Full-time: Middlesbrough 0 Bournemouth 0

TOP of the table tussle, biggest crowd of the season and the television cameras turned up – this game had 0-0 written over it.

Almost 23,000 descended on the Riverside Stadium on Saturday – the most this season by 4,500 – hoping to see Middlesbrough reach the top of the Championship.

It would have been the cherry on top of the icing on a very big cake to celebrate Aitor Karanka’s first anniversary as head coach, but in reality it was never going to be that easy.

Sure, the Teessiders had lost only one of their last 11 going into the game and scored seven in their last two, but opponents Bournemouth also had plenty to shout about.

Seven wins on the bounce had propelled Eddie Howe’s side to the top of the Championship on goal difference and they provided a stern test of Boro’s promotion credentials in a game that was too tight to call.

The league’s highest scorers against the league’s meanest defence was always going to be a compelling watch, but while the first half provided a great advert for Championship football, the second disappointed as both sides cancelled each other out.

In essence it was Boro’s big chance. They have been ticking along nicely since the start of the campaign, steadily moving up the table and it would have been nice to reach the summit in front of their biggest crowd of the season.

It wasn’t to be, but there wasn’t too much disappointment swirling around the Riverside on Saturday evening and that signals the progress Boro have made under Karanka.

The Teessiders seem content to stay within touching distance of the top without actually hitting it – they sit third after Derby’s win over Wolves saw them take over the outright lead – and Adam Clayton admitted as much.

“I like the fact we haven’t hit the top of the league and are getting all the headlines about promotion and all that,” the midfielder said.

“I quite like us staying under the radar a bit and let everyone talk about the other teams. Ideally we just stay in the mix and in the last ten games or so when it really matters we go on a nice run.

“Until then I’m not really that concerned about hitting the very top of the league, because in a sense there’s only one way you can go from there, because you’re there to be shot at.

“If we can just keep building and building and staying around there we’ve got a very good chance.”

Karanka made two changes from the side that thumped Norwich 4-0 midweek, the most notable saw Kike drop to the bench and Patrick Bamford given the chance to lead the line with Lee Tomlin in behind.

In the opening stages it looked like the Spaniard’s bold decision had paid off with Tomlin in particular causing the Cherries all sorts of problems.

The 29-year-old revealed last week he is still getting to grips with the number ten role, but on two occasions his driving runs had Bournemouth’s defence backpedalling.

His first shot brought a good save from Artur Boruc, while his second rolled wide, but Boro’s best chance of the half went to Adam Reach, whose 20-yard drive crashed off the bar.

The hosts shaded the first 45 minutes, but Bournemouth still managed to create chances of their own.

The best fell to Matt Ritchie after Ben Gibson had headed straight to him on the edge of the area, but Dimi Konstantopoulos produced an excellent save to push the ball away.

Early in the second half Calum Wilson volleyed over and Konstantopoulos gathered well from Marc Pugh’s dipping shot, while the introduction of Kike, and then Jelle Vossen couldn’t provide the answer for Karanka.

While the second half fizzled out, the scoreline belied the quality on offer from both teams, but Clayton insisted it was a point gained rather than two dropped.

He said: “We’ve taken seven points from our last three games. That’s the way to look at it. We could have won the game in the first half, but we’ve done our job.

“We’re joint second and most Boro fans would have taken this and so do we.

“You’re going to lose some games and we bounced back well after Wolves. No matter what team you are you can’t win them all. The test is how you bounce back in defeat.

“You don’t want to go on a run like Nottingham Forest have. If you can keep it to losing the odd one then going on another winning run, that’s the way to do it. Just the odd blip.

“It’s a game I thoroughly enjoyed against a good team.

“This is one of the reasons why I came to Middlesbrough so I could be involved in top of the table clashes, big games.

“In the end both teams cancelled each other out, although we both had opportunities, ourselves more in the first half. We were very good before the break, they had spells in the second. They are up there for a reason.

“It’s a fair result I suppose. Now we move on and aim to stay up there.”