Middlesbrough secured their eighth victory of the season thanks to goals from David Nugent, Albert Adomah and Daniel Ayala as they shortened the gap between themselves and top of the table Brighton.

Boro ran out winners over Charlton
Boro ran out winners over Charlton

Here are THREE things we learned from the game:

1) Charlton lucky that Stephen Henderson was in form

Karel Fraeye will know that had goalkeeper Stephen Henderson not been in top form, Boro could have won the game by a much more comfortable margin.

The former West Ham was in top form at the Riverside and wasn't at fault for any of the goals and he will feel unfortunate that he ended up picking the ball out of his net three times on Saturday afternoon.

Henderson was undoubtedly Charlton's star man on Teesside, but Charlton will need to improve their defence if they want to win some games, because the keeper wasn't the issue on Saturday.

2) Boro getting better at breaking teams down

Last season, one of Middlesbrough's issues was breaking teams down when they came and parked the bus at The Riverside. Even this season, they struggled to do so when Fulham and Bristol City deployed those tactics.

However, they were patient and the players always seemed confident that they would eventually find a way through. After David Nugent opened the scoring on the hour-mark, the floodgates opened and they won comfortably.

With the quality they possess in the final third, Aitor Karanka's side have the ability to break down any side in the division.

3) The Addicks' heads dropped after they conceded

Charlton's defence did well to keep Boro at bay for an hour, with manager Karel Fraeye admitting afterwards that their gameplan was to sit and frustrate the promotion hopefuls.

However when Boro eventually found a way through, Charlton's heads dropped and the little confidence that they had after holding one of the Championship's best sides disappeared.

Confidence will come from winning games and it may take a little bit of luck for the out of sorts Addicks as they dropped to second bottom of the Championship table.

Middlesbrough and Charlton fans...What did you make of the match? Did Boro deserve the victory? Can Charlton get out of this run soon? Let us know what you think in the comments below.