Source: Daily_Mail
Middlesbrough 3 Scunthorpe 0: Johnson inspires Teessiders to win
Gordon Strachan admitted he has his work cut out to lead Middlesbrough straight back into the Premier League after they ended their lengthy home hoodoo. [LNB]Adam Johnson stole the show as 10-man Scunthorpe were given the run-around to secure only a second win in 10 games for the Teesside outfit in front of another posse of Premier League scouts there to run the rule over the in-demand England Under-21 midfielder. [LNB] It meant a first Riverside victory for Strachan more than two months after Boro's last on home soil to pull them within two points of the play-off places in a congested Championship table. [LNB]Show stealer: Adam Johnson starred for Middlesbrough[LNB] Strachan refused to get carried away with the result, and he insisted: 'It's just a win, nothing more. As a manager, I've not had so much to do at any football club as I have here. I'm not looking for excuses or pity, these are testing times. People who last a long time in football have to deal with things and get on with it.'[LNB]The hosts should have been two in front by the time Johnson broke the deadlock. [LNB]Leroy Lita shot wide and Isaiah Osbourne struck a post as Strachan's men hit the ground running. [LNB] In the contest's pivotal moment after just nine minutes, Scunthorpe defender Cliff Byrne was unlucky to see red after tussling with fit-again striker Jeremie Aliadiere who made his first start since angle surgery in October. [LNB]Johnson, who struck twice in the victory at Glanford Park in August, showed his recovery from hamstring trouble by sending Joe Murphy the wrong way from the spot to set Boro on the way to their first Boxing Day win for seven years. [LNB]A sublime Johnson chip struck the bar and full-back Tony McMahon shaved the woodwork from distance before Rhys Williams rewarded Boro's dominance with a low 18-yard finish on the stroke of half-time to reward Justin Hoyte's burst through the Scunthorpe rearguard. [LNB] Aliadiere made it three 41 seconds after the restart as a scuffed finish from 12 yards bobbled into the net. [LNB] Home hoodoo: Strachan will be relived to end bad Riverside run[LNB]It was downhill from then for Boro who lost defender Emanuel Pogatetz to a hamstring injury before Lita earned his marching orders for swinging a punch at Andrew Wright a minute from time.[LNB] 'Leroy said he just pushed the lad,' Strachan insisted. [LNB]Michael O'Connor went close for Scunthorpe at a first-half free-kick and Grant McCann tested recalled keeper Danny Coyne, but the Iron have gone nine games on the road without a victory.[LNB]Nigel Adkins said: 'Even Gordon Strachan said it wasn't a penalty and we were up against it after losing Cliff so early.'[LNB] Strachan sensationally sends St Ledger back to Preston after bust-upCoca-Cola Championship results, fixtures and more in our briliant Stats ZoneGary O'Neil pens new two-year contract extension at MiddlesbroughMiddlesbrough set to swoop for Leeds striker Jermaine Beckford in January[LNB]
