By OkayGoal
Middlesbrough’s dominant run at the top of the EFL Championship standings continued on Halloween.
Sebastian Berhalter scored his third goal of the season in Middlesbrough’s 3-0 win over Charlton Athletic on Saturday. Berhalter logged a full 90-minute shift while also registering his third assist as well.
Kim Hellberg’s men needed only 12 minutes to grab a 1-0 lead as Berhalter snuck a low shot into the bottom-left corner. Berhalter created just enough room for his shot which found its way in and gave Middlesbrough an early advantage.
Middlesbrough doubled its lead before halftime as Will Lankshear finished off Berhalter’s through-ball assist into the bottom corner. Berhalter slid a pass through the Charlton backline before watching the in-form Lankshear finish off his 12th goal of the campaign.
Lankshear capped off Middlesbrough’s dominant performance by scoring his second goal of the day with six minutes to play.
Berhalter finished the match with six chances created, two fouls drawn, four duels won, and four defensive contributions.
Fellow American midfielder Aidan Morris also went the distance for Middlesbrough while Max Arfsten played 12 minutes off of the bench.
“I think it was a tough game, you could see from the beginning that they had a clear game plan,” Berhalter said. “They won a lot of second balls, had good flicks and are a tough team to play against but I think we took over in the first half and in the second half too but we saw the threat they posed. I think it was a professional win and good to get the job done.”
Middlesbrough are now unbeaten in eight-straight matches across all competitions and will face both Wrexham and Watford away from home ahead of the November international break.
Jack McGlynn delivers MOTM showing in Stoke City triumph
Sebastian Berhalter isn’t the only American midfielder enjoying a productive start to life in the EFL Championship.
Jack McGlynn scored his third goal of the campaign as Stoke City defeated Preston North End 2-0 on Saturday. The former MLS homegrown also registered one assist as the Potters stayed in the top-half of the league table.
McGlynn’s magical left foot was at it again as the 23-year-old set up Ben Wilmot for Stoke City’s first-half opener. His cross into the box was headed home by Wilmot in the 28th minute, giving Mark Robins’ men a 1-0 lead.
After playing distributor on Stoke’s opening goal, McGlynn dialed his own number seven minutes into the second half to pad the hosts eventual win.
McGlynn’s left-footed shot found the bottom-right corner for a 2-0 Potters lead.
McGlynn would go the distance in Stoke’s victory, finishing with three shots, eight defensive recoveries, and one duel won.
Fellow American Luca Bombino played 73 minutes from the start, continuing his positive start overseas as well.
Robins praised McGlynn’s immediate impact in the squad since making a major move from MLS earlier in the summer.
“The fact that he’s only a young man who has traveled halfway around the world to come to a different country and play,” Robins said in a postmatch club interview. “He’s a very talented player and we like to have him and the fact that he works really hard and that he takes in information quickly and consumes in quickly, you can see an improvement in him game-by-game.
“Today I thought he was brilliant, instrumental, scored one and made one, had opportunities, created bits and pieces, passing was outstanding, on and off the ball he found some really good spaces, I think when his communication improves, he will improve overall.”
Seventh-place Stoke City will take on Blackburn Rovers and Portsmouth prior to the international break.