SO much for seeing in the New Year in style then. Two days into 2017, and Middlesbrough and Leicester contrived to serve up a game that might well be the poorest witnessed in the whole of the North-East over the course of the next 12 months. In the final reckoning, however, Aitor Karanka will hope it represents another step along the road to survival.

The Boro head coach long ago concluded that his side have to be resolute, well-organised and tough to break down if they are to survive in the top-flight, and they were undoubtedly all of things as they prevented the reigning champions from creating a single opportunity of note.

The flip side of their performance, however, was that they failed to test Kasper Schmeichel in the Leicester goal either, and while finishing outside the relegation places is the overriding ambition for the second half of the season, it is to be hoped that the entertainment value increases somewhere along the way. This felt like an afternoon to be endured rather than enjoyed from the outset.

Things might have been different had Gaston Ramirez converted the one genuine opportunity to present itself with seven minutes left, but despite Wes Morgan’s miscued header falling invitingly into his path, the Uruguayan could only pull a low shot into the side-netting.

That ensured the game finished scoreless – hardly a huge surprise given the Riverside has witnessed fewer goals than any other Premier League ground this season – but having lost at Turf Moor and Old Trafford over the festive period, Boro have at least stopped the rot.

As has been the case for the majority of the campaign, their defending was superb throughout, with Calum Chambers returning to centre-half to resume his successful relationship with Ben Gibson. The pair combined to ensure Riyad Mahrez created nothing of note, and if they continue to perform like this, they might well find themselves rubbing shoulders in the England squad before the end of the campaign.

Fabio Da Silva and George Friend provided similar resolve in the full-back positions, and with Adam Clayton, Adam Forshaw and Marten de Roon providing a protective shield that never looked like being penetrated, Leicester were a poor imitation of the side that swept all before them last season.

Claudio Ranieri’s team have gone backwards at a pace, and had Boro displayed marginally more ambition, perhaps they would have added to their three home wins already season. As it was, their attacking was lethargic and predictable, with only the increasingly-infuriating Adama Traore threatening to produce something out of the ordinary.

Boro’s best moments tended to come courtesy of the former Aston Villa winger, although for everything that the youngster did well, there were an equal amount of incidents where his lack of end product proved a huge frustration.

Traore clearly boasts an abundance of natural talent, and it is easy to understand why a large number of Boro supporters clamour for him to retain a place in the team. His pace has the capacity to transform his side’s attacking play, and he can turn defence into attack in three or four strides, particularly when the Teessiders are playing away from the Riverside.

However, while it is all very well being able to run at defenders, that counts for little if the final cross is over-hit or final ball into the box delayed to the point where opponents are able to recover their position.

Given he was a trainee at Barcelona, if Traore was the finished product, he would probably not be playing at the Riverside. Nevertheless, if the winger is to justify his place in the starting line-up on a long-term basis, he will have to learn how to make the best use of his talents.

The one moment when he was a tad unfortunate yesterday came in the 18th minute, and saw his run into the area halted by the outstretched leg of Robert Huth. Perhaps it was as much a case of Traore running into the Leicester defender as Huth actually bringing him down, but other referees might not have been as lenient as Robert Madley. File the incident under, ‘You’ve seen them given’.

Traore also delivered the first-half cross that enabled de Roon to fire a first-time effort over the crossbar, but while de Roon also threatened with a long-range shot that flew over shortly before the break, the interval arrived without Schmeichel having been troubled.

With Victor Valdes still suffering from the knock he suffered during a Boxing Day collision with Zlatan Ibrahimovich, Brad Guzan was restored to the Middlesbrough goal, and the American had an equally trouble-free afternoon.

His biggest problem in the first half was the low-lying sun that was peering over the roof of the South Stand, although he might have been extended six minutes before the break had Fabio not produced a superb sliding challenge to thwart Mahrez just as the Leicester midfielder was about to shoot from inside the area.

Fabio was playing at right-back at that stage, having switched flanks after Antonio Barragan suffered a first-half hamstring injury, and the appearance of Friend on the opposite flank at least meant that Boro were able to boast attack-minded full-backs on either flank.

Friend was Boro’s best attacker in the second half, tearing down the left-hand side to deliver a succession of dangerous crosses into the area. The fact that no Boro player even looked like getting on to the end of any of them, however, was a damning indictment of the hosts’ lack of goalscoring threat.

Friend took events into his own hands midway through the second half when he dribbled his way into the area, only to direct a shot beyond the far post, but it was Fabio who was the creator when Boro’s best chance of the game arrived with seven minutes left.

Morgan’s poor defensive header looked to have teed up Ramirez, but while he seized on the loose ball effectively enough, the South American’s shot whistled the wrong side of the right-hand post.

There was a momentary scare in stoppage time when Demarai Gray’s free-kick found its way to Andy King, but in keeping with the rest of the game, the Leicester midfielder could only aim a weak effort straight at Guzan.