Middlesbrough 3 Huddersfield Town 0 - Gaston Ramirez offers Boro hope of automatic place

Middlesbrough's Gaston Ramirez scores his side's final goal in the 3-0 defeat of Huddersfield Town (Picture: Richard Sellers/PA Wire).

Ramirez earned the penalty for captain Grant Leadbitter to convert in the 32nd minute and added the second himself moments later to keep Boro in an automatic promotion place.

The 25-year-old, on loan from Southampton, then curled in a brilliant free-kick with 13 minutes remaining to complete the 3-0 win to lift Middlesbrough to within a point of Championship leaders Burnley.

The Teessiders also have a game in hand as well as two more consecutive home dates with Preston and Reading inside a week, as the hopes increase that they will be back in the Premier League next season.

Huddersfield boss David Wagner, made three changes in the hope of repeating their last away-day win at Leeds, a comprehensive 4-1 success.

Middlesbrough failed to make the most of early possession. Albert Adomah creating their earliest chance when he pinched the ball off Joel Lynch, only for Jordan Rhodes to waste it.

Lynch got himself in a mess just after half an hour when Ramirez’s clever turn just inside the area earned a foul. Leadbitter, who missed a penalty at QPR on Friday night, struck powerfully down the middle.

Immediately from the kick-off, former Boro midfielder Dean Whitehead gifted Ramirez possession when his attempted pass to full-back Tom Smith went straight to the red shirt.

Ramirez darted straight at the Huddersfield goal, rounded Steer before finding the roof of the empty net.

Huddersfield tried to make a fight of it for a large part of the second half, but the home side’s goalkeeper Dimi Konstantopoulos was rarely tested.

Ramirez delivered the next goal himself when he curled in a scintillating free-kick from 25 yards.

Middlesbrough: Konstantopoulos,Nsue, Kalas, Gibson, Friend, Clayton (Forshaw 74),Leadbitter,Adomah,Ramirez (Stuani 86), Downing,Rhodes (Nugent 79). Unused substitutes: Ayala, De Laet, Mejias, De Sart.

Huddersfield Town: Steer, Smith, Hudson, Lynch, Davidson, Whitehead (Billing 82), Huws, Lolley (Scannell 84), Paterson, Bunn, Wells (van La Parra 71). Unused substitutes: Matmour, Cranie, Allinson, Bojaj.

Referee: Stephen Martin (Staffordshire).