Matt Targett scored twice in the first half as Middlesbrough beat Birmingham City 3-1 at St Andrew's to strengthen their grip on second place in the Championship. The win restored Boro's four-point cushion over third-placed Millwall, who had closed the gap to one point at the weekend.
Targett opened the scoring in the 13th minute, latching onto Aidan Morris's diagonal ball and finishing calmly past James Beadle. The former Aston Villa player celebrated in front of the home fans, who were silenced by the early goal. He doubled his tally 13 minutes later after Christoph Klarer lost possession, allowing Hayden Hackney to set him up for a simple finish.
Birmingham, who had lost only their second league game at home since May 2024, pulled one back three minutes into the second half through Marvin Ducksch. Jay Stansfield broke the offside trap and cut the ball back for Ducksch to roll home. However, David Strelec restored Middlesbrough's two-goal lead on the hour mark, heading in Luke Ayling's cross.
Middlesbrough manager Kim Hellberg praised his side's defensive shape after switching to a back three. He said: 'The big difference was the defensive shape. To guess Matt was going to score two goals from that position was not in the plans, but he did brilliantly.' Birmingham boss Chris Davies admitted a top-six finish would require 'something special' after the defeat.
