Sam Morsy provided an assist as Middlesbrough defeated Millwall 3-0 in Saturday’s English Championship showdown.
The Boro cruised to their seventh triumph of the season thanks to a brace from Duncan Watmore plus Marcus Tavernier’s strike – scored in the first half.
Manager Neil Warnock made three changes to the side that bowed 3-0 to Preston North End on Wednesday, with Tavernier replacing injured Jonny Howson and Anfernee Dijksteel returning to the starting XI, while Chuba Akpom took Britt Assombalonga’s place.
13 minutes into the clash, Watmore put the hosts ahead. A clever pass from George Saville released Marvin Johnson on the left before cutting across to leave the English midfielder with a simple finish.
Inspired by the strike, they doubled their lead two minutes later. Profiting from a pass from Egypt international Morsy, Tavernier found his way in the Lions’ danger area before unleashing an unstoppable left-footed rocket beyond goalkeeper Bartosz Bialkowski into the bottom corner.
In a goal-laden first-half, Watmore completed his double in the 20th minute. Former Millwall man Saville scuffed a shot unexpectedly into the brace hero’s path before sending in a cool finish.
Boro maintained their dominance and could have made it four from captain Patrick McNair, nevertheless, his brilliant strike was tipped over the crossbar by Bialkowski.
Early in the second-half, Akpom saw his lofted finish saved by Bialkoswki’s fingertips. He was then unlucky not to win a penalty having been sent crashing to the ground.
Despite Millwall throwing in the duo of Jon Dadi Badvarsson and Matt Smith for Alex Pearce and Mason Bennett respectively, they could not launch a comeback as they fell apart at the Riverside Stadium.
Morsy who was featuring in his 12th game of the 2020-21 campaign was in action from start to finish while Nigeria-prospect Akpom made way for DR Congo forward Assombalonga with 18 minutes left to play.
With this result, Boro moved to ninth in the English second-tier log having garnered 27 points from 18 games. For Millwall, they occupy 17th spot with 21 points from the same number of outings.
Morsy would be hoping to sustain his tempo when his team hosts Luton Town in four days time, while the Lions who remain winless in their last nine league fixtures visit Bristol City on Tuesday.
