Have your say - Middlesbrough 2 Hull 0: Boro climbing high as Hull are denied once again on Teesside

WHAT is it about Teesside that seems to bring out the worst in Hull City?

Both Ayresome Park and now the Riverside Stadium have proved veritable houses of pain for the East Yorkshiremen over many years and they remain in search of their first win at Boro since March 1986 after another depressing night up the east coast.

Boro, by contrast, can reflect on a job well done and a third Championship victory on the spin as they crowned Tony Mowbray’s second anniversary as boss on Friday in the best way possible.

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As a result, they leapfrogged City into the Championship play-off spots in the bargain as they moved up to third.

The damage was done in seven second-half minutes with Faris Haroun and Ishmael Miller, scoring their first goals this calendar year – and in the latter’s case, maiden strike for the club – providing the latest lamentable Riverside statistic for Hull and their manager Steve Bruce, who himself hasn’t now won at the cursed venue in eight attempts as a manager.

Last season’s fixture between the sides attracted a massive gate of 27,794, with a bumper holiday crowd foregoing the festive excesses to flock to the Riverside last Boxing Day, including a big turn-out of 2,704 from East Yorkshire.

Last night’s gate – a derby of sorts and between two teams who had started the season well – was considerably less well-supported from both sets of fans and that was being charitable, with Boro boss Mowbray’s pre-match utterances about the Football League and Football Association doing more to entice supporters back through the turnstiles in tough, financial times a cogent one on this evidence.

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Both Boro and the Tigers came into the game seeking a hat-trick of successive league wins and it was the Teessiders who displayed the early quality, despite Aaron Mclean firing the first chance of the night wide when well-placed for the visitors.

Highly-rated teenager Adam Reach then profited from a weak clearance from captain Andy Dawson to test the reactions of Ben Amos in the away goal with a low drive which was parried away after nine minutes.

From the resulting corner, Wetherby-born Seb Hines rose highest with his point-blank header blocked by the Tigers goalkeeper before being hacked away to safety.

Marvin Emnes, described as virtually irreplaceable by his manager beforehand, buzzed with intent and posed plenty of early problems for the Tigers rearguard with the Dutchman seeing a shot saved by Amos after turning away from Paul McKenna, while at the other end, Hull largely flattered to deceive.

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A piledriver from Grant Leadbitter was then beaten away, not exactly convincingly by Amos, before the Boro captain then showed his prowess in defence to make a great saving challenge to deny Nick Proschwitz homing in on goal following a terrific slide-rule pass from Mclean.

Boro then went desperately close to taking the lead on 32 minutes due to some butter-fingered keeping from Amos, whose handling was suspect in the first period, and again almost proving costly.

He spilled another fiercely-hit shot from Leadbitter with Miller latching on the rebound, only for the visiting goalkeeper to block his effort to redeem his error instantly.

Boro almost drew first blood five minutes after the restart following a corner with George Friend’s header clipping the top of the bar and Miller eventually nodding the follow-up wide with City stretched.

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At the other end, an unmarked Proschwitz couldn’t get a clean connection when well-placed following a dangerous cross from Ahmed Elmohamady – the duo combining to such devastating effect twice at home to Ipswich Town on Saturday.

Boro finally grabbed the breakthrough they deserved close to the hour mark.

A City corner came to nothing and a barnstorming run upfield by Friend caught the visitors totally flat-footed with the former Doncaster Rovers man showing the composure of an accomplished midfielder to thread the ball invitingly to Haroun, who rounded Amos before steering the ball into the empty net for his first goal since last December.

Bruce reacted to the blow by bringing on Sone Aluko for the ineffective Proschwitz and, moments later, City almost grabbed a leveller with their most clear-cut opportunity, Mclean hooking the ball agonisingly wide following Liam Rosenior’s fine cross.

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On 66 minutes, Boro sealed it with Friend again instrumental, showing twinkled-toed skills to evade the City defence with his shot blocked by the legs of Amos and while the goalkeeper also saved subsitute Scott McDonald’s follow-up, Miller was on hand to tuck in the rebound.

The Tigers’ night was summed up 13 minutes later when replacement Corry Evans hit the post and Mclean put the rebound wide before McDonald almost fired in a third for Boro late on.

Middlesbrough: Steele; Parnaby, Hines, Bikey, Friend; Reach (McDonald 65), Leadbitter, McEachran (Bailey 77); Haroun, Emnes, Miller (Ledesma 80). Unused substitutes: Leutwiler, Halliday, Park, Smallwood.

Hull City: Amos; Rosenior (Simpson 76), Chester, McShane, Dawson; Elmohamady, McKenna (Evans 76), Olofinjana, Quinn; Mclean, Proschwitz (Aluko 60). Unused substitutes: Oxley, Cooper, Bruce, Townsend.

Referee: P Tierney (Wigan).