Middlesbrough withstood a late Huddersfield Town barrage to record a 2-0 win in this afternoon's Championship clash at the Riverside Stadium, the hosts' second goal not coming until deep into injury time.
The Teesside outfit caused trouble as early as the sixth minute when Kike marauded forward into the Terriers final third before letting rip with a powerful shot that cannoned off the post.
Just four minutes later, Patrick Bamford also came within a whisker of opening the scoring as he fired narrowly wide from an acute angle.
The 21-year-old Chelsea loanee continued to cause the visitors problems throughout the first half, seeing a shot deflected out for a corner before heading wide from close range.
The first half ended with neither team breaking the deadlock, although Boro finished the stronger of the two as Adam Clayton volleyed over from outside the box and Tomas Kalas also came close just before the break.
Following the restart, the hosts picked up from where they left off, as Lee Tomlin drove forward before unleashing a shot which soared over the top.
Albert Adomah then blasted a shot wide from distance in the 59th minute, but moments later, Boro succeeded in breaking the deadlock when Tomlin rifled home a powerful shot from distance.
Huddersfield set about trying to find a prompt equaliser, Jacob Butterfield forcing a save from Dimitrios Konstantopoulos and Sean Scannell's effort being blocked by George Friend.
The visitors also had a penalty shout turned down midway through the second half, while in the 79th minute, Nahki Wells hit the upright with a low, curling effort from an angle.
For all of Huddersfield's late forays into the Boro final third, they were unable to find a goal, and Aitor Karanka's charges killed off the game right at the death through Tomlin's second strike of the match.
The result means that Boro remain in the hunt for a playoff spot, sitting fourth in the Championship table, while Huddersfield are 17th.
Giuseppe Labellarte
