MICHAEL CARRICK was delighted with the ‘bravery’ displayed by his Middlesbrough players as they claimed the first win of his reign as head coach at Hull City last night.

Having claimed the lead through Chuba Akpom’s second goal in as many games, Boro were pegged back for the second time in four days as Cyrus Christie’s deflected strike beat Zack Steffen.

But unlike at Preston at the weekend, when they were beaten by a stoppage-time strike, Boro’s players reclaimed the initiative as they continued to push forward to ask questions of the Hull defence.

Tobias Figueiredo bundled the ball into his own net following a header from Darragh Lenihan, before Christie deflected Ryan Giles’ shot past his own goalkeeper, enabling Carrick to celebrate with his players in front of a jubilant travelling support after the final whistle.

“It’s not easy to show that bravery when things go against you,” said the Boro head coach. “You’ve maybe had a bit of a tough time, and you’re not in full flight in terms of your form, and it’s not easy. I understand that because I’ve been there.

“It’s not always easy, but you’ve got to find that little bit of something, and sometimes it’s also about your team-mates supporting you and giving you that extra bit of energy and belief.

“That was great. To see them bounce back and deal with that setback, and move forward again, I’m so pleased for them. It’s nice to have that lift and have something go your way when you’re putting that work in. They deserve that bit of success.”

Boro’s victory lifts them to 18th position in the table, a point clear of the relegation zone and just three points adrift of Birmingham City, who currently prop up the top half of the table in 12th position.

Just as importantly, the victory means Carrick has claimed his first win in charge of the club at the second time of asking, and while he has only been in charge for just over a week, he can see plenty of positive signs.

“I’m really proud of the lads, and pleased for them,” he said. “I’ve been delighted with the way they’ve gone about the whole week since I’ve arrived. Every one of them, their attitude has been spot on.

“They’ve tried to do what we’ve asked. We didn’t quite get the rub on Saturday, but I thought tonight was a bit of all sorts. We played some really good football at times, but we also had to dig in at times.

“We were tested across the backline at times, but I thought another part of it was that the boys adapted on the pitch. You have a plan. Sometimes the plan doesn’t exactly fit how the game is evolving, but the boys adapted really well.

“There were so many elements we can be pleased with, but it was the digging in, sticking together and showing we were a team that I was most proud of.”

Report & Ratings - p 46-47