A solitary strike from Middlesbrough captain Barry Robson, his first for the club, gave the home side a 1-0 win over a spirited Peterborough United side, who enjoyed the lions share of possession and caused one or two moments of alarm for Boro goalkeeper Danny Coyne.

The home side, kicking towards the end populated by the Posh fans, kept the ball well in the early periods and goalkeeper Joe Lewis was called upon to make an early save, pushing a low Josh Walker effort around the post.

It was Middlesbrough who was firmly in control and they got their noses in front through skipper Barry ROBSON whose controlled left-foot finish beat Lewis after Jonathan Franks had done all the hard work down the left, beating Charlie Lee for pace to get to the by-line.

Fellow Scot Lee Miller saw a shot deflect wide of the target via Ryan Bennett before centre back Stephen McManus headed the resulting corner kick wide of the target as Posh struggled to get into the game.

A dipping effort from Scott McDonald cleared the crossbar on 18 minutes as Gordon Strachan's men continued to cause problems for the Posh back-line as the creative players in blue and white battled for possession.

As the game reached the half hour mark, Posh were beginning to impose themselves on the game with Jake Livermore getting on the ball and the visitors also won their first corner kick of the afternoon, which caused a bit of panic in the home defence before Walker hacked the ball to safety.

Lee Frecklington saw a shot blocked on 33 minutes before McDonald headed wide at the other end after a franctic spell of action. Lewis did well to tip over a goal-bound Flood effort moments later after a mistake from Williams allowed Miller to advance.

Lewis made a smart stop to parry a fierce McDonald effort away from danger before Rowe took a nasty knock to the head as Robson tried to control a high foot. Posh were certainly looking confident in possession, but the majority of it was in their own half, the challenge in the second half would be to try and get Boyd and Mclean into the game more.

On the stroke of half-time, Bennett and Morgan had half-chances when the hosts struggled to deal with a Frecklington corner, but it came to nothing for the visitors, however 60 seconds later, Danny Coyne was called into action to superbly push a curler from Frecklington away from danger.  

Half-time: Middlesbrough 1-0 Posh

Franks made a lively start to the second period, delivering one or two expert crosses into the box, one of which Joe Lewis did well to fist away to safety. Gannon made a double switch on 52 minutes with Reuben Reid and Josh Simpson introduced as Lee and Williams made way.

Boro made a switch themselves on 55 minutes before the rain started to pour down at the Riverside Stadium. Franks fired wide after cutting inside from the left on the hour mark as Boro went in search of the all important second goal.

Substitute Reuben Reid was the main outlet for Posh, his pace and delivery into the box was causing panic in the Middlesbrough defence and twice crosses eluded everyone in the box to the frustration of boss Gannon. Frecklington was cautioned for a rash challenge on 65 minutes.

Flood drilled a shot wide of the target after Livermore was dispossessed for probably the first time this afternoon in the centre of the pitch. The home faithful were starting to get on the backs of the Middlesbrough players as Posh continued to show glimpses that they could snatch an unlikely point.

The pace of Leroy Lita was introduced from the bench with 15 minutes to play with the tiring McDonald withdrawn. Mackail-Smith replaced Mclean with 10 minutes to go and with just the one goal in it, Posh still had an opportunity to get an impressive result.  

With three minutes of time elapsed, Posh had a golden chance to level as the ball fell to Josh Simpson in the six-yard box, but his shot was somehow blocked before goalkeeper Coyne punched the ball clear.

Final Score: Middlesbrough 1-0 Posh

Middlesbrough: Coyne, McDonald (sub Lita 75min), Flood, Robson, Miller (sub Aliadiere 55min), McManus, Walker (sub Hoyte 59min), Bennett, Franks, Wheater, Naughton. Unused subs: Steele, Taylor,  Grounds, Williams.

Posh: Lewis, Williams (sub Simpson 52min), Morgan, Bennett, Lee (sub Reid 52min), Frecklington, Boyd, Livermore, Rowe, Whelpdale, Mclean (sub Mackail-Smith 80min). Unused subs: McKeown, Mills, Griffiths, Geohaghon.

Attendance: 18,417 (561 Posh fans)