Coventry City edge towards Premier League promotion – who will join them?
Going into the Easter weekend in the top two places, Middlesbrough still have the opportunity to finish with victory at Swansea City at 17:30 BST.
Alex Bangura put them on track with a goal in the 12th minute but Boro needed Tommy Conway’s spot kick to salvage a point after two Zan Vipotnik penalties put the Swans ahead.
Boro are floundering with two wins in their last 10 games, and although they have scored more than one goal for the first time in five games, the feeling remains that they are a frustrating and inconsistent proposition in front of goal.
After a day of similar roller-coaster emotions, manager Kim Hellberg said after the game there would be more “twists and turns” in the promotion fight.
“There are three teams on 72 points – Ipswich have some games in hand so they’re in a better position than the other two, but we’re in a better position than Millwall because of the better goal difference,” he told BBC Radio Tees.
“There will be twists and turns. No team is going to just win games. It’s tough and you have to try to get the points and wins in this period.
“We have to keep fighting. It’s hard not to win because we thought we were good enough to win in the game but then you have to do it.
“The easy answer right now is that we are not clinical enough or smart enough in different ways.”
With a four-point lead over Ipswich, a very slim goal difference and games in hand for Tractor Boys, Hull could be considered outsiders in this race.
But the Tigers showed against Coventry that they can match anyone in the league, reaffirming the superb job Sergej Jakirovic has done under the transfer embargo in his first season in English football.
Although when asked what this point meant in the wider context of Hull’s season, Jakirovic was referring to the play-offs rather than automatic promotion.
“Someone said it was 73, 74, 75 [to reach the play-offs] but God knows how many there are. Until we get to that position we will just look after ourselves and try to get points in every game,” Jakirovic told BBC Radio Humberside.
“Norwich are coming, Derby are there, Southampton… but no matter what, we have to look after ourselves.”
