Middlesbrough's winning run ends with a draw at City Ground

NO RECORDS were broken, but Middlesbrough remain firmly in the mix at the top end of the Championship after extending their unbeaten run to eight matches at the City Ground last night.

In a game of very few clear cut chances and shots on target, Boro missed out on the chance to go top by failing to make it seven away wins in a row for the first time in the club’s history.

But in preventing a defeat that Middlesbrough supporters have become accustomed to at Nottingham Forest over the years, manager Tony Mowbray will look to Friday’s visit of Sheffield Wednesday as the night to take the lead in the race to the Premier League.

Middlesbrough could have lost as easily as they might have won to make it six league wins in a row for the first time in 21 years.

But Mowbray will know a victory over the Owls at the Riverside can take Middlesbrough to the top of the tree for first time in almost 14 months.

While records and statistics are there to be broken, Middlesbrough supporters must have feared the worst at a venue where they have constantly watched their team struggle to deliver.

When Brian Deane struck the winner in 1999 it was the first time – and only time – since 1973 the Teessiders have actually claimed a win at a venue steeped in history from the Brian Clough era.

And with skipper Jonathan Woodgate not risked ahead of Friday’s game it was always going to be a tough test to keep Forest’s attacks at bay.

Strikers Billy Sharp, on loan from Southampton, and Simon Cox were two that interested Mowbray during the summer and Woodgate’s replacement Seb Hines and Andre Bikey had difficulty tracking the pair before finding their feet and standing tall.

With the exception of a couple of wayward efforts from Scott McDonald and Faris Haroun at the other end, it was Jason Steele’s net that was under the most threat initially.

Despite a number of very good chances Steele was not forced in to a meaningful save until he got down low on the stroke of half-time to turn a strike from Adlene Guedioura away for a corner.

Before that the men in front of him had combined to thwart those in red shirts as they pressed the Middlesbrough box in search of the opener, just days after they were defeated 4-1 by Millwall on the same stage.

Former Sunderland winger Andy Reid was influential.

His clever thinking teed up Sharp to find the side netting shortly after the Irishman had curled wide from 12 yards.

The presence of Chris Cohen down the right also caused problems for left-back George Friend, but it was a cross down Stuart Parnaby’s flank that came within a whisker of finding the net.

When Dan Harding’s centre rolled in to the area it evaded two centre-backs as well as both Cox and Sharp. Yet it fell kindly for Guedioura, lurking on the edge of the area, and only a last-gasp block from Josh McEachran prevented it from testing Steele.

If Middlesbrough were to continue their outstanding run of form and make it seven wins in a row in all competitions then they needed to find more of an attacking verve and greater composure going forward.

Even with Haroun roaming around in behind striker Mc- Donald and Lukas Jutkiewicz there was very little for Forest to worry about in the opening 45 minutes.

And after Sharp headed a corner from the effective Cohen wide seconds after the restart, Boro started to look more dangerous – but still struggled to test Lee Camp.

But when Grant Leadbitter’s tidy ball behind the defence found McDonald it looked as if the Middlesbrough fans behind the goal would get the goal they craved.

The Aussie striker poked the ball away from the onrushing Camp and with the goal standing empty former Sunderland defender Danny Collins did just enough to stop McDonald from grabbing the opener.

Leadbitter, wearing the armband again in the absence of Woodgate, also had a dipping drive from distance which crept the wrong side of the post by inches as Middlesbrough’s attacking output increased.

Yet in the end, once Jutkiewicz’s last contribution was to mis-control a perfect through pass from Haroun behind the defence and McDonald had lobbed on to the roof of the net, Middlesbrough could just easily have lost.

Cox powered a shot off Steele’s right hand post and Elliott Ward’s overhead kick deflected off Nicky Bailey and dropped narrowly wide as Forest looked for the winner themselves.

A point keeps Middlesbrough second, with Crystal Palace the new leaders to catch ahead of a night at the Riverside when it is hoped the fans will come flooding back.

MATCHFACTS

Bookings: Leadbitter (68, foul); Guedioura (71, foul)
Referee: Simon Hooper (Wiltshire) 7
Attendance: 20,150
Entertainment: 2/5

NOTTINGHAM FOREST (4-1-3-2): Camp 5; Halford 6, Ward 6, Collins 6, Harding 6 (Moloney 88); Guedioura 7; Cohen 7, Gillett 6, REID 7 (Lansbury 88); Cox 6 (Blackstock 88), Sharp 6.
Subs (not used): McGugan, Darlow, Tudgay, Coppinger.

MIDDLESBROUGH (4-3-1-2): Steele 6; Parnaby 6 (Hoyte 46, 6), Hines 7, Bikey 7, Friend 6; Bailey 6, LEADBITTER 7, McEachran 6; Haroun 6; McDonald 7 (Zemmama 85), Jukiewicz 6 (Ledesma 80).
Subs: Leutwiler (gk), Williams, Smallwood, Reach.

MAN OF THE MATCH
GRANT Leadbitter – always at the centre of things and came close to scoring the winner himself