Relief for Strachan

Published: 09 Feb 2010 - 22:48:02

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Middlesbrough made light of their poor home form as they registered a 2-1 victory over fellow play-off hopefuls Barnsley at the Riverside Stadium.The Teessiders went close when Killen was sent clear through on goal, but after lobbing the ball over Luke Steele the forward saw his goalbound shot cleared off the line by Kieran Trippier.Middlesbrough were eventually rewarded for their pressure in the 24th minute, Killen prodding home from close range after Gary O'Neil's corner had been flicked on at the near post.Darren Moore then headed wide from a Hugo Colace free-kick before Boro doubled their lead in the 34th minute. Barry Robson picked out O'Neil with a delightful through ball and the former England Under-21 skipper composed himself before slotting past the advancing Steele. O'Neil nearly added a third two minutes before the break, but Steele dived to his left to keep out the midfielder's low strike from the edge of the area.Jay Rodriguez replaced Anderson de Silva at the start of the second half as the visitors switched to a 4-4-2 formation. The change provided Barnsley with a greater attacking threat and they pulled back a deserved goal in the 65th minute.Boro's defence failed to deal with a long throw from the left and Colace was on hand to drill home a low shot from the edge of the area. Andy Gray had a golden chance to pull the Tykes level five minutes later, but headed tamely at Danny Coyne from Felipe Teixeira's cross.