Stalemate at the Riverside

Middlesbrough have done little to boost their survival hopes after playing out a 0-0 draw with Fulham.

Johnson and Tuncay share best chances in goalless draw

Middlesbrough have done little to boost their survival hopes after playing out a 0-0 draw with Fulham on Saturday. Former Boro goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer may have played a crucial role in his former club's Premier League future after his stunning one-handed save stopped Tuncay Sanli from handing the home side a much-craved but ultimately elusive three points. Schwarzer, who made 446 appearances in more than 11 years for the Teessiders, kept out the Turkey international's goalbound 47th-minute header as Fulham denied the relegation-haunted Boro a second successive league win. The Cottagers had chances themselves to continue their new-found away form with Andy Johnson hitting the woodwork with a first-half strike, but neither side could find the finishing touch to settle the match. The result moves Boro up one place above Newcastle, who play Tottenham on Sunday, while Fulham boss Roy Hodgson sees his side remain eighth and stay in contention for a place in next season's Europa League. Boro boss Gareth Southgate must now prepare his team for the trip to Arsenal next weekend and then host Manchester United knowing defeat in both could prove fatal.

Rare optimism

Having given themselves hope after most pundits had written them off with last Saturday's 3-1 win over Hull, a rare air of optimism has surrounded the Boro camp this week, and a renewed confidence was very much in evidence as they set about securing a repeat performance. For much of the first half, Southgate will have been delighted with what he saw as his players took the game to Fulham and threatened on several occasions to get their noses in front. With defender-turned-central midfielder Matthew Bates snapping into challenges and Afonso Alves looking more like the £12.7million striker the club invested in, there was much about which to be positive. But for the excellent Aaron Hughes, whose heroics will not have gone unappreciated by former club Newcastle, Boro might well have gone in at half-time in front. The Northern Ireland international produced fine blocks to deny first Stewart Downing and then Alves, and was generally in commanding form at the back as he and Brede Hangeland just about managed to keep Boro at bay. In truth, Schwarzer had only one real save to make, and that, from Jeremie Aliadiere's 18th-minute effort, did not over-extend him.

Fulham chances

However, for all the home side enjoyed the better of the opening 45 minutes, it was Fulham, seeking a third successive away win, who created the best two chances of the first half, and they were unfortunate not to take the lead on both occasions. Just how Bobby Zamora failed to get a touch on Simon Davies' 29th-minute cross as it sped across goal is something he will be asking himself for some time, although strike-partner Johnson was even more unfortunate 11 minutes before the break. The former Everton frontman turned up wide on the left before cutting inside David Wheater and curling a right-foot shot, with the help of a slight deflection off the defender, around keeper Brad Jones. But to his horror, the ball crashed against the foot of the post and ran across the empty goal before being hacked away, and Boro had survived a major scare. The home side's response was swift as they emerged after the break with even greater purpose.

Schwarzer stop

They went agonisingly close to the opening goal within two minutes when Tuncay arrived perfectly on cue to power a header towards goal. However, Schwarzer threw himself to his right to claw the ball away at the last moment and deny his former employers the lead. The Australian was at it again three minutes later to tip Downing's rising drive over the bar with the Teesiders once again dominating. Schwarzer was then called upon to turn away Tony McMahon's drilled 53rd-minute cross with Boro firmly in the ascendancy. But as they committed men to the search for a winning goal, the home side were leaving space for the visitors, and they sensed an opportunity to strike on the counter. Worryingly for Southgate, his players appeared to be running out of ideas and were becoming increasingly wasteful in possession with the anxiety of the home supporters growing by the minute. They were appealing, more in hope than expectation, for a penalty with 11 minutes remaining after Downing's shot ploughed into Etuhu, but Clint Dempsey might have denied them even a point with an 83rd-minute effort which dropped just wide. Zamora passed up a golden opportunity to win it in the final minute of normal time, but the home side were unable to take advantage.

Middlesbrough	Team Statistics	Fulham
0	Goals	0
0	1st Half Goals	0
6	Shots on Target	2
7	Shots off Target	6
11	Blocked Shots	5
9	Corners	1
10	Fouls	15
5	Offsides	1
3	Yellow Cards	1
0	Red Cards	0
68.3	Passing Success	74.4
16	Tackles	23
62.5	Tackles Success	73.9
44.9	Possession	55.1
63	Territorial Advantage	37