Here's how the media viewed Saturday's 1-0 win against Coventry City...
Northern Echo
CHRIS WILDER was delighted to see the strength of the Middlesbrough bench prove a key factor in his side’s 1-0 win over Coventry.
Falorin Balogun delivered the cross for Andraz Sporar’s winner within two minutes of leaving the bench to replace Aaron Connolly, with his fellow substitute, Martin Payero, also making a positive impact during his time on the field.
Balogun joined on a season-long loan from Arsenal earlier this month, and with fellow January signing Riley McGree set to be available for Friday’s FA Cup fourth-round tie at Manchester United after an international break with Australia, Wilder is confident his January transfer business has already made his squad stronger than it was at the start of the month.
The Boro boss said: “We’ve talked about depth from the bench, and now we’ve got game changers in there. We want competition for places, and with Riley (McGree) coming back, as long as we keep everybody fit and healthy, we’ve got that.
“I’m delighted we had the opportunity to make those changes (to the squad). We felt the timing was right (for the substitutions), we needed a spark from somewhere and we certainly got that from Flo.”
Teesside Live
Chris Wilder says his Middlesbrough players passed a big mentality test in their win over Coventry City on Saturday.
Picking the same 11 that let him down on Monday evening, Wilder gave them the task of proving themselves after the Blackburn defeat.
And while Boro were far from their best, they did enough to seal the three points against a solid Coventry side thanks to Andraz Sporar's goal.
Going back to the fire and ice mentality he mentioned after the Blackburn game, Wilder said: “It was a big test for us though after Monday night and we came through the test from a mentality point of view.
“We’ve just got to get the balance right now. I spoke before about the fire and ice mentality. The fire to start on the front foot and win duels and first and second balls. Which we did.
“But then when we come out of that the players have got to be a little bit braver than they were today to get that level of domination that Coventry had against us.
“It would give us more of the game and allow us to create more chances.”
The Sun
ARSENAL loanee Folarin Balogun made an instant impact as he came off the bench to help fire Middlesbrough to victory over Coventry.
The 20-year-old forward was only on the pitch a matter of seconds when he created the chance for Andraz Sporar to claim the points with his first touch.
Boss Chris Wilder said: “We’ve now got game-changers in there and competition for places. We felt the timing was right and we needed a spark from somewhere and we certainly got that from Flo.
“It wasn’t a standout performance but it was a good result.”
After seeing their play-off hopes dented by defeat at Blackburn in midweek, their first loss since November, Wilder’s Boro got back to winning ways against their rivals for the top six.
Yorkshire Post
Andraz Sporar’s fourth goal in his last six matches lifted Middlesbrough up to sixth after sealing a 1-0 win over Coventry City.
The Sky Blues, who were only a place and a couple of points behind Boro beforehand, had their chances and hammered the woodwork at the Riverside.
But it was Sporar’s eighth goal of the season that proved decisive to return Middlesbrough to winning ways on a blustery afternoon by the River Tees.
The Slovenian, on loan from Sporting Lisbon, pounced in the six-yard area to convert a low cross from substitute Folarin Balogun to edge the home side in front.
That winning goal lifted Middlesbrough, who lost for the first time in eight matches at Blackburn last Monday, back into the play-off zone.