OUR Lady of Compassion church lies directly outside Upton Park, but the officials offered none to Middlesbrough yesterday.

A seething Steve McClaren rounded on referee's assistant Ralph Bone after he wrongly awarded West Ham what turned out to be a decisive winning goal which badly dented Boro's Premiership aspirations.

There was little to suggest the furore that followed when centre back Chris Riggott directed the ball back towards his goalkeeper, Mark Schwarzer. The Australian caught it easily enough but then all hell broke loose as it was adjudged to have crossed the line, despite replays showing he had kept it out.

Mr Bone caught the attention of referee Steve Bennett and incredulously to all on the pitch, including the home side, adjudged the ball had crossed the line.

Allied to Teddy Sheringham's 66th minute opener, it gave the Hammers, fully deserving of their win despite the row, a platform from which to keep Boro at bay.

Franck Queudrue pulled a goal back, but the damage had been done and Boro were left ruing a decision that TV replays later showed was utterly wrong.

To add injury to insult, Boro captain Gareth Southgate looks like missing at least two weeks of action after straining his groin midway through the first half.

While that will bother McClaren, he had even more important things to address at the end of the game.

"We feel very hard done by," he said. "One bad decision has cost us. We were in the game at 1-0, but the linesman has made a wrong decision. It was a bad decision and it was a big decision for us. It cost us the game.

"It baffles me how anybody, 50 yards away and not level with the line, can make a decision as big as that so quickly."

McClaren advocated the use of goalline technology to solve such mysteries.

"We have got the technology. It's there, it's available," he said. "Yes, you get human error, but when you have got technology and when it can be done.

"All other sports have exploited it and football has to because it can be costly in the long-run.

"People say it evens itself out, but it doesn't at the time, and that's what matters. When you have got the technology you can get decisions right, if you can take it away from the referees and linesmen, who have a difficult job, I know, then why not?"

What the decision did was allow McClaren an opportunity to gloss over another performance that, in the main, lacked cohesion and direction.

On a day when signal failure caused a headache for those travelling to the game, McClaren's failure to get the message across saw any chance Boro had of gathering three points.

Early forays did give an indication that the Teessiders were up for the fight, but they flattered to deceive and were well-beaten long before the officials intervened.

Gaizka Mendieta was fouled twice in two minutes. The Spaniard was brought down 22 yards out on the right on each occasion. However, from the first effort Mendieta did a more than passable impression of Jonny Wilkinson, his shot between the sticks but about a mile over. And from the second Rochemback hit the wall with a daisycutter.

The Brazilian has had more shots than any other Boro player so far this season. Unfortunately, the vast majority have left fans diving for cover rather than jumping for joy.

Ferdinand was booked for a foul on George Boateng before Yossi Benayoun, Israel's answer to Paul Daniels such are the magic tricks he possesses, sought to take star billing.

After cutting inside Emanuel Pogatetz and Boateng in the box, he fired off a shot only for his effort to be blocked before it could do any damage.

He then sent a right-footed effort fizzing past the post before, seconds later, putting the ball on a plate for Bobby Zamora. Luckily for Boro, he lacked composure and fired tamely at Schwarzer with Southgate and Riggott both beaten for pace.

McClaren was forced to shuffle his pack with 25 minutes gone when a head injury forced Southgate off and Queudrue got an earlier than expected taste of the action. Pogatetz moved to centre back, with the Frenchman taking up position on the left.

The Hammers, however, were looking more and more dangerous and they had the ball in the net on 33 minutes.

Marlon Harewood left Queudrue for dead and his cross was back-heeled past Schwarzer and over the line. As deserving of a goal as it was, the referee's assistant's flag spoilt the celebrations.

Against the run of play, Rochemback shot from a tight angle on the right and Hislop had to divert the ball round the post. The keeper then flung himself full length to his left as Mendieta took aim, but needn't have worried as the ball went wide.

As the first-half came to a close, Boro arguably finished the stronger. Yakubu saw a goalbound effort deflected for a corner and then, from the flagkick, Boateng's initial effort was blocked and Mendieta missed the target with the rebound.

Benayoun launched himself at a header, but lacked direction and the ball flew wide.

Just as in the first half the Hammers began to turn the screw.

The goal dul arrived when Sheringham, more alert than any of the Boro defenders despite being introduced seconds earlier, swivelled onto a Paul Konchesky cross and shot past Schwarzer.

Then came that decision and the die was cast.

McClaren stood squarely behind his players at the whistle, arguing they had given their all.

"Full credit to my players, the loss of Southgate, the reshuffling and then that decision, we still had the tenacity and attitude to come back and get a goal and, as I said, were always in the game."

Don't be fooled. They weren't but the men in black provided a more than adequate smokescreen from which to hide behind.

Result: West Ham United: 2, Middlesbrough 1.

Read more about Middlesbrough here.