Middlesbrough 2 Reading 1: Boro persistence pays with Forshaw's strike

Middlesbrough, thankfully for their sakes, are handling the pressure rather better than the Texan did in Sunday’s final round of the Masters.

Only just, mind.

A pulsating night of unremitting tension in the fog on Teesside looked like ending in a missed opportunity for the hosts, only for substitute Adam Forshaw to come up with a truly special last-gasp Riverside moment.

With virtually the last kick of the game he moved Boro two points clear at the summit, and four ahead of Brighton in third, with five matches left.

Just last week, Boro were afforded nostalgia on the 10th anniversary of their Massimo Maccarone inspired late UEFA Cup quarter-final win over Basel at an ecstatic Riverside.

Forshaw’s goal last night, as the hosts threw the equivalent of the kitchen sink at Reading, might not become quite as revered as the Italian’s epic strikes against Basel and then Steaua Bucharest in 2005-06, but it could prove a massive moment in Boro’s quest to return to the Premier League.

Boro, as is often their wont, made hard work of getting over the line and securing their fifth successive league victory.

But they were rewarded for a frenzied finale when Forshaw evoked the spirit of the home victory over Hull City last month by emulating the feats of their super-sub on that night, fellow Scouser David Nugent, by firing a stoppage-time winner.

For the second game running, a team managed by a former Leeds manager made it an uncomfortable occasion for the hosts.

After Boro fans were bemoaning Brighton midfielder Steve Sidwell’s stoppage-time striker at Nottingham Forest on Monday, which moved third-placed Seagulls within a point of Boro, last night’s development was 
infinitely more palatable for them.

Boro led on 10 minutes. Emilio Nsue fired home the rebound after Ali Al-Habsi made a remarkable save to keep out Jordan Rhodes’s point-blank effort following a brilliant cross from George Friend.

Home supporters broke into a chorus of ‘We are top of the league’, but it proved presumptuous and in keeping with a new year which has been decidedly mixed, Boro displayed the good and the not so good for the rest of the half.

The hosts were sporadically dangerous on the counter-attack, but Reading grew into the game and showed some slick and purposeful approach play.

Simon Cox, substitute Gareth McCleary and Danny Williams all went close, with the Royals putting the hosts on the back foot on occasions, with the impression inescapable that Boro would need a second goal.

Friend, a rampant force down the left, almost provided it with a powerful shot that flew just wide, and the recalled Stewart Downing and Rhodes also tested Al-Habsi.

Fve minutes before the break the visiting goalkeeper made a fine scrambling save at his near post to deny Albert Adomah a relieving second after a searing home break.

Adomah proved somewhat more wasteful moments into the second half, somehow miscuing with the goal at his mercy after excellent work by Ritchie de Laet.

That miss was almost instantly punished with only a desperate last-ditch block denying Cox, but the striker fared better on 54 minutes.

Former Boro defender Andrew Taylor, an interval replacement, was afforded space as Reading pinned back the hosts and after Dimi Konstantopoulos spilled his fierce low shot from distance, Cox dispatched the rebound.

The frustration was palpable among home supporters, with Boro lacking conviction and Reading starting to enjoy themselves and entitled to sense a second successive league win on Teesside.

Another smart save from Al-Habsi, who blocked Downing’s rasping low shot, was the precursor to some home dominance, with Ben Gibson soon heading over a glaring chance as Boro got back on message.

The final quarter was somewhat frantic as Boro despairingly pressed for a winner with Williams spurning a half-chance before Al-Habsi again earned his keep by beating away Downing’s strike.

Boro laid siege towards the end, Al-Habsi denying Nugent before Matej Vydra missed a chance to win it at the other end.

A winner did duly arrive, courtesy of Forshaw, who fired home at the near post as Boro poured bodies forward following a corner – the prelude to being mobbed by his delirious team-mates.

Middlesbrough: Konstantopoulos; De Laet, Ayala, Gibson, Friend; Clayton, Leadbitter (Forshaw 59); Nsue (Ramirez 67), Downing, Adomah; Rhodes (Nugent 86). Unused substitutes: Agazzi, Kalas, De Sart, De Pena.

Reading: Al-Habsi; Gunter (McCleary 18), McShane, Cooper, Obita (Taylor 46); Norwood; Williams, Piazon (John 59), Quinn; Cox, Vydra. Unused substitutes: Bond, Evans, Hector, Rakels.

Referee: S Duncan (Northumberland).