg’s credit, despite early challenges and reservations about his expansive style, he adjusted things at halftime while sending a powerful message of ‘you can do this!’ Both paid off.
Hellberg demonstrated his strong tactical nous by explaining what he changed at halftime to reduce Derby’s counter-attacking threat: “I think they were sitting back a lot, and we may have had too many players behind their midfield, which means that every time we lose that ball trying to play through, it becomes an open run for a lot of players.”
“We tucked Bangura in a little bit more, so we could drop out with Sontje at the start, and Della came a little more to the left to gain one more player. We also played Hackney and Riley further down, with one player, to create more of a three that can play shorter passes, allowing us to hit on the sides in the next phase and get shorter passes out to the wide guys.
“I believe that gave us more control, and we were much better at controlling their counterattacks in the second half.” So, they did a terrific job. I would say that minor details [changed], and then it was largely the quality of the players.”
Boro were considerably better after the break, building on the great momentum they’d gained at the close of the first half. It remains to be determined how much of Derby’s lack of threat in the second half was due to Boro, and how much was due to their gameplan from the beginning. Boro appeared to be uncomfortable with the high line early on. However, a large number of defenders are expected to return.
The visitors were forced further and further back until 15 minutes from time, when Matt Targett headed home from a corner. Even after the midweek defeat to Coventry, Boro always felt like the team that would win from there. And didn’t they just? Morgan Whittaker curls a cross/shot all the way through to the bottom corner.
It elicited scenes of joy at full-time. Boro’s new head coach chose a back seat until being thrust into the action by assistant Adi Viveash in a delightful, if perhaps awkward, moment for the new head coach. The Swede gave one fist pump, his full-time emotions slightly more subdued than his predecessors.
Hellberg’s attempts to impose changes were everything from low-key. Boro had advised taking incremental steps, but this was a drastically different strategy. Some significant distinctions include a high line, playing from the back, a faster assault, and better utilization of wide areas.
Their success will be determined over the following few months. While finally limiting Derby to one goal and few other opportunities, they did appear a little stretched in the first half, and somewhat on edge. If Boro are not better overall, more aggressive teams may take advantage of this.
For the time being, Boro began their new era with a win, which felt more important given their recent losses. The new Boro manager was clear about what he expected from his team, with his overall verdict being “Okay.”
He continued, “This is a difficult game. They’re sitting back, so the structure changes slightly during the build-up because it gets to a much higher build-up when counter-marking is more crucial, and we react to that.
“Those positions were critical to keeping them down in the second half. We have a lot of photos to work with. Some of our first-half attacks were excellent, but we were a little too open, allowing them to counterattack. Not always counter to generate something, but their set-pieces are strong, so you want to keep them out of our half.
“It’s more pictures I can use to get better, but the victory is more connected to the players being brilliant than me doing anything.”
He continued, “It’s critical for me to learn every day and give everyone a fair shot. I told them after the game, in reference to Alex’s lack of playing time for 22 months, that if they did well in training, they would play and get opportunities.
“For me, the most essential thing is what you do on the training ground. That is the setting in which we can improve, because we need to. Those who perform best on the training ground will play, as the Bangura call demonstrated.”
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