Middlesbrough Climb To Second After Comeback Win Over Stoke City In Championship

Middlesbrough fought back to beat Stoke City 2-1 in the Championship, reclaiming second place after falling behind early. Tommy Conway hit the winner after Alan Browne’s equaliser, leaving Boro two points

ahead of Ipswich Town and trimming the gap to leaders Coventry City to nine points.

The defeat hurt Stoke City’s push for the Championship play-offs, with Bosun Lawal sent off late on for two yellow cards. Stoke stayed eighth and missed a chance to move back into the top six, while Watford’s draw with Portsmouth kept the Hornets one point ahead of Stoke.

Kim Hellberg’s side came into the trip to the bet365 Stadium under pressure after Ipswich Town beat Bristol City 2-0 on 20 January and Coventry City also won. That left Middlesbrough nine points off top spot, and the situation worsened when Tomas Rigo struck after 15 minutes.

Rigo’s low effort bounced awkwardly in front of Sol Brynn and slipped past the Middlesbrough goalkeeper. Injury-hit Stoke City then created two major chances to extend the lead but failed to take them, chances that looked costly once the visitors raised the tempo after the interval.

Three minutes into the second half, Hayden Hackney saw a shot pushed out by Tommy Simkin and Alan Browne reacted fastest. Browne finished the rebound to bring Middlesbrough level, then turned provider 11 minutes later when Conway spun onto Browne’s cross and guided in the decisive second goal.

Match	Competition	Score	Key scorers
Stoke City vs Middlesbrough	Championship	1-2	Rigo; Browne, Conway
Watford vs Portsmouth	Championship	1-1	Segecic; Doumbia
Southampton vs Sheffield United	Championship	1-0	Scienza (deflected off Arblaster)

Some night. pic.twitter.com/l7yzRIdrurMiddlesbrough FC (@Boro) January 21, 2026

Watford’s 1-1 draw with Portsmouth at Vicarage Road added another twist near the Championship play-off spots. Adrian Segecic put Portsmouth in front with 17 minutes left, but Mamadou Doumbia replied just six minutes later, ensuring the Hornets held onto a point and stayed just ahead of Stoke City.

That result means Watford sit a single point above Stoke, with both clubs aiming to keep pace with the Championship promotion contenders. Stoke’s failure to win, combined with Lawal’s late dismissal for two bookable offences, made a frustrating evening for the home support at the bet365 Stadium.

Championship: Southampton extend run over Sheffield United

Elsewhere in the Championship, Sheffield United slipped to a third straight defeat, losing 1-0 to Southampton at St Mary’s. Leo Scienza scored after seven minutes with a shot that deflected off Oli Arblaster, giving Southampton a first league victory since 9 December and pushing them four points clear of Sheffield United.

Team	Opponent	Streak vs opponent
Southampton	Sheffield United	6 wins in a row
Southampton	Hull City	6 wins (2011–2015)
Southampton	Crystal Palace	6 wins (1955–1958), 7 wins (2009–2015)
Southampton	Newport County	8 wins (1922–1955)

Data from the bet365 Stadium showed Middlesbrough edging the expected goals numbers, 1.22 to 0.81, with 16 shots to Stoke City’s 10 and seven attempts on target to four. Middlesbrough have now won consecutive league games away to Stoke for only the second time, last achieving back-to-back victories there in March 1956.

Southampton’s win extended a dominant Championship sequence against Sheffield United, marking a sixth successive victory over the Blades. Sheffield United became just the fourth club to lose six or more straight matches to Southampton, joining Hull City, Crystal Palace and Newport County in that group, underlining the Saints’ long-term edge in this fixture.