For a short while this summer it looked as though Britt Assombalonga might not be a Boro player at this stage of the season.

He allegedly fell out with Tony Pulis on a pre-season training trip, then seemed all set for a move away from the Riverside, but Tony Pulis will be delighted that he's still wearing red after this weekend's round of matches.

Boro's 1-0 victory against Birmingham doesn't sound as emphatic as it was, with the Blues struggling to assert any sort of dominance against a wasteful home side.

It was a 13th minute strike by the former Watford man that separated the two sides and it makes him the subject of our latest FLW Spotlight.

Assombalonga played 81 minutes of the encounter this weekend, scoring after just 13 but also hitting the post in a dominant Boro performance.

He came off to rapturous applause, replaced by young Ashley Fletcher with the game all-but wrapped up.

He had a total for four shots, the goal and the one that hit the post as well as two others. He wasn't the only one to waste a good chance, Jonny Howson had one cleared off the line and Stuart Downing also struck the woodwork.

Assombalonga usually likes to get on the ball, but he managed just one successful dribble as the Blues fell to their first defeat of the season. He drew three fouls, as any good striker should be doing at this level.

One element of concern might be his pass accuracy, just 61.5% of his passes were successful, something he might want to work on going forward.

Still, he scored the goal that put Boro top of the embryonic league table and his rebirth this season is surely a big boost for fans at the Riverside.