Arca wins Mowbray praise

Middlesbrough may have lost to Crystal Palace at the weekend, but they had the best player on the pitch in their ranks according to Tony Mowbray.

Julio Arca is the man in question after he continued his excellent form with a dominant display in the Boro midfield at Selhurst Park.

They only negative from his man-of-the-match display was the fact that he was on the losing side.

Speaking about his star man, Mowbray said: "That was typical of the level of performance that Julio has given us over the last couple of months.

"He has that ability to pick the right passes and control the game."

As mentioned though, Arca did not manage to inspire Middlesbrough to a positive result and this is disappointing for him, the coaching staff and of course the fans.

Just because Middlesbrough’s away form has been poor all season, it doesn’t make defeats on the road any easier to take. It’s not as if Mowbray’s men are getting stuffed either, which if anything, makes it even more frustrating.

Since Gordon Strachan’s departure, Boro have lost seven away trips by a single goal. This indicates that the team aren’t far away from getting more positive results and they are just falling short of where they need to be.

Sports betting pundits note how there is certainly enough attacking force in the side, but it was a familiar story when they failed to break down Palace on Saturday.

Mowbray couldn’t hide his annoyance with the lack of ruthlessness in front from his team: "My main disappointment was that we weren't good enough to score a goal. The strikers were disappointed after the game.

"We had a lot of the ball, but we weren't good enough on the day to break them down. We probed and probed but we lacked that creativity you need to unlock the defence.”

The defeat leaves Middlesbrough in 19th position, six points clear of the drop zone. How nice it would be to start picking some wins up on the road to pull even further away from danger.

• Boro hopeful of Jonny Howson return for Chelsea clash
• Luke Ayling joins Boro on loan from Leeds United

With three home games in the next four matches though, attention must turn to picking up points at the Riverside to move further away from any relegation worries.