Tony Pulis was not a happy man as his Middlesbrough side succumbed to a 2-0 defeat at the Riverside against a resurgent Nottingham Forest.

Aitor Karanka's big spenders have struggled at turning draws into wins, but they controlled the game on Teesside yesterday in winning 2-0 and even finished the game with ten men.

The defeat left Pulis fuming, both with his side overall but also their profligacy in front of goal. He likened his side's performance to a bag of potatoes, but also singled out one man's miss as a real turning point.

“You need to score, you need to get back into the game as quickly as you can and the big, big point, the turning point was Britt’s chance,” he told Teesside Live. “I think if Britt scores then on, what was it, 60-odd minutes? Then it’s a different atmosphere and a different approach from the team."

Boro were only one goal down at the time and had they scored, it may have signalled a switch in emphasis. Pulis was heavily critical of his forwards, eventually pointing the finger at all his players, not just Assombalonga.

“We were in some really, really good areas today and got some really, really good crosses in. We need to be much more clinical and we need to do something in that respect in the final third. I don’t think it’s just the strikers, I think it’s everybody’s responsibility to score goals.”

The Verdict

This was a massive game for both sides and Forest will be delighted to come out on the right side of it. There's a feeling they're not too far away from being a promotion chasing side and they're heading up, not down.

Boro on the other hand were the early leaders but they've allowed the chasing pack to catch up. It will be interesting to see how they respond against Sheffield Wednesday on the 19th.

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