Michael Carrick and his rejuvenated Middlesbrough side produced one of the comprehensive football results of the weekend in the Championship. After Isaiah Jones’ goal in the 15th minute, Boro took the lead and never looked back. Marcus Forss’ penalty kick three minutes after halftime gave Carrick’s squad the second goal their superiority deserved because they were faster, sharper, and more combative than Blackpool. Any lingering concerns about the result were dispelled when the brilliant Chuba Akpom scored on Ryan Giles’ low cross in the 65th minute for his fourth goal in four games. Following this convincing victory, Boro, who went winless in their first six away games of the season, have now won three of their last four away games.
After 14 minutes, Jones had a powerful effort stopped by James Husband, but the right winger did not have to wait long to find the goal. Husband made a strong early charge on Akpom, but Akpom was unfazed and transferred a pass from wide on the right to the back post. Forss had the foresight to head the ball back for Jones to slam his finish inside Chris Maxwell’s right post as he was running out of room close to the byline. Blackpool didn’t pose much of a danger, and the home team’s first shot on goal, which Zack Steffen easily stopped from Theo Corbeanu in the 45th minute, was met with sarcastic applause from the boisterous and sizable visiting crowd.
Soon after the resumption, Middlesbrough finally widened its lead. Forss took advantage of Marvin Ekpiteta’s errant touch to enter the area and push the ball past Maxwell, whose reckless challenge sent the striker to the ground. As Giles sprinted down the left and squared for Akpom, who calmly scored for his ninth goal of the year, two rapidly turned into three. Jones’ second goal was prevented by Maxwell’s quick reaction, while Blackpool forward Jerry Yates’ late attempt at a consolation shot missed the mark. The Boro supporters left singing songs about advancement after spending a significant portion of the evening serenading their new head coach.
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