Tees

Hartlepool local election 2026

The video playlist

Watch our pick of standout clips from Tees

Weatherfor Middlesbrough

Sport

BBC Sounds: From Tees

View more

Latest Updates

  1. 'Boro have an injury problem... our strikers are fit'

    Middlesbrough your opinions banner

    After Middlesbrough got back to winning ways against Sheffield Wednesday, we asked whether you thought Boro were still in the fight for automatic promotion or if you're gearing up for the play-offs.

    Here are some of your responses:

    Stephen: A win is a win, regardless of how it comes about. We need an out-and-out striker.

    If we had we would have been pushing Coventry even harder and be in a good, strong second place, not worrying about the teams behind us. Fingers crossed for the two last games, win and see how it goes.

    Andrew S: There's still hope. We have had bad patches before. If we win every remaining game this season then we will be in the Premier League next season and we will keep Hayden Hackney.

    Hopefully we will go up and stay up and have another run like we did in the 2000s when we were in Europe and reached the UEFA Cup final.

    Andrew: Sadly the poor home form since February has cost Boro automatic promotion. Having all four teams head into the final day on 79 points would be incredible drama, but can't see it happening.

    Ian: Little chance of top two. We have an injury problem - our strikers are fit! You wonder if we would be better not playing with strikers, roll on the play-offs.

    Gareth: It's a shame that the wheels seem to have come off right at the end of the season. For a while I dared to dream that we were going up. So hoping for one more crack at the play-offs! Still, immensely proud of the Boro this season, and almost reminiscent of our famous UEFA Cup run.

    Philip: Lack of firepower has been our down fall.

    Mike: It's ridiculous that it should come to this - relying on other clubs to drop points. We had automatic promotion in our grasp for three quarters of the season and then were found out through lack of a good striker. Goals win games. Simples.

  2. Mugshot of Aaron Thistlethwaite. He has a slight beard shadow and short dark hair. He may be attempting to look smouldering or aloof, but actually looks quite vacant.

  3. Side-by-side images of Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna holding out his arms in celebration while wearing a black zip up jacket and Alex Neil looking in a blue Millwall coat

  4. Three-year-old Bani, an Indian elephant walking through a grassy area with trees in the background. She has black boots on her hind feet.

  5. A happy young Katrice smiles at the camera wearing a red dress. She was two when she went missing

  6. Two banners have been attached to wooden stakes at the top of a hill. The banner on the left reads "Say no to solar panels and save your countryside". The one on the right says "Maiden Law solar farm the size of 250 football pitches from Burnhope nature reserve to Lanchester".

  7. Keir Starmer is gesticulating with both hands held up in front of him while responding to a question. He is wearing a dark navy shirt and suit jacket. The sky is bright blue behind him.

  8. Pick of the stats: Middlesbrough v Watford

    Side-by-side of Middlesbrough and Watford club badges

    Middlesbrough will hope to keep their automatic promotion bid alive as they host Watford on Saturday (12:30 BST).

    Boro won their first home game in seven league matches when Morgan Whittaker scored the winner against Sheffield Wednesday on Wednesday.

    But they are still three points adrift of the second spot with four teams all vying for the coveted second automatic promotion position.

    • Middlesbrough have lost each of their last three league meetings with Watford, their longest ever losing run against the Hornets.

    • Watford, 1-0 winners in this exact fixture last season, are looking to win back-to-back league visits to Middlesbrough for the first time since April 1992 (3 in a row).

    • Middlesbrough have only won their final home league game in two of the last six seasons (D2 L2), although one of those was against Watford in 2023-24 (3-1).

    • Watford have lost their final away league game in nine of the last 10 seasons (D1 – v Sunderland in 2022-23) since a 2-0 win at Brighton in 2014-15.

    • Watford have lost each of their last three league games, all without scoring; outside of the top-flight, only from December 1971 to February 1972 have they ever lost more in a row without reply (7)

    An image detailing how to follow your Championship team on BBC Sport: "On the app? Tap the bell icon to get news about your club sent to you. Signed in on a browser? Hit 'Follow' to stay up to date.

  9. Stock image of the words "Bus stop" painted in yellow on a road

  10. A couple stand outside the office and shop of the Teesdale Mercury and look through the window. There are two large windows either side of the door displaying various goods. The shop front and a door to the side are painted in a blue/grey colour.

  11. An aerial view of an artists' impression of a housing development in a field next to an existing development. There is a large green field in one corner, and the rows of streets with houses drawn on.

  12. Is the automatic promotion dream still alive?

    Middlesbrough have your say banner

    Okay, they made rather hard work of it, but Boro's winless streak at The Riverside is over after Wednesday's 1-0 victory over Sheffield Wednesday.

    Barring something truly extraordinary in the final two games of the season, which would need Boro to lose at home to Watford and at Wrexham on the final day, and two wins and a swing of more than a dozen in goal difference from the chasing pack, Boro are play-off bound, at least...

    But they are also three points behind second place and the final automatic promotion place.

    Six points to finish the season would make things very interesting, especially as two of the three sides in the race face each other next Tuesday as Southampton entertain Ipswich.

    So how are you feeling, Boro fans? Are you plotting which play-off match-up would suit you best, or holding out hope that Millwall, Ipswich and Saints will drop points?

    Click here to have your say.

  13. Julie Norris with short brown hair, blue jumper and black clipboard smiling and while standing on a football pitch. There is a goalpost and some trees in the background.

  14. 'It didn't matter how it looked' - Hellberg

    Middlesbrough manager Kim Hellberg looks onGetty Images

    Middlesbrough boss Kim Hellberg was satisfied his team got the job done against Sheffield Wednesday

    Middlesbrough boss Kim Hellberg was pleased by his side's return to winning ways as they narrowly defeated Sheffield Wednesday at the Riverside - and he conceded that doing so in style was not a priority.

    Morgan Whittaker scored the only goal of the game when he intercepted Gabriel Otegbayo's pass-back to Murphy Cooper and finished beyond the Owls goalkeeper in the 11th minute.

    Things might have been more comfortable for Boro, whose automatic promotion hopes remain alive with two matches left to play, but they instead had to come through a nervy finish to seal all three points.

    Hellberg told BBC Radio Tees: "It's difficult when you have not won in a long time, especially at home. In this kind of game, when you are not 3-0 or 4-0 up, you know it's going to be a tough last ten minutes.

    "We could have scored two or three, which would have made it easier for us. You can feel that we haven't won at home in a while, and everyone gets nerves. We had to switch momentum - we backed up a top performance on Sunday with a win here.

    "It wasn't a good game from us in general, but that does not matter.

    "It didn't matter how it looked, to be fair. It didn't matter how we scored. We just needed to score, needed to win - and we did, against a team who hadn't lost in three."

    Listen to the full interview on BBC Sounds

  15. Morgan Whittaker of Middlesbrough celebrates his goal with team-mate Tommy Conway

  16. Two white police vans parked outside a row of shops. There is a blue police tent on the pavement and a police cordon.

  17. A black plastic box with the words "Ballot Box" printed on it in white. A person, who is wearing a black coat, is placing a folded piece of paper through the slit in the top.

  18. Katie Swinburne looking into the camera with a slight smile. She has blonde hair which is tied back and is wearing a blue jacket, silver necklace and white top underneath. She is standing in a train station on a platform which is out of focus.

  19. Smoke coming from small blue cordoned off structure on a grassy beach cliff. On the right hand side of the photo you can see sand.

  20. A view of the railway platform with some tracks leading up to it. There is a concrete bridge over the tracks and tall street lights lining either side. On the right there is a brick signal box. Trees surround the platform and tracks.

  21. A group of musicians on stage, most are wearing black but a musician in the centre is wearing a red jacket and playing the violin. There are more musicians playing violins, with a piano and viola as well. The stage wall behind them is wooden and lit up in a yellow light. The audience are sitting down in rows and the backs of their heads are in shadow. It looks very full.

  22. A male and female artist spray paint a wall. The words Spider Park are among the work on the wall.

  23. A block of public toilets in Ripon in North Yorkshire.

  24. An empty industrial plot at Seal Sands near Billingham. A metal fence topped with barbed wire is by the roadside and scrubland is beyond the fence. It is an overcast day with a thick bed of clouds in the sky.