By Middlesbrough of England striker, Folarin Balogun is still in celebration mood, following the assist he got in his side’s 2-0 victory over Cardiff City in the English Championship.
The former Arsenal of England youth team player provided a neat pass that proved decisive in the encounter, as Boro kept themselves in the play-off hunt when it mattered most.
Megasportsarena.com reports that Boro’s victory at Riverside Stadium meant Balogun helped Boro follow the example shown earlier by promotion rivals, Blackburn Rovers, with a run of two wins in nine.
Rovers kept themselves in contention with a resounding 4-1 win at Preston on Monday, following which Balogun helped the same emanate for Boro, who had lost four home games on the spin in all competitions.
Balogun’s side did the same two days later, thanks to goals from Marcus Tavernier (28) and Riley McGree (53).
Incidentally, in spite of a performance that lacked intensity at times, Chris Wilder’s men did enough that saw them move back to seventh spot, two points behind Sheffield United with two games left, while Cardiff stay19th.
There was no immediate urgency from Middlesbrough, while balls into the box from wide areas were mopped up relatively easily, with neither Duncan Watmore nor Balogun able to really carve out any openings.
Cardiff were able to drop back and defend well as a unit as a result of Boro labouring in attack, but just past the midway point of the first half, their resistance was broken when Boro scored at the Riverside for the first time since March 5.
The hosts’ most promising move came to fruition when Jonny Howson worked the ball over to Balogun from the right, with the on-loan Arsenal man laying it off to Tavernier, who took a touch and rifled past Bluebirds goalkeeper Dillon Phillips from 25 yards out.
With Steve Morison’s side having scored 39 of their 48 league goals in the second halves of games this season, the hosts needed to be aware of the threat posed by their opponents.
However, goalkeeper Luke Daniels was seldom tested after the break, though Max Watters’ cross from the left that bounced off the crossbar almost caught him out.
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