BRENTFORD (4-1-4-1):
Bentley 7; Dalsgaard 6, Egan 6, Mepham 7, Clarke 5; WOODS 8; Jozefzoon 7, Macleod 7 (Sawyers 74), Mokotjo 5 (Judge 83), Watkins 6 (Canos 67, 6); Maupay 6.
Subs (not used): Daniels (gk), Yennaris, Marcondes, Barbet.
MIDDLESBROUGH (4-1-4-1):
8 RANDOLPH: Produced three crucial saves, the pick of which saw him turn Sawyers’ low late effort around the post
6 Shotton: Was a robust presence in defence, but his attacking was ineffective and his long throws failed to find their target
7 Ayala: Could only last an hour, but simply making it onto the field was remarkable given he could barely walk at the start of last week
8 Gibson: A commanding performance from a player who is right back to his best – his performances in the final eight games could well be crucial
7 Friend: Continues to look like the player who was so pivotal to Boro’s last promotion – his shaky start to the season is long forgotten
5 Clayton: Preferred to Leadbitter, but failed to exert any control over the central-midfield area – will be fortunate to keep his place for Wolves
8 Traore: Kept his composure despite suffering a series of bad fouls and claimed his fifth goal of the season with an excellent finish
5 Besic: One of the midfielder’s most ineffective performances in a Boro shirt as a succession of passes went astray
6 Howson: Tried to get his side on the front foot, but was part of a midfield unit that was outplayed by Brentford’s creative forces
6 Downing: Delivered a couple of excellent crosses into the middle, and battled hard to help set up Traore’s goal
6 Bamford: Won his fair share of headers despite being up against a physical Brentford backline, but couldn’t keep his scoring run going
Subs:
7 Fry (for Ayala, 60): Slotted in seamlessly for the final half-hour and made some important late blocks in the box
6 Leadbitter (for Howson, 65): Almost claimed a dramatic late winner with a chip that was turned over the crossbar
Assombalonga (for Besic, 75)
(not used): Konstantopoulos (gk), Cranie, Baker, Harrison.
Man Of The Match: DARREN RANDOLPH – The Middlesbrough goalkeeper made some crucial second-half saves and helped his defenders by claiming a series of dangerous crosses.
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