WINNING promotion isn’t always pretty. Think of Middlesbrough’s last successful ascent to the Premier League, and chances are you’ll quickly recall the convincing home wins over Leeds, Cardiff and Huddersfield or the free-flowing football that secured a 3-0 victory at Brighton.

But what about the scrambled draw at Birmingham in Boro’s final away game, or Jordan Rhodes’ dramatic last-gasp winner at Bolton?

A goalless home draw against Ipswich felt like a massive disappointment with just two more games to go, but it would have been Brighton celebrating automatic promotion on the final day of the season had Aitor Karanka’s Boro side not ground out a point in their penultimate home outing.

At the business end of the season, every point counts. So while Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Brentford will not linger long in the memory, no matter what happens in the remaining eight games, it could yet prove a crucial staging post on the return journey to the top-flight.

Boro didn’t play well at Griffin Park, indeed there were times, especially in the second half, when it felt as though Brentford’s intricate passing moves were sure to be their undoing. But through a mixture of organisation, commitment and sheer bloody-mindedness, they somehow escaped with a point to stretch their unbeaten run to six games.

From Daniel Ayala, who had been confined to a wheelchair four days earlier because his groin injury had been so severe, to goalscorer Adama Traore, who must have left the field black and blue after Brentford’s players decided the only way to stop him was to chop him off at the knees, Boro’s players gave everything in order to avoid defeat.

There will be times between now and the end of the season when they brush their opponents aside thanks to the quality of their football.

But there will also be occasions when things are not going so smoothly, and other, more rugged, attributes have to come to the fore.

On this evidence, the Teessiders will not give up anything without a fight.

“There’ll almost certainly be more games like this before the end of the season,” said Ben Gibson, whose willingness to throw himself in front of shots and crosses epitomised his side’s never-say-die approach.

“One thing we have got now is experience – both from when we got out of the league and when we didn’t.

“It’s often not pretty when you get to the end of the season.

“Look at what happened when we got promoted – I don’t think we won in the last four matches and pretty much stumbled over the line. It was about digging out some crucial late points – picking late points up at Birmingham, getting a last-minute winner at Bolton.

“It wasn’t always pretty, but we got the job done, and when you get to this stage of the season, that’s the only thing that matters really. Good teams have a knack of doing that, and that’s what we’re trying to build here. We’ve been on a good run of results lately, and we just need to maintain that.

“Hopefully, that’ll help us take some momentum into the play-offs if that’s where we’re going to be.”

Boro’s weekend performance was the archetypal team effort, with Patrick Bamford defending from the front at one of the field and Darren Randolph producing a series of important saves at the other.

Leading through Traore’s 21st-minute strike, the Teessiders were pegged back 13 minutes later as Lewis Macleod scored at the second attempt after his initial effort from the edge of the area had been blocked by Ayala.

Randolph saved from Macleod and Sergi Canos, and got down superbly with ten minutes left to turn Jermaine Sawyers’ goal-bound effort around the post, but for all that Brentford dominated possession, most of their attacks were snuffed out before they reached Boro’s 18-yard box.

The whole of the visitors’ backline performed impressively, but it was Ayala who merited special praise, given the extent of his problems in the previous week.

Last Tuesday, the defender needed a wheelchair to make it to hospital, such was the shuddering pain in his groin, yet just four days later, he was playing for more than an hour as if he did not have a care in the world.

“We’re calling him ‘Lazarus’ in the dressing room,” said Gibson.

“I think he was in a wheelchair on Tuesday, he was that bad.

“He couldn’t get out of bed, and to see what was wrong with him and get him into the hospital, they had to wheel him out.

“Maybe I wasn’t meant to tell anyone that, but I have now!

“It was a great show of pride for him to get out there really, and we’re calling him ‘Lazarus’ because of that. It was great determination, and that’s what we’ve used to get a point.

“He did great. Obviously it just became a bit too much for him, but what he did was great and he played through it, which was fantastic.”

Ayala’s resolve helped ensure Boro did not completely waste the advantage they secured through Traore’s fifth goal in his last ten matches.

Picking up a loose ball close to the left-hand corner of the box, the winger drifted across the face of the area before dispatching a clinical right-footed finish into the corner of the net.

It was an excellent strike, and ensured Traore was a marked man for the rest of the game, with Brentford’s players becoming increasingly desperate in their attempts to prevent him building up a head of steam.

For much of the second half, Traore was fouled within a second of getting on the ball, and while the Spaniard is hardly a saint himself, Tony Pulis is right to demand a higher level of protection. If this keeps up, Traore will be seriously injured soon, and that cannot be the right way to treat such a vibrant talent.

Referee Simon Hooper eventually ran out of patience, dismissing Sawyers in stoppage time for two fouls on Traore in the space of three minutes, but had he been firmer at an earlier stage, the message might have got through to the home side.

As it was, Boro did not have time to make the most of Sawyers’ exit, although Grant Leadbitter came agonisingly close with a 95th-minute chip that Daniel Bentley tipped over the crossbar.

“People target Adama because they’re scared of his pace, as I would be,” said Gibson.

“I’ve played against players like that.

“I would think that if he put the ball in behind me, I’d be thinking, ‘Foul him’ to be honest.

“Obviously the lad (Sawyers) is on a yellow and you can’t do that.

“But so many players are targeting him, trying to bring him down, because of the trouble he can cause.”