Boro held to a bore draw as their season limps to an end

Last night's goalless draw with Peterborough had a definite end-of-season feel, with excitement and drama every bit as sparse as the crowd that was attracted to the Riverside to witness yet more evidence of the deterioration of a campaign that started with such promise.

Boro's failure to beat the side one place off the foot of the table means they have now picked up just eight points from a possible 45 since the turn of the year. That is by far and away the worst record in the Championship.

The simple fact is they do not deserve to make the play-offs, and while they are still only six points off the top six with six games remaining, they are surely more likely to finish in the bottom half of the table than the play-off zone. In terms of the second half of the season, that is unquestionably a more realistic assessment of their merits.

Boro failed to create a decent opportunity in the whole of last night's game, a damning indictment of a side who have lost their way spectacularly in recent months.

Sammy Ameobi's comfort in possession created an occasional bright spot, but Peterborough goalkeeper Bobby Olejnik was barely tasted as his side picked up a potentially crucial point in their battle against the drop.

Their cause was helped by their opponents' failings, with Tony Mowbray once again chopping and changing things in what appears to be an increasingly futile search for his best line-up.

Last night's starting side contained five changes from the team that had lined up at Wolves four days earlier, and while the physical demands of the Championship mitigate against consistency of selection, there is surely an argument that too much tinkering has proved disruptive in the second half of the season.

Boro's players have appeared drained of confidence in a number of their most recent home matches, and despite a reasonably bright start, things quickly reverted to type yesterday evening.

The hosts carved out three decent opportunities in the opening quarter-of-an-hour, but crucially, none was converted.

Grant Leadbitter saw his 20-yard drive turned around the post by Olejnik, Ishmael Miller drilled a low strike just wide of the upright and Justin Hoyte also shot wide after George Friend's cross was only half-cleared. Hardly a glut of goalscoring opportunities, but nevertheless an improvement on recent matches.

Peterborough's position in the bottom three perhaps explained their reluctance to commit too many men forward at any stage, with Darren Ferguson's decision to start with a five-man defence indicative of a desire to prioritise defence over attack.

The visitors' game plan revolved around counter-attacking, and it almost paid dividends as early as the sixth minute when Joe Newell created space via a neat one-two with Dwight Gayle, only to skew his shot wide from the left-hand side of penalty area.

Beyond that, Posh did not threaten again until shortly before the interval, when Rhys Williams had to be at his most alert to head away Tommy Rowe's glanced header from a free-kick.

By that stage, Boro had been forced into an early defensive reshuffle when an injury to Friend forced Hoyte to switch flanks, with Nicky Bailey deputising at right-back before the pair swapped again at half-time.

Scott McDonald gets to the ball ahead of Craig Alcock

If Peterborough were struggling to create chances, then Boro's early flurry also proved a false dawn, with Miller failing to hold on to possession effectively enough as he led the line and the delivery from the full-backs in particular leaving a lot to be desired.

Ameobi, who was generally the liveliest attacker, drilled a 28th-minute strike too close to Olejnik, but the interval arrived with the Teessiders struggling to prise their opponents open despite enjoying plenty of possession in deep-lying areas.

Boro's attacking players appeared reluctant to shoot, although Josh McEachran stung Olejnik's hands at the start of the second half after a slick one-two with Ameobi.

Jason Steele made a routine save from half-time substitute Grant McCann at the other end, and while Peterborough's second-half approach was hardly carefree, the visitors unquestionably displayed a greater willingness to take risks after the interval.

They came close to claiming the lead on the hour mark, but Mark Little failed to dig out a shot after he ghosted beyond Bailey to meet Lee Tomlin's floated shot. Had he done so, Steele would surely have been in trouble.

Boro's second-half showing was even more disjointed than their first, with passes regularly going astray and precious little in the way of link-up play between midfield and attack.

Mowbray opted for a double change with 22 minutes left – Mustapha Carayol and Curtis Main replacing the bitterly disappointing Miller and Scott McDonald – but save for a long-range Grant Leadbitter effort that whistled past the post, it was impossible to detect any added threat in the home side's play.

Carayol made a couple of positive surges down the flank, but his crosses were comfortably cleared by the Posh defence, who enjoyed the upper hand against Boro's attackers all night.

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