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Sky Bet Championship: Middlesbrough progress delights boss Aitor Karanka

Middlesbrough manager Aitor Karanka
Image: Aitor Karanka: Happy for Boro fans

Aitor Karanka is delighted by Middlesbrough's growing momentum after they climbed into the Championship top five with their third win on the spin with a 4-0 win over Brentford.

Boro dominated Brentford from start to finish in the Teessiders' best performance at the Riverside Stadium this season.

Top scorer Grant Leadbitter bagged his sixth goal of the season with a 30-yard screamer in the 35th minute and Albert Adomah netted his first of the campaign five minutes after half-time.

Chelsea forward Patrick Bamford, on loan until the end of the season, made it three with his first Boro goal in the 68th minute and Spanish substitute Kike made it four in the last minute with a delightful finish.

It is the first time Boro have won three consecutive games since April, after two away wins at Huddersfield and Cardiff.

Karanka said: "It was a difficult game against a kind of team who will make it hard for you.

"They are dangerous opponents. Even at half-time when we were winning I told the players there could be no let-up.

"We sent the fans home happy and that's the most important thing. That's three straight wins and we have to keep going, there's another game on Tuesday and then Saturday. We're always looking ahead."

Brentford were second best all afternoon as the Bees slumped to their second defeat in a row and dropped to 14th in the table.

Boss Mark Warburton admitted his side's performance was not good enough, adding: "The better team won.

"We've set good standards this season but we've fallen below them (today) and it wasn't acceptable, especially after the break when we weren't good enough. It's not about letting me down, it's about us as a team."

After Bamford, Adomah and Emilio Nsue had all threatened, the first goal came in the 35th minute when Leadbitter let fly and found the bottom right corner.

The home side added a second five minutes after half-time when Belgian forward Jelle Vossen played Nsue in down the right and he crossed low across the face of the goal for Adomah to tap in from close range.

Boro got their third in the 68th minute when Leadbitter's curling cross was glanced in by Bamford.

Boro's only blemish of the afternoon came in the 83rd minute when Dean Whitehead was shown a straight red for a clumsy challenge on Alan Judge.

Sub Kike made it four with a sublime finish in the 89th minute to round off a happy afternoon for Boro.

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