A SEASON that looked well and truly over less than a fortnight ago is very much alive and kicking for Middlesbrough.

Three wins on the bounce, two clean sheets in four days on the road – the gap to the play-offs is now just five points.

With nine games to go, a top six finish remains a big ask, for there’s such little room for error – but should Michael Carrick’s side manage to beat out of form Blackburn at the Riverside on Saturday, they’ll bounce into the final international break of the season full of belief and come out the other side with nothing to lose in the final stretch of the season.

The performance against Birmingham City on Tuesday night was by no means polished and perfect but, as was the case at QPR on Saturday, it was professional. And there’s no question that the victory was deserved. Birmingham were poor and didn't have a single shot on Seny Dieng's goal. Home keeper John Ruddy, meanwhile, was powerless to prevent the stunning first half strike from Riley McGree against his former side that ultimately settled the game. McGree's moment of magic settled an otherwise scruffy scrap of a game.

The margin of victory should, in truth, have been greater but that matters little.

An awful lot has changed in the five months since Boro beat Birmingham City 1-0 in the reverse fixture at the Riverside – and much of it a surprise.

Not many would have predicted back in October that the matchwinner Morgan Rogers would be off to Champions League chasing Aston Villa in January. And not many would have predicted that a Birmingham team that were just a point and a place outside the top six after their defeat on Teesside would be just a point and a place above the relegation zone when the teams met again.

The Wayne Rooney experiment backfired badly, Teesside hero Tony Mowbray sparked a big improvement after his appointment but since his illness-enforced break, the Blues are now winless in five.

“One Tony Mowbray,” sang the Boro fans at kick-off – and the Birmingham supporters joined in. The atmosphere, understandable given recent results and the precarious position Birmingham find themselves in, was nervy and the early stages did nothing to ease those home anxieties.

Marcus Forss was only just beaten to a loose back-pass by Ruddy and Paddy McNair’s shot from distance was only just too high.

McGree’s strike, however, was measured to perfection. Luke Ayling dispossessed former Sunderland forward Alex Pritchard and teed up the Aussie international, whose rifled finish from outside the box gave Ruddy no chance.

Pritchard had Birmingham’s best chance of the first half when he sliced wide from inside the box but it was Boro who looked by far the more comfortable and were dictating the play. Ayling stung the hands of Ruddy and Emmanuel Latte Lath was allowed to drive towards goal unopposed before flashing a low strike just wide.

Despite his side’s advantage, Carrick was visibly frustrated on several occasions during the first half, fuelled, perhaps, by the fact Boro could have been out of sight had they taken a bit more care in the final third and took advantage of some of the promising positions they found themselves in. Birmingham lacked ideas and confidence and were booed off at the break but while they only trailed by a single goal, they had a chance.

Not that they looked like creating any chances. Dieng remained a spectator.

Approaching the hour mark there was an injury blow – for the referee. Andy Davies pulled up and there was a five minute stoppage while fourth official Jeremy Simpson readied himself to take charge.

A Boro change followed, Sam Greenwood replacing Forss, Carrick no doubt hoping fresh legs would add some energy, for his side had started to look a bit flat and Birmingham were seeing more of the ball and pushing further forward. 

The Blues committed bodies and there was one scare when Dieng dropped a cross but the excellent Rav van den Berg was on hand to hack clear.