Boro's early-season 90-minute 'problem' and how Kim Hellberg might solve it

There have been many positives emerging from the past two games at QPR and prior to that Burnley.

In both, for the first 45 minutes Boro were completely dominant. But both games followed a similar trend, albeit with different outcomes.

After dominant first halves at both Burnley and QPR - in which Boro looked similar to the side who impressed so many people after Kim Hellberg’s arrival last season - Boro lost their way in the second half of both games.

Unable to sustain their first-half levels, they were left facing heavy pressure in the early stages of the second half at both Turf Moor and Loftus Road.

At Burnley, it cost them two points, as they couldn’t keep the home side out and had to settle for a draw. There were moments where it looked like they might not even get that.

At QPR, Boro once again lost their grip, with Julien Stephan delighted with his side’s efforts. On this occasion at least, Boro were able to hang on to their lead to record a first away win, thanks to a first clean sheet of the season. It’s fair to say, however, that Boro rode their luck at times.

It all comes back to an early theme of the season so far for Boro, who just haven’t been able yet to put in performances of their best level for 90 minutes.

Things feel like they’re improving, and it’s no bad thing that, despite the above, Hellberg’s side have still managed five wins from their opening seven games in all competitions.

Nevertheless, Hellberg will no doubt want his side to control games, or certainly manage games, better than they’ve managed in their more difficult moments.

It’s been an impressive start to the season for Boro, even if the feeling is that there is still more to come, and that the team - featuring 12 new players - are not quite yet fully gelled together.

No side have had more ‘big chances’ so far this season or averaged more accurate passes per match. Only West Ham have a better xG difference (the goals a team are expected to score versus the goals they’re expected to concede).

As for whether their problems derive from an intensity that is too hard to sustain over 90 minutes, it’s true that Boro have covered more distance than any other side so far this term, though it’s not a dramatic difference.

As for the intensity, their number of sprints per match actually places them 15th in the division, with an average of 95.4 sprints per match in comparison to Norwich City who have the most with 121 per match. Fitness does not appear to be the problem.

The last two games have followed those similar patterns of early second-half momentum switch, but it’s fair to say that Boro have faced difficulties in almost every game so far, looking vulnerable in whatever moments the opposition are on top.

Asked ahead of QPR of putting together a performance for 90 minutes, the Boro boss said: “I think it's very difficult for any team in the Championship to be at their best for 90 minutes. I think that it's close to impossible.

“But I think in the games lately there has been big improvements in the quality. I think the bar is really raised on us in terms of how we played last season.

“But look at all the statistics from different sides, we are one of the teams that have created the most in the league, even if we think that we haven't been good enough yet.

“And defensively very good in the number of conceded chances. So, in many ways, it's an impressive start from the players to adapt so quickly and to take a lot of new information from not having a pre-season with many of them.”

The expectation of 90 minutes of total dominance is unrealistic. It is unheard of in any level of elite football, but most certainly in the Championship. Every team is competitive, and Boro have no right to just dominate a game for 90 minutes without complication, even if they’ve done so for the first 45.

Rather than that expectation, the improvement for Boro to make should be more focused on how they manage those periods in games when they come under such pressure.

There’s no getting away from the fact they’ve looked more vulnerable this season than they did last season.

But, even with that feeling, the numbers show only three sides have conceded fewer chances than Boro so far. Only four sides have better xGA too, which suggests the chances they concede aren’t particularly good ones either.

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The QPR win was Boro’s first victory away from home this season. But it followed a similar pattern to not only Burnley, but also Blackburn Rovers too - Boro’s other Championship away game so far this term.

That Blackburn trip was Boro’s only defeat of the season to date and was similar. Strong first half and one-goal to the good at the interval. At Ewood Park, however, they wilted under the early second half pressure and lost the game - their only defeat of season to date.

The positive outlook is that they’ve gradually shown the improvement Hellberg is looking for game on game, as far as results are concerned, at least. From defeat at Blackburn, they did enough to earn a point at Burnley, and then bit down on the gumshield to earn all three points in West London.

While results have improved, as noted above, the general performance, or feel of it, has not. At QPR, Boro had to ride their luck to get their result. QPR hit the bar, and Neto Borges made a fantastic last-ditch recovery tackle as Rumarn Burrell got in behind. Radek Vitek made a couple of important saves.

Of course, all three games have had that similar trend that no home games have yet followed - a 1-0 half-time lead. How much it’s a playing away from home issue, or leading 1-0 at the break issue, will be clearer when Boro are 1-0 up at the interval at home.

Their reaction to restarting a game when 1-0 up could certainly be better. In such instances, it’s expected that the opposition will make half-time tweaks - be that personnel changes or tactical ones.

Boro could certainly be more prepared for that. Beyond second-guessing how the opponents change, it’s hard for Hellberg to influence too much except making sure his players go back out switched on and fired up.

The onus, at least until Hellberg has time to relay information or make his own tweaks to counteract the opposition changes, has to be on the players to read the game better, react to what they’re facing and organise themselves accordingly.

Boro could, of course, make things far easier for themselves by not leaving themselves as vulnerable as any team is while only one-nil up.

QPR and Burnley were fine examples of when, if Boro were just a bit more clinical, and a bit more ruthless, the opposition wouldn’t have had the opportunity to get back into the game.

While Boro have improved their attack this summer and added the league’s top scorer to date in Will Lankshear, they’re still suffering the same problems with missing big chances.

While no side has created more big chances than Boro, no side has missed more either. They’ve missed 14 big chances in five games - just shy of three per game.

At QPR, Kyle Joseph could have done better with two openings, while Tommy Conway missed a great opportunity when running through on the counter. Lankshear could have scored a second before the break when he went through on goal too.

“We scored the goal, but we were also one-on-one with the goalkeeper four times,” Hellberg noted after. “When you don't score on those chances, you're always a little bit worried because they didn't create much up to that point.”

There are improvements to be made, but there’s a lot to like about Boro already this season, and ever-increasing signs that things are starting to come together for them from a performance perspective.

There are still players building their sharpness, and that will undoubtedly help with general control of games and, you’d hope, finishing at the top end of the pitch.

But Boro won’t want to ride their luck as much as they had to in the second halves at Burnley and QPR. Four points from those two away games is an excellent return, but if Boro can’t improve their general control/management of games when leading, their luck may start to run out.

A wins a win, and Boro have had five of them so far. That certainly shouldn't be sniffed at. It would be nice to do it with some comfort every now and again, however.

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