Whittaker and Conway Braces Power Middlesbrough to 5–1 Rout of Watford

Morgan Whittaker and Tommy Conway both struck twice as Middlesbrough FC overwhelmed Watford FC 5–1 in a one-sided Championship clash on matchday 45.

The hosts started fast, with Whittaker opening the scoring in the 6th minute to give Middlesbrough an early 1–0 lead. Watford struggled to gain a foothold, and the advantage was doubled on the brink of half-time. In first-half stoppage time (45+1), Dávid Strelec made it 2–0, finishing off a move created by Whittaker, who added an assist to his tally.

Championship FINISHED

2026-04-25 11:30

Middlesbrough FC

5 - 1

Watford FC

Matchday 45 REGULAR_SEASON

Watford briefly threatened a comeback just after the restart. In the 48th minute, James Abankwah pulled one back for the visitors, converting after good work from Kévin Keben Biakolo to reduce the deficit to 2–1.

Any momentum the Hornets had was quickly extinguished. Whittaker restored Middlesbrough’s two-goal cushion in the 58th minute with his second of the afternoon, pushing the score to 3–1 and putting the home side firmly back in control.

Middlesbrough continued to press and were rewarded with a penalty in the 75th minute. Substitute Tommy Conway stepped up and converted from the spot to make it 4–1. Conway then added further gloss to the scoreline deep into stoppage time, striking again in the 90+2 minute after being set up by Strelec to complete a convincing 5–1 victory.

Watford’s frustration showed late on, with bookings for Abankwah (74′) and Imran Louza (85′), while Aidan Morris saw yellow for Middlesbrough in the 85th minute. Both managers made a number of substitutions after the break, including the introduction of Matt Targett, Dael Fry, Leo Castledine, Sam Silvera, Othmane Maamma, Mamadou Doumbia, Jack Grieves, Nestor Irankunda and Tom Ince.

Beyond the goals, bookings and substitutions, detailed match statistics and further in-game events were not available in the provided data.

For more on the Championship, visit the league page on Ballaxy. Full match details can be found on the Middlesbrough vs Watford match centre.

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Championship Standings

Season: 2025/26

#	Team	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Form
1	Coventry City FC	46	28	11	7	97	45	52	95	W W W D D
2	Ipswich Town FC	46	23	15	8	80	47	33	84	W D D W D
3	Millwall FC	46	24	11	11	64	49	15	83	W D W W D
4	Southampton FC	46	22	14	10	82	56	26	80	W D D W W
5	Middlesbrough FC	46	22	14	10	72	47	25	80	D W W D L
6	Hull City AFC	46	21	10	15	70	66	4	73	W L D D L
7	Wrexham AFC	46	19	14	13	69	65	4	71	D L W W L
8	Derby County FC	46	20	9	17	67	59	8	69	L W L W L
9	Norwich City FC	46	19	8	19	63	56	7	65	L D W W L
10	Birmingham City FC	46	17	13	16	57	56	1	64	D W W D W
11	Swansea City AFC	46	18	10	18	57	59	-2	64	W D W L W
12	Bristol City FC	46	17	11	18	59	59	0	62	W L D L D
13	Sheffield United FC	46	18	6	22	66	66	0	60	W L L W W
14	Preston North End FC	46	15	15	16	55	62	-7	60	L W L L W
15	Queens Park Rangers FC	46	16	10	20	61	73	-12	58	L L L L D
16	Watford FC	46	14	15	17	53	65	-12	57	L L L L L
17	Stoke City FC	46	15	10	21	51	56	-5	55	L L L L D
18	Portsmouth FC	46	14	13	19	49	64	-15	55	D W L W W
19	Charlton Athletic FC	46	13	14	19	44	58	-14	53	L W L D L
20	Blackburn Rovers FC	46	13	13	20	42	56	-14	52	L W D L D
21	West Bromwich Albion FC	46	13	14	19	48	58	-10	51	L D W W D
22	Oxford United FC	46	11	14	21	45	59	-14	47	L W L L W
23	Leicester City FC	46	12	16	18	58	68	-10	46	W D D L L
24	Sheffield Wednesday FC	46	2	12	32	29	89	-60	0	W L L D D