• Story of the game

Sheffield Wednesday made six changes from their 5-3 defeat at Fulham last time out and it appeared to have an immediate impact when they took the lead after just 10 minutes.

Kadeem Harris was the creator; he embarked on a mazy dribble before passing the baton onto Jacob Murphy who didn’t hesitate to try his luck from 20-yards which found the net with the aid of a George Saville deflection.

His ninth of the campaign in his last appearance for the club. 

Middlesbrough came on strong though after this wake-up call, first Paddy McNair rattled the woodwork from the edge of the area and Saville would have made an instant amends had it not been for a firm save by Joe Wildsmith seconds later.

The scoreline was level by the 22nd minute, Barry Bannan gave the ball away with a sloppy pass and Boro capitalised. 

Marcus Tavernier laid the ball on a plate for McNair and this time he slotted the ball inside the post.

Just before the interval Bannan tried to make up for his earlier effort when he let fly from 30-yards, Dejan Stojanovic saw it all the way but took no chances and sent the ball out for a corner.

There were little chances of note after the break, the first of which went Neil Warnock’s way in the 76th minute. Ashley Fletcher found space down the right and just about managed to keep the ball in play as he squared across the box. 

Assombalonga was able to stab goal wards but inches past the post.

Five minutes later Garry Monk’s side went close to snatching the game. Dominic Iorfa twisted and turned his way clear down the right, his pull back was met by Murphy, but he dragged his shot wide, unable to reach double figures for the campaign.

Then came the moment which summed Wednesday’s season up, Boro hit on the break and The Owls defence were found all at sea. 

Assombalonga was left free in the centre of the danger zone, swivelled clear of Bannan and got a tame shot away that Wildsmith got a strong hand to but not enough to prevent the 93rd minute goal.

 

  • Takeaways from the game

 

Atdhe Nuhiu makes his final appearance after seven years

Almost exactly seven years after the Kosovan signed for the club from Rapid Wien, teammates Bannan and Joey Pelupessy took to Instagram on Tuesday to wish ‘The big man’ all the best. The former affectionately said that he has ‘made a friend for life’. Nuhiu started the game but was replaced for Josh Windass in the 73rd minute. A big shame that the Hillsborough faithful were denied the chance to give Nuhiu the send-off he deserved after 51 goals in his seven years’ service.

As one door closes another opens 

While Atdhe Nuhiu stepped out for the last time in blue and white. Youngster Liam Shaw made his full debut for his boyhood club and the 19-year-old put in a strong performance in the centre of the park against seasoned professional Paddy McNair. Shaw looked powerful, confident and full of potential; he certainly has a bright future if the 53 minutes he earned tonight is anything to go by. 

Warnock gets his win

The boyhood Sheffield United fan would have had a grin as wide as Sheffield when he saw Assombalonga’s injury time effort squirm past Wildsmith. That may well be the last bit of action in Warnock’s long and illustrious managerial career and what a great way to sign off. Brought in to save the Teeside outfit from relegation, he achieved that goal in abundance and a win at Hillsborough will only put a cherry on top of the cake. 

 

  • Man Of The Match: Britt Assombalonga

Often labelled as little more than a poacher inside the 18-yard-box, the forward did so much more than that this evening. He bullied the Wednesday backline including Lees and Iorfa for large period of this clash. He could have had more than one to his name, but one was enough. With just 11 goals to his name this season has not been his most productive, but those goals have proved crucial in ensuring a very young Middlesbrough side will be competing in the Championship again next term.

 

  • View from the dugouts

Garry Monk rounded this season off when he said: “That was the second half of our season in a nutshell, we had chances we should have done better with that, then the defensive lapse and punished for it.

“The negativity is there right now and rightly so, I understand that. But I can promise one thing, I can see the bigger picture, I will give the fans a team to be proud of, I’m determined to come through these moments and get to a better day.”