Burnley 1 Middlesbrough 0
Gray 80
Middlesbrough were undone by a late Andre Gray volley as they suffered a 1-0 defeat away at Burnley on Boxing Day.
In a game which lacked obvious quality, referee Craig Pawson dished out 11 yellow cards in a match with saw more tackles than attempts on goal.
Even so, Boro appeared to be heading for an admirable point in the first top flight meeting between the sides for over 40 years.
That was until Gray’s winner 10 minutes from time, when the striker fired home Sam Vokes’ knock-down and the ball squired under Boro goalkeeper Victor Valdes – who should have done better.
The result means that Sean Dyche’s side have leapfrogged Boro in the Premier League table, yet Karanka’s men are still four points clear of the relegation zone.
The Boro boss made just one change from the side which convincingly beat Swansea at the Riverside eight days earlier, it saw Cristhian Stuani replace the injured Viktor Fischer.
It was almost turned into an inspired decision and Stuani should have opened the scoring
with just 12 minutes on the clock.
The Uraguian forward was sent through on goal by Antonio Barragan’s pass. Stuani then allowed the ball to bounce before striking a shot on the half volley, however he failed to hit the target.
At the other end Valdes had to be alert to keep out efforts from Ashley Barnes and George Boyd but neither side was able to wrestle full control.
Boro did start better after the break, though keeper Tom Heaton remained relatively untrobled.
The visitors registered their first shot on target after 60 minutes when Ramirez curled a free kick straght at Heaton.
However, Burnley delivered a late sucker punch though Gray’s strike, as Boro slipped down to 15th in the table.
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