Middlesbrough recorded just their second victory of the season as they beat Reading at the Riverside Stadium by the solitary goal.

It was a game filled with goalmouth action despite just the one goal in the 90 minutes. Jonathan Woodgate's side took the lead with half-an-hour to play when Marvin Johnson's free-kick went all the way in.

However, there was one hero for Boro on Saturday, and that came through goalkeeper, Darren Randolph.

The stopper was superb on Saturday and made some excellent saves as he almost denied the Royals singlehandedly in order to secure the three points.

Randolph, formerly of West Ham United, proved once again how important he is to Middlesbrough's squad and showed this on Saturday.

He made seven saves throughout the match, including three spectacular reflex saves. Lucas Joao's terrific glanced header at the front post was unbelievably kept out with a flick of a hand from Randolph, much to the surprise of everybody in the stadium.

Last season's Ramsden Player of the Season, then got back up to produce another fine stop, this time climbing across his goal-line to claw away Liam Moore's expertly weighted header.

Alongside his club award last year, he was also named in the Championship team of the season, and has continued to prove to the rest of the league that's he one of the best in the division, week in, week out.

Boro supporters won't be surprised by his performance on the weekend, but it wasn't just saves that made the performance all the more impressive. Randolph also achieved a remarkable 100% short passing accuracy, that helped Woodgate's side build sustainably from the back.

Reading achieved 59% possession in the game, but were unable to make any of it count, and Boro seemed to use the ball effectively despite having less of it. That all starts from the back, and Randolph will have practiced his passing throughout the past weeks.

This is the goalkeeper's second clean sheet of the season, and by far the most impressive. The 32-year-old had a xCG (expected goals conceded) of 1.58 in Saturday's fixture, but walked away with his goal intact.

Middlesbrough have looked better in recent weeks, and followed up a brilliant draw at Bristol City with a victory over José Gomes' side. This means that Woodgate's side are now four unbeaten and sitting in 13th place ahead of a trip to Neil Warnock's Cardiff City side next Saturday.