Middlesbrough have emphatically clinched a place in the Championship playoff final, cruising to a 3-0 second-leg win over Brentford at the Riverside this evening to secure a 5-1 aggregate victory.
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The home side dominated possession from the start as they looked to consolidate their lead from the first leg at Griffin Park, but George Friend and Albert Adomah were both unable to add to the scoreline in the opening minutes.
Andre Gray tried to create some pressure for the visitors but was flagged offside, while a low strike from 20 yards out from Jota was comfortably saved by Dimitrios Konstantopoulos.
Aitor Karanka's side managed to increase their aggregate lead midway through the opening half when Lee Tomlin was left in space just outside the box, allowing him to line up a 20-yard finish, which a diving David Button was unable to save.
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Brentford's chances remained few and far between in the opening 45 minutes, with the best falling to Gray just before half time when Alan Judge picked him out with a high ball into the box, but he was unable to head in after Daniel Ayala had left him unmarked.
Moses Odubajo tried to get the Bees back into the start shortly after the restart, swinging in a low cross for Gray, but the forward could not stretch his leg out far enough to turn it in.
Middlesbrough punished the miss just a few minutes later as Jelle Vossen failed to get a shot away, but his miss set up Kike, who rounded Harlee Dean before blasting the ball past Button.
Adomah could have added a third on the night shortly after the hour mark as the home side sought to increase the gap further, but his powerful strike was straight at the Brentford keeper.
Chris Long came off the bench late on as the visitors tried to get a goal back, but he was denied a chance just a couple of minutes after coming on as Adam Clayton squeezed him out wide.
Adomah did find the back of the net before the end of the match though, finding himself clean through on goal with just over 10 minutes remaining and forcing a slip from Button before smashing into an open net off the underside of the crossbar.
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Alex Pritchard continued to push for the visitors, unleashing a dipping 35-yard effort at the start of stoppage time, but it was not enough to cause a problem for Konstantopoulos.
Boro will face the winner of the tie between Norwich City and Ipswich Town for the final place in next season's Premier League at Wembley later this month.
Sian Cowper
