TONY Mowbray admits blunt Middlesbrough need to get back on the goal standard if they are to last the pace at the Championship summit.
Boro edged to a narrow 1-0 Riverside win over Brighton thanks to a goalkeeping blunder and that came hot-on-the-heels of a last gasp victory at Bristol by the same fine scoreline.
With table-toppers Southampton and West Ham stuttering, that was enough to nudge the Teessiders to within two points of the automatic promotion spots.
However, after another tense finale digging in to defend a slender lead, Mowbray knows his side need to find an extra cutting edge and more goals to make sure in close fought games.
The Boro boss said: “Those last ten minutes were very nervous again. It is torture watching Boro sometimes.
“It was not a dour 1-0, in fact it was probably an entertaining one – but it was an anxious spell at the end and we know we need to make it easier on ourselves and the fans and that means killing games off.”
Third placed Boro have the meanest defence in the division but have only scored 25 goals in 21 games and that has left them hanging on too often in games they have dominated – and frequently being pegged back for a draw lat eon. Mowbray admitted: “Yes, it is a concern we are not scoring enough goals.
“We probably have not scored enough to warrent being where we are up at the top of the table. The statistics show we have not scored as many goals as we should have or as many goals as the teams above us.
“That is something we are working on a lot. We need to break down teams when we are on top in games. When we have the ball, and teams are sitting deep and making it hard for us to break them down, we have to be better at finding a way to score. We do not really have a Plan B in terms of having a six-foot-three centre-forward to throw the ball up to. That can sometimes help break down very well-organised defences as we have found out to our cost. “
“There is a balance between being solid and keeping clean sheets and pushing forward to creat chances and get goals.
