Middlesbrough 1 Hull City 0

SINCE Wayne Rooney was photographed drinking while on international duty with England, a succession of managers have been asked what they like their players to do on an evening. Aitor Karanka’s answer is simple – he wants them to play.

Last night’s game with Hull City was the 24th home league game Middlesbrough have played on an evening under Karanka, and they are yet to taste defeat. Thanks to Gaston Ramirez’s second-half header, they have now claimed 20 victories in those matches.

Ramirez’s conversion of Viktor Fischer’s corner was sufficient to settle a game that was much more one-sided than the scoreline suggests.

Always in control thanks to their superior ability, Boro would have been out of sight before the break had Alvaro Negredo converted either of the decent first-half chances that came his way.

As it was, they had to wait until the hour mark for the goal that lifted them to the relative security of 13th position, and it was fitting that when the breakthrough finally arrived, it was Ramirez that supplied it.

The Uruguayan, who made 22 appearances for Hull while on loan at the KC Stadium in the 2014-15 season, was Boro’s most polished attacker all night, although his goal owed more to his desire and determination in the penalty area rather than anything to do with his technique.

At the other end, the Teessiders’ resilience was once again in evidence, with Ben Gibson and Calum Chambers combining to produce a masterclass in assured defending. Admittedly, Hull’s attacking impotence played into their hands, but Boro’s two young centre-halves have now combined to keep two clean sheets in their last three home games. That both of those games has ended in a victory is hardly a coincidence.

One of Boro’s most significant victories of last season’s promotion campaign came when David Nugent’s stoppage-time strike secured a 1-0 win over Hull, and last night’s game bore many of the hallmarks of so many of last term’s matches at the Riverside.

Hull packed their midfield, pulled plenty of players behind the ball and displayed minimal interest in supporting their lone striker, Adama Diomande. Boro had plenty of possession and were camped in their opponents’ half for long periods, but found it difficult to break down the massed ranks lined up against them.

This was a night crying out for a composed finisher to take advantage of the limited opportunities that came his way, but despite breaking his barren run with two goals against Leicester City in his previous outing, Negredo was found wanting.

He had Boro’s best two chances of the first half, but was unable to find the target with either. The first opportunity saw him scoop a left-footed shot over the crossbar after Marten de Roon slid the ball into his path, and the second resulted in a header that was skewed badly wide following a cross from Adam Forshaw.

Negredo has been the main focal point of Boro’s attacking all season, and does not look like relinquishing that position any time soon with neither Jordan Rhodes nor David Nugent even making the bench last night. At times, he looks like a £20m striker. At others, it is easy to see why Valencia were willing to let him leave La Liga.

Boro’s other first-half openings were half-chances at best, with David Marshall scrambling to keep out Ramirez’s 11th-minute strike before getting down to his left to turn Forshaw’s 20-yard effort around the post.

Fischer had the ball in the net shortly after the half-hour mark, stabbing home after Negredo headed the ball across the box, but his effort was rightly ruled out given that he was offside before controlling with his arm. On this occasion, two wrongs definitely didn’t make a right.

In many ways, Fischer’s performance epitomised Boro’s overall display before the break. He saw plenty of the ball and threatened to produce something telling on a number of occasions, but ultimately his end product proved disappointing. Adama Traore, dropped to the bench to accommodate the Danish winger, might well have offered a more potent threat.

Hull’s threat was almost non-existent, and while the Tigers might have dumped Newcastle United out of the EFL Cup quarter-finals last week, they continue to look like a side destined for a relegation battle they will do well to survive.

Victor Valdes did not have to make a save until the 90th minute, although the Spaniard would almost certainly have been tested three minutes before the break had it not been for a superb tackle from Gibson.

Diomande initially got between Gibson and Chambers as he raced on to Markus Henriksen’s through ball, but just as he was poised to shoot, Boro’s skipper slid in to take the ball away from him. It was a superb tackle from a player performing at the peak of his form.

With Hull offering next to nothing in the final third, the onus was on Boro to make their attacking superiority count.

The opening 15 minutes of the second half followed an identical pattern to the whole of the first, with Boro knocking on the door repeatedly but failing to unlock the Hull defence.

That changed on the hour mark though, as the hosts finally claimed the lead in the simplest of fashions.

Fischer whipped in an inviting corner from the left-hand side, and Ramirez peeled off Diomande to head home at the back post.

Last month, Ramirez scored Boro’s goal of the season as they claimed their first home win against Bournemouth. Last night’s downward header was nowhere near that dribbled strike in terms of technical brilliance, but given the tightness of the game, it was arguably even more important.

Boro came close to claiming a second goal when Negredo headed Fabio’s left-wing cross too close to Marshall, and while there was a minor scare at the other end when Sam Clucas headed Robert Snodgrass’ corner over the crossbar, the reliability of the home side’s back four meant the result rarely felt in doubt.

The only jitter came in the first minute of stoppage time, with Valdes finally called into action as he clawed Diomande’s dipping long-range strike around the post.