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Middlesbrough beat Sheff Utd to go top of the Championship Conway & Mc Gree goals before break give Boro sixth-straight win Bamford reduced deficit to 2-1 before Rothwell shown red card for high tackle Coventry knocked off top for first time since October Ian Woodcock Sheff Utd 0-2 Middlesbrough Brilliant stuff from Boro this. They're firmly on top in the match and heading top of the division too. Tommy Conway gave the visitors the lead and Riley Mc Gree made it 2-0 shortly before the break. Kim Hellberg's men look so good going forward. Can the Blades respond after the break? Sheff Utd 0-2 Middlesbrough Two minutes added on at the end of the first half. Sheff Utd 0-2 Middlesbrough Neil Maddison Former Middlesbrough midfielder on BBC Tees He has to jump, he has to stretch and he does just that. Great strike, takes the deflection, Riley has to adjust himself but he does so well. I can't believe what I am watching right now. Honestly it is beautiful to watch, to be that attacking side at a tough place to come, this is amazing. Riley Mc Gree Boro in charge! In the last minute of a half they have dominated, Middlesbrough get their second goal. Michael Cooper's kick out lacks distance and Hayden Hackney wins it for the visitors. It's moved back to him and his deflected shot comes back off the post. Riley Mc Gree isn't waiting around and he runs in to head home. Sheff Utd 0-1 Middlesbrough Morgan Whittaker dances across the front of the area and hits a low left-footed shot that Michael Cooper turns behind for a Boro corner. Sheff Utd 0-1 Middlesbrough Why doesn’t Wilder bring on Rothwell and Phillips? Experience and a proven level of success in Championship. He needs to be brave. Rob - West Yorkshire Sheff Utd 0-1 Middlesbrough Neil Maddison Former Middlesbrough midfielder on BBC Tees Conway has to pull it back and he has to do it sooner. Hayden Hackney wanted it, the chance is there for the taking. Sheff Utd 0-1 Middlesbrough Tommy Conway robs Harrison Burrows and charges forward. He goes for goal and sees his shot blocked behind for a Boro corner. Hayden Hackney is not best pleased he didn't square it. Sheff Utd 0-1 Middlesbrough Super low stop from Sol Brynn to keep out Gus Hamer's shot. The Blades getting back in this. Both sides have had eight shots already, incredible stats. Sheff Utd 0-1 Middlesbrough Carl Asaba Former Sheffield United striker on BBC Radio Sheffield Incredible pass, just peeled off him in the end. Wow. It is everything you want Bamford to do. That has been their best chance. Sheff Utd 0-1 Middlesbrough Sheffield United midfielder Gus Hamer's range of passing is superb and he pulls a peach out of the bag. Patrick Bamford brings it down brilliantly but can only crash his shot int the side-netting. Sheff Utd 0-1 Middlesbrough Ooft, Michael Cooper nearly puts himself and the home side in real trouble with a lax pass out that is intercepted by Boro skipper Hayden Hackney. He can't make the most of it though and has the ball pinched off him. Moments later the captain drills one into the sidenetting from 20 yards. ALL Boro just now. Sheff Utd 0-1 Middlesbrough Neil Maddison Former Middlesbrough midfielder on BBC Tees Boro are so fluent how they play. We worry about the teams we play against each week but watching them now we are a good side. We really just are a good side. Sheff Utd 0-1 Middlesbrough Carl Asaba Former Sheffield United striker on BBC Radio Sheffield We need to just try and steady the ship, Boro are really growing into this and we need to just calm the run of play down. Sheff Utd 0-1 Middlesbrough The home side had the better of the opening minutes of this one but Boro, on course to go top, have been excellent since weathering that early storm and are worthy of their lead. The Blades are having to get through a lot of work just now. Sheff Utd 0-1 Middlesbrough Adam Lanigan BBC Sport reporter at Bramall Lane Between 30 August and the middle of January, Tommy Conway scored just one goal. But he always maintained the faith of Rob Edwards and now Kim Hellberg. That strike was Conway's fourth in four games and if he hits his straps in these next few months, Middlesbrough will be going to the Premier League and Conway will have a great chance of going to the World Cup with Scotland. What a 2026 this could be for the Boro number nine. Sheff Utd 0-1 Middlesbrough Carl Asaba Former Sheffield United striker on BBC Radio Sheffield It was a great finish, there was nothing much the goal keeper could do. It's a perfect striker's finish. Sheff Utd 0-1 Middlesbrough Another chance for Boro but this time goalscorer Tommy Conway can't turn his effort on target from 10 yards. Sheff Utd 0-1 Middlesbrough Neil Maddison Former Middlesbrough midfielder on BBC Tees There was a moment where I thought the touch was too heavy. Conway got the shot away in the nick of time. What a game, an attacking and entertaining game from both teams. So important to get that first goal. Tommy Conway You knew this one wasn't ending goalless! Boro take the lead and right now, they're heading top. Incisive passing from Luke Ayling and Morgan Whittaker before Riley Mc Gree sets it through for Tommy Conway and he makes no mistake with a quality low finish. Tommy Conway has scored in both of Middlesbrough's wins over Sheffield United this season Middlesbrough moved to the top of the Championship for the first time since mid-October as they delivered an excellent performance to beat 10-man Sheffield United. First-half goals from Tommy Conway and Riley Mc Gree made it six league wins in a row, their best run since October 2023, as they opened up a two-point gap over previous leaders Coventry City, taking full advantage of the Sky Blues' goalless draw with Oxford United on Saturday. And this result sets things up perfectly for a meeting between the top two at the CBS Arena next Monday. Patrick Bamford halved the deficit on 73 minutes for the Blades but their hopes were dashed as substitute Joe Rothwell was sent off on his debut for a wild lunge on Alan Browne. This ended a mini revival of seven points from their past three games and was a first home defeat since 1 November for Chris Wilder's side, who remain 16th and eight points outside the play-off spots, but still closer to the bottom three. Kim Hellberg is managing for the first time in England When Boro lost at home to Coventry on 25 November, they were 10 points behind the Sky Blues with Kim Hellberg waiting in the wings to replace Rob Edwards after his acrimonious departure to Wolves. But while Frank Lampard's side have stuttered in the months since that game, Boro have been flying. Their last defeat by Derby County on New Year's Day left them nine adrift of Coventry, but since then they have six straight wins, scoring 15 goals. And perhaps most tellingly for their promotion rivals, they have won games in different ways but with confidence growing with each consecutive triumph. Here they needed goalkeeper Sol Brynn to make good saves from Gustavo Hamer and Andre Brooks in the opening quarter of an hour. But even then, Boro's football was still good enough to create plenty of chances going forward themselves, with Mc Gree and Morgan Whittaker passing up good opportunities to score. The pair played a part in a fine team goal with Australian Mc Gree slipping a ball into the path of Conway, who confidently shot across Michael Cooper as the Scotland forward made it four goals in his last four games. There could have been a second as their fluidity caused the home side a host of problems but Mc Gree and Hayden Hackney were narrowly off target. The all-important second did arrive though on the stroke of half-time, with captain Hackney driving forward from midfield. His deflected shot struck the base of the post and bounced up perfectly for Mc Gree, who was following in, to head the rebound into an empty net and create a cushion that they would not give up. Sheffield United look unlikely to mount a late promotion challenge The Blades had been unbeaten in eight league games before this at Bramall Lane and the acquisitions of Rothwell, Kalvin Phillips and Leo Hjelde on deadline day were not those of a side happy to just get through the final third of the season. Their wretched start of five straight losses under Ruben Selles has left them playing catch up from August and 15th is the highest position they have been at any stage, showing how hamstrung they have been by those early months. But they still have plenty of quality and that was evident in some of the moments they produced, with Bamford hitting the side-netting with a volley in the first half after a brilliant pass from Hamer. And it was that pair's combination that brought the goal as Hamer's superb pass was matched by Bamford's clinical finish for his eighth goal in 15 games. But his old Leeds United team-mate Rothwell blotted his copybook, having come on as a half-time substitute for his debut following his move from Rangers, taking out Browne close to the touchline - the third time in six games that Wilder's side have had at least one player sent off. Last season's play-off finalists have now lost 16 league games this term and a top-six spot looks unlikely with 15 matches to go. Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder said: "I've spoken to the players and told them there's a third of the season to go and Middlesbrough are the best team we've played by a long way. "It's deserved that they go to the top of the division as I thought it was a statement win for them. "We just needed a little bit more from our players. We were six-and-a-half and sevens and when you're playing a team at the top of the league with the momentum they've got and the results they've had, you've got to be right up there, seven-and-a-halves and eights. "I don't think we really got to those heights even though to the neutral the game could have swung either way. " This video can not be played Wilder: 'We were "nearly"' Middlesbrough head coach Kim Hellberg said: "The whole game was an unbelievable game of football. Two teams going at each other, two teams trying to be offensive, everything I love about football. "After the first 10 minutes, our players were unbelievably balanced in taking the ball forward at the first opportunity, finding combinations, creating a lot of chances and we could have scored even more. "Against such a good team, the first half was brilliant. That performance here underlines how impressive it was from the players. "Of course, it's a big night. A very tough opponent away from home so those type of results to win six in a row in very different ways is impressive from the group. " This video can not be played Hellberg: 'The whole game was unbelievable' After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users. Comments can not be loaded To load Comments you need to enable Java Script in your browser Last Updated 9th February 2026 at 21: 55 Please Note: All times UK. Tables are subject to change. The BBC is not responsible for any changes that may be made. Manager: Chris Wilder Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Kim Hellberg Formation: 4 - 4 - 2 Manager: Chris Wilder Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Kim Hellberg Formation: 4 - 4 - 2 Championship All competitions All competitions All competitions Sheffield United have won seven of their last nine home league games against Middlesbrough, losing the others in April 2011 and February 2023. Middlesbrough have won three of their last four league games against Sheffield United (L1), and are looking to complete the double over them for the first time since 2010-11. Sheffield United have won each of their last four home league games, netting three goals in each match. They last won five in a row at Bramall Lane while scoring 3+ goals each time between April/August 1971. Middlesbrough have won each of their last five league games, last having a longer run in September/October 2023 under Michael Carrick (6). Sheffield United’s Andre Brooks has scored in each of his last three league games. He’d only scored in four of his first 66 league appearances for the Blades. Copyright © 2026 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.