Bournemouth 0 Middlesbrough 0: ‘We’re delighted with the point’ admits Chris Wilder

Boro striker Duncan Watmore came closest to breaking the deadlock in a drab first half with a fierce long-range shot well saved by Mark Travers.

Jefferson Lerma headed against the underside of the crossbar in the second half as Bournemouth pushed for a first win in three games.

Boro could have had a 26th-minute penalty when Adam Smith clearly handled an Isaiah Jones cross.

But visiting boss Chris Wilder kept his complains to a minimum, saying: “We haven’t been given it so it’s ifs, buts and maybes. I don’t think there was much in the game today at all.

“We’ve had a couple of chances, they’ve had a couple of chances.

“I think that epitomizes the game and maybe how the games are going to go from now until the end of the season.

“We’re delighted with the point.

“I believe that they will succeed in getting into the Premier League and for us to haul ourselves in and around the top six, which we are.

“That’s the aim. There’s a lot of football between now and the end of the season. I haven’t got a crystal ball – who knows what it’s going to take?

“We’ve played the two best teams in the division, Fulham and Bournemouth, in the space of 10 days. They are both really good sides and the performance levels have been good.”

The Cherries managed only two shots on target in the 90 minutes.