Middlesbrough were left frustrated on Saturday afternoon, as they left the Liberty Stadium empty-handed after a 2-1 defeat against Swansea City. 

The Swans took the lead through Andre Ayew after 40 minutes. But Middlesbrough were denied an equaliser after Marc Bola's stunning strike from distance in the second-half. The referee adjudged that Yannick Bolasie had fouled Jay Fulton in the penalty area in the build-up, although replays later showed that the on-loan Everton man had won the ball before teeing up Bola.

Neil Warnock's side did manage to find an equaliser late on though, as Sam Morsy scored his first goal of the season in the first minute of stoppage time.

But the drama wasn't over just yet, as Swansea were awarded their second injury-time penalty in as many matches, after George Saville was said to have fouled Jake Bidwell in the area, despite the referee originally signalling for a corner kick, before changing his mind.

Ayew slotted home the penalty in the final minute of the match, as he took his total to 13 for the season in all competitions.

The win for Swansea means that they're now sat third in the Championship table, and just a single point adrift of second-placed Watford in the second-tier standings.

Whilst the defeat for Middlesbrough means they're sat ninth in the table, as they look to close the seven-point gap from them to sixth-placed Barnsley heading into the final 11 matches of this year's campaign.

Middlesbrough winger Neeskens Kebano issued a slight dig at the referee on the day, by claiming that it was difficult to play against '12 men' in the match.

 

Kebano and his Middlesbrough team-mates are set to return to action at the weekend, when they host play-off chasing rivals Stoke City at the Riverside.

 

 

The Verdict:

He's got every right to feel hard done by.

I have to admit that I was stunned by some of the decisions that didn't go Middlesbrough's way in their defeat against Swansea City at the weekend.

The decision to disallow Marc Bola's impressive goal from distance was unbelievable to say the least. Bolasie clearly wins the ball in the build-up to the goal, and Neil Warnock has every right to feel aggrieved over some of the decisions on the day.

It's important that Boro don't let this impact their performances on the pitch moving forward though, as they still have an outside chance of finishing in the top-six this term.