MIDDLESBROUGH: Garry Monk praises his players' response as they bounce back from Leeds defeat with resounding home win

Britt Assombalonga’s first-half double sent Boro back into the Championship play-off places, and ensured Monk was able to move on quickly after his weekend return to Leeds did not go to plan.

The victory means the Teessiders have won four of their last five matches, a run that has thrust them into the heart of the promotion picture despite their stuttering start to the season.

Their last two outings at the Riverside have seen them keep successive clean sheets, and while Birmingham played like a side that have picked up just a solitary point from all of their away matches this season, the Teessiders are starting to click into gear.

“Overall, it was the response we were looking for,” said Monk. “There was lots of good play in our game, and there were lots of good chances as well.

“I thought it was a comfortable win really. We had an excellent first half with some really good play, and should probably have come in a few more goals ahead. We didn’t, and then you know there will be a response and they will have a period where they throw caution to the wind.

“They did that at the start of the second half, but I thought once we got to grips with that and came through it again, we created more opportunities.

“Overall, it was exactly the response to Sunday we were looking for. There were some good chances, and ultimately a clean sheet and three points was what we were looking for in terms of our response.”

Birmingham boss Steve Cotterill claimed Boro would not have won had they not had record signing Assombalonga in their ranks, and while that was over-egging things slightly, there is no doubt that the former Nottingham Forest striker is revelling in a rich vein of form.

He has now scored 11 league goals this season, with last night’s double coming courtesy of a predatory header after Blues goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak failed to hold Stewart Downing’s shot and a crisp low finish after Fabio Da Silva played an excellent ball behind the opposition defence.

Monk is notoriously reluctant to single out individual players for praise, but even he was unable to deflect attention away from Assamblonga, who is the second-highest goalscorer in the Championship.

“It’s for other people to decide how good he is,” said the Boro boss. “But I’m very pleased with Britt, like I am with all the other players, and he’s working well.

“It’s great that your attacking players and your striker are scoring goals because you know that’s what they like to do. It gives them confidence, but I’m not overly concerned with who scores the goals.

“For me, it’s more about winning games, trying to perform and trying to improve. And then when we suffer a negative result, it’s about trying to show a good response. Ultimately, that was what we came here to do.”

Birmingham’s only real threat came in the first half, when Daniel Ayala blocked a dangerous effort from Jonathan Grounds and Darren Randolph saved from Che Adams.

Earlier in the season, the Teessiders looked defensively insecure in a number of their home games, but with Ayala having returned to partner Ben Gibson at the heart of the back four, they are starting to look much more solid, a quality that was the bedrock of their successful promotion campaign under Aitor Karanka.

“It’s what you need to build from, especially in this league,” said Monk. “There’s not many games in this league where you have it all your own way. There’s always periods within a game where you’re tested.

“Even here, we totally dominated that first half, but you just know from experience that there’ll be a period in the second half where things change. That’s a little bit because of where the game was at and how comfortable we were – you knew they would try to come at us.

“You have to be good at defending in those periods, and I thought we defended well in that moment and got to grips with it. After that, we were able to be stronger again.”