Tommy Conway has addressed the “stick” he got from Bristol City supporters on his return to Ashton Gate after Middlesbrough bounced back from their defeat to the Robins with a win over Stoke City.
The former City forward featured in BS3 for the first time as an opposition player last Friday as Michael Carrick’s side were beaten 2-1 by Liam Manning’s Reds. Conway gave Boro the lead in the first half when he headed home from close range and the Scotland international opted to celebrate in front of Section 82 with his fingers in his ears.
That celebration was then mirrored by Robins’ substitute George Earthy. The West Ham United loanee scored his first two goals in City colours to help the Reds complete their comeback and wasted no time mimicking Conway as he raced towards the singing section after his winner.
Throughout the game at Ashton Gate, every touch the 22-year-old took was met with boos from the home crowd and various chants were directed his way, including ‘Conway, what’s the score?’
Although Middlesbrough’s defeat in the West Country was their fifth consecutive loss in the Championship, Carrick’s side managed to get back to winning ways on Tuesday evening with a 3-1 over Stoke. Goals from Marcus Forss, Finn Azaz and Conway were enough to ensure Boro ended their recent torrid run of form.
While Conway scored his 10th league goal of the season in the second half, the former Reds striker should have left the Bet365 Stadium with a brace as he somehow missed from just a couple of yards out in the first half. The 22-year-old was keen to move past his miss, pointing to his return to Ashton Gate whilst insisting he’d been through worse.
“I think for me I’ve had worse,” Conway told Boro’s media team when asked about his first-half miss. “I think if you look at Friday night, the stick I got, I’ve been in worse scenarios in my career already.
“I’ve put that behind me and I’m thankful that I managed to put that one in the back of the net second half and contribute with an assist for Finn as well. That’s all I want to do at the end of the day, I’ve said it many a time, contribute. Whether that’s with my pressing, my goalscoring, my assisting. As long as I help the team, I’m doing my job.”
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With their win over the Potters on Tuesday evening, Middlesbrough have moved level on points with 10th-placed Norwich City and sit four points outside of the top six with 12 games left of the regular Championship season.
City, who don’t play again until next Tuesday when they travel to The Den to face Alex Neil’s Millwall, remain eighth in the table and just two points adrift of sixth-placed Blackburn Rovers. The race for the play-offs is truly beginning to heat up as we enter the final months of the campaign.
While Boro’s recent run of form has made it harder for Carrick’s side to book their place in the top six come the end of the season, Conway is hoping the win over Stoke will provide a springboard for him and his teammates between now and the March international break.
“Looking at the games running into the international break, I think we can really kick-on hopefully,” the 22-year-old said. “Tonight we’ve really put a stamp on that and we go again on Saturday. We recover tomorrow and hopefully, we can go on a run now.”