MIDDLESBROUGH claimed their second win of the season as Marvin Johnson’s second-half strike secured a 1-0 victory over Reading.

The Teessiders have climbed to 13th place in the Championship – what were the main debating points from their latest success?


500 UP IN STYLE

Saturday’s game was Middlesbrough’s 500th league match at the Riverside – and the Teessiders ensured their anniversary celebrations were accompanied by a win.

Boro also won their first league game after leaving Ayresome Park, with Craig Hignett scoring the first competitive goal at the Riverside before Jan Aage Fjortoft also found the net in a 2-0 victory over Chelsea.

In their 500 home league games, Boro have recorded most victories against Derby County, Bolton Wanderers and Birmingham City (ten apiece).

They have suffered most defeats at the hands of Manchester United (ten), closely followed by Arsenal and Aston Villa (nine).


McNAIR’S FINE FORM CONTINUES

Paddy McNair has been Boro’s Player of the Season so far, and the midfielder maintained his strong start to the campaign with another impressive showing against Reading.

Having performed creditably against Germany while on international duty with Northern Ireland last week, McNair was the pick of Boro’s outfield players as he drove forward from midfield and sought to break into the box.

Tony Pulis might not have rated him, regularly leaving him on the substitutes’ bench or omitting him from the matchday squad, but Jonathan Woodgate is a big fan and clearly sees the former Sunderland man as an attacking midfielder rather than a full-back or stand-in centre-half.


THE FULL-BACKS ARE FINDING THEIR FEET

Anfernee Dijksteel and Marc Bola both suffered difficult starts to their Middlesbrough career, but after making the step up from League One, the pair, who signed from Charlton Athletic and Blackpool respectively, are gradually showing signs of coming to terms with life in the Championship.

Both full-backs look comfortable going forward, and their ability to make overlapping runs and deliver balls into the box was clearly one of the key reasons why Woodgate recruited them in the summer.

They are still learning their trade defensively, but they made some important interventions against Reading, with Dijksteel in particular looking secure despite the quality of the opposition’s attacking threat.


ASSOMBALONGA’S GOAL SHOULD HAVE STOOD

It didn’t affect the final outcome, but having been on the wrong end of some debatable decisions already this season, Boro were the victims of another bad call with the score still goalless on Saturday.

A well-worked short free-kick routine resulted in Dael Fry squaring the ball across goal from the far post, leaving Britt Assombalonga with the simple task of slotting home from close range.

The assistant’s flag went up as soon as Fry made contact, but replays subsequently showed that neither the centre-half nor Assombalonga was offside.

“That doesn’t surprise me,” said Woodgate, when the issue was raised after the final whistle. “It was onside blatantly. I’ve seen it, but that’s how it is at the minute.”


READING’S TEAM SELECTION WAS A SURPRISE

Having splashed the cash in the summer, Reading boast some of the best forwards in the Championship. So it was a major surprise to see Jose Gomes leaving so many of them on the substitutes’ bench at the weekend.

George Puscas, Lucas Joao and Pele were all dropped from the side that started the game prior to the international break, and while Puscas and Joao came on as Reading tried to fashion an equaliser in the second half, their belated arrival did not affect the final outcome.

“Puscas, Joao and Pele didn’t start,” said Gomes. “Pele and Puscas had travelled for their national team, but that was not the only reason why they did not play.

“The reason was that I did not like the way that they played in the last game.”

Fair enough, but their absence unquestionably played into Middlesbrough’s hands.