‘Class football club’ – Charlton boss Nathan Jones has special praise for Middlesbrough.

Following Charlton’s loss on Tuesday, Nathan Jones had great things to say about Middlesbrough and their supporters.

Nathan Jones has high comments for Middlesbrough and their fans following Tuesday night’s game at the Valley.

Boro won the game 2-1 thanks to goals from Riley McGree and Morgan Whittaker, closing the distance to table-toppers Coventry City to just five points.

However, it was an emotional evening in London as Charlton paid tribute to Norman Barker, a well-known supporter affectionately known as ‘headphones Norm’ who tragically died after collapsing during their match against Portsmouth on Saturday.

As well as tributes before the game, the referee brought a momentary halt to the action in the 13th minute as everyone cheered to pay their respects.

That included the nearly-2,500-strong Boro away end, who began screaming ‘One Norman Barker’ at one point in a classy moment that the Addicks manager could not miss.

Jones stated, “I thought that was a very moving homage. Our football team demonstrated class in terms of organisation, and praise must also be given to the Middlesbrough fans, who were simply magnificent.

“Not all fans are like that, and not all supporters would have been that polite. We thank them, but we know they’re a high-quality football team.

“We have lost a member of our family. His family was here tonight, and our prayers will be with them because they have lost someone very close to them.”

Boro won the game and returned to Teesside with all three points, despite having to work more than they should have.

Jones’ substitutions resulted in an improved second half for the hosts, who were 2-0 up at the break. George Edmundson almost scored an own goal nine minutes later.

Boro would struggle through to claim all three points, and Jones was full of admiration for Boro’s talent, while also feeling little aggrieved that his team did not win a penalty right after Boro’s first goal, which might have made for a different contest.

“I’m really disappointed with elements of the first half,” Jones said. “We kept giving away the ball.

When you keep throwing the ball away, this is a good, even exceptional team. “We were aggressive against them. We choose a team to play forward and try to win the ball from them.

They have Premier League quality, huge resources, an excellent football team, and are well-coached. “We knew it would be a tough night, especially given what we were lacking.

Overall, we can compete with anyone in this league if we perform the basics well, keep the ball better, and play a little more aggressively.

“The second half I thought we were quite good. We scored, had additional opportunities, and should have had a penalty in the first half.

I don’t understand how that wasn’t offered! “We’re in a bad spot. We’ve faced four of the league’s top five or six clubs, and it’s been difficult, but we have to get through it.

“We threw the ball away for the first goal, but we had done the same thing previously and had not learnt from it. The second goal is the killer, as we attack shortly before halftime.

“We put a wonderful ball in, it lands in the box, our left wing-back isn’t there, and their full-back passes way too easily. We don’t stop the play and they break and score.

That was the killing goal since we were trailing 2-0; if it was only one and we equalised, I think we’d win the game.

“As it was, they make the changes and see out the game, and we didn’t demonstrate enough quality in the final third to punish them.” The win guaranteed Kim Hellberg’s flawless start as Boro manager maintained.

The Swede now has three wins out of three, and he has swiftly impressed all spectators. “He’s obviously an excellent coach,” the Charlton manager stated.

“It was a team that was already in the top two or three, so they didn’t make a sudden meteoric jump or fall off a cliff,” he continued.

“He’s won his first three games, which is always difficult at Championship level, but he’s got a wonderful squad to work with.

He’s had a fantastic start to life in the Championship, although from a very excellent foundation.”

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