Albert Adomah played 90 minutes as Middlesbrough lost 2-0 to Watford in the Championship.
Boro’s loss, combined with victories for Bournemouth and Norwich City—as well as for the Hornets—pushes Aitor Karanka’s side down to fourth place with only five games to go in the second tier.
Middlesbrough moved top of the league after their victory over strugglers Wigan Athletic on Friday evening. However, the Riversiders’ stay at the top of the division lasted only 72 hours as they were thoroughly outclassed by Watford.
Striker Troy Deeney opened the scoring on 37 minutes—his 20th goal of the season—before new Nigeria international Odion Ighalo added the second on 65 minutes after sending a powerful shot past Dimitrios Konstantopolous.
While Middlesbrough were terrific against Wigan three days ago, their recent defeat to Bournemouth, coupled with this latest loss, has raised doubts about their promotion credentials.
Adomah and his teammates currently sit one point behind their victors Watford and Norwich, who occupy the second automatic promotion spot. Leaders Bournemouth are on 77 points, two clear of Boro.
Middlesbrough and Norwich meet on Friday April 17, while Boro also have to welcome Wolverhampton Wanderers—who sit in the final play-off spot—next Tuesday.
The Smoggies will surely have to be more decisive in these fixtures if they are to return to the top table.
As has been the case in recent months, Adomah played as a right-winger in Karanka’s 4-2-3-1 formation. He completed three dribbles—a joint-game high according to WhoScored—and also contributed one key pass.
However, this was not one of the Black Star’s better performances, and he lost the ball on several occasions, often due to poor control.
The 27-year-old has featured 38 times for Boro so far this season, starting on 35 occasions, and has contributed five goals and two assists.