Cardiff boss Steve Morison questions whether losing hurts his players enough

Cardiff boss Steve Morison has questioned whether losing hurts his players enough after they fell to their fourth defeat in a row against Middlesbrough last night.

The manager said that he felt his side created enough chances to have taken something from the game, but bemoaned their lack of a cutting edge, which has been their Achilles heel all season.

It was a 23rd league defeat this season for Cardiff who sit at 19th in the league. A first-half finish from Marcus Tavernier and deflected second-half strike from Riley McGree were enough to settle things as promotion-chasing Middlesbrough dominated.

“We just weren’t good enough in the final third,” Steve Morison said. “I thought we were really good in the first two-thirds of the pitch, but we just didn’t have enough in the final third.

“They didn’t have to work hard for their goals – we gave the ball away and they punished us. They had one shot in the first half of note and scored it – we had two or three and we don’t score.

“It’s frustrating. When we have our moments, we don’t take them. It seems like the same old story.

“There’s only so many times I can keep saying. We keep working, keep creating the chances and keep getting into the areas, but people have to take them. It’s a work in progress.

“It hurts. I get out of bed every day to win games of football and hate it when things like this happen. The question I’ve asked them in there is, does it hurt them enough to lose?”

‘Recover’

Middlesbrough boss Chris Wilder meanwhile was delighted that they will be heading into their penultimate game of the season at the weekend with their promotion hopes still very much alive.

They sit seventh in the Sky Bet Championship table, two points adrift of sixth-placed Sheffield United.

The Blades are in action on Friday night, when they travel to Loftus Road to take on QPR, and while Wilder insists he will not be watching his former side’s showdown in west London, he will be well aware that a Sheffield United defeat would mean Boro could claim a place in the top six when they host Stoke in their final home game on Saturday.

Even if Sheffield United were to win at QPR, Boro would still be heading into the Stoke game with a realistic chance of making the play-offs, and Wilder is pleased his players ended a five-game winless run to ensure their season is not yet over.

Wilder said: “It’s job done. We understood the job we needed to get done and we did that. The first goal was a big one, it settled us down and was a big moment we needed as we talked about. We found it and then we tried to play.

“I don’t think it was a real flowing performance, but it was a 2-0 win.

“We just have to rest and recover now ahead of the weekend. Stoke have had a free week and have some very good players, but we take it deep.

“We take it to the 45th game of the season, and I think that’s all we can ask of the boys.”

Wilder added: “It’s been disappointing lately. We all want to deliver that free-flowing football that we have usually delivered here at the Riverside, but I think everyone recognises tonight was just about getting the result, getting the big win, which we obviously did.”