Express & Star

Boro v Wolves - five talking points

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Wolves slipped to their fourth defeat in five matches with a 2-1 loss at Middlesbrough.

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Their shockingly poor run at Boro continued in the process, with a 65-year wait for a win continuing.

Just 291 Wolves fans watched it, one of their lowest away followings in living memory with a £32 ticket price and live televised coverage on a Friday night leading many to boycott the match.

Wolves correspondent Tim Spiers picks out five talking points from a thoroughly disappointing defeat.

Gaston Ramirez netted twice - but Boro should have scored more

Let's be honest, this wasn't a 2-1 game. Although shots-wise there wasn't a huge difference between the sides (19 for Boro, 13 for Wolves) it was the home team that created many more clear-cut opportunities.

They also produced far more quality than Wolves in the final third.

If Conor Coady's last-minute shot - Wolves' only serious attempt after Ben Gibson's own goal - had flown into the top corner, it would have been the smash and grab to end all smash and grabs.

Boro are a Premier League club in waiting. They've got two top-end Championship players for every position.

Aitor Karanka's team, playing their third game in six days, spent large periods of the game cruising in second gear.

They were almost toying with Wolves at times. They won with plenty left in the tank to spare.

Wolves have so much work to do to get to Boro's level. Which, considering they only finished seven points behind Boro in 2014/15, shows just how far back Wolves have fallen this season.

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Wolves conceded two soft goals at the Riverside

Wolves weren't expected to get anything out of this game.

In that respect, it was a free hit. They swung, and they missed.

And what was so disappointing was the manner in which they conceded both goals.

It's an easy cross and a free header for the first, with neither Dominic Iorfa nor Carl Ikeme attacking a ball that dropped into the six yard box.

For the second, Kevin McDonald has been turned too easily by Gaston Ramirez and no one has got a proper foot in before the ball unluckily looped off Danny Batth and over Ikeme.

Jackett, without naming them, criticised Iorfa and Nathan Byrne post-match, saying Boro's left sided duo of George Friend and Albert Adomah were too influential.

All in all, Wolves were too soft on Boro. They didn't contribute enough to the contest. They were meek, where they needed to be forceful.

For the 291 hardy souls who battled the elements to make the long journey north, there wasn't much to cheer.

Mason claimed Wolves' late consolation, but it has been credited as an own goal

Enough with this already. Joe Mason must start.

His introduction coincided with Wolves' best spell of the match. He went close with one snap-shot and played a big role in the late consolation goal.

His movement is excellent, he's been positive, direct and lively whenever he's played.

And he's comfortably Wolves' best hope of a goal at the moment. Whether it means dropping Bjorn Sigurdarson, whose form has tailed off in the past two weeks, or changing the formation to accommodate Mason, he simply has to start.

With the season over, Jackett must now start to form, as best he can with the current injury situation, a team that can challenge for promotion in 2016/17.

Mason will be a key component in that team. What a senseless waste it would be not to work out how to get the best of him now, and make good use of these final 11 matches.

Matt Doherty impressed again at left back

Not too many to choose from, but Matt Doherty was easily the standout performer.

The Irishman saved his team on a number of occasions with last ditch headers and blocks.

He was alive to almost every dangerous situation in the Wolves box. And he got forward to good effect too.

He's full of confidence at the moment, looking to take players on and find space to shoot at every possible opportunity.

And he grabbed his second assist in two matches with that cross diverted in via Mason/Ben Gibson.

Elsewhere, Ikeme made a couple of excellent saves. And Jeremy Helan impressed as the game went on with a few darting, pacey runs into the Boro box.

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Middlesbrough have beaten Wolves three times this season

Well, at least Boro's three points means they're closer to promotion, so perhaps Wolves won't have to travel to the Riverside next season.

It's now 22 matches and counting since Wolves last tasted victory at either the Riverside or the old Ayresome Park, with April 11, 1951 remaining their most recent win.

Jackett's team will now look to pick themselves up with two home matches in quick succession - Bristol City on Tuesday and Blues on Sunday.

They will surely have to do so without Ethan Ebanks-Landell, with the early signs not looking good after he heavily limped off injured in the first half.

If so, that's a huge frustration for the young defender, who has been on his longest career run in the team and benefited hugely from it.

Mike Williamson won't be back in time for the Bristol City game. Jackett will hope James Henry and/or Michal Zyro can provide a timely boost and return to action.

While there is almost certainly going to be little to play for other than pride in the run-in, Jackett knows he needs positive performances and good results to reinvigorate this club.