Premiership: Fulham 2 - 1 Middlesbrough

Fulham will look forward to the new year with considerably more optimism this morning after a miserable recent run of four defeats in five games was ended when they had the good fortune to meet a team in even worse form than their own. Middlesbrough might have overtaken their opponents last night but that was just one of the chances they spurned.

Instead they remain without an away win this season, a distinction shared only by the three sides below them. Only goal difference is keeping Gareth Southgate’s side out of the relegation places and, while their defence seemed surprisingly laidback at times, their supporters will be considerably less relaxed when they see the league table this morning.

Chris Coleman, by contrast, saluted a victory based on a cunning combination of hard work and good fortune. "It wasn’t pretty," he said. "It wasn’t graceful football by any stretch of the imagination.

Everyone was talking about a relegation battle and I knew we’d be nervous in the first 10 minutes. I could sense an edge in the crowd as well, but we stood strong. It was a committed, gritty performance."

Fulham might have been 16th this morning and worrying. Instead they are 11th and best of all this result was achieved without the recent injury victims Ian Pearce, Pape Bouba Diop and their captain, Luis Boa Morte, and with Niclas Jensen left on the bench as a precaution.

Middlesbrough had absentees of their own, and theirs were concentrated in defence. With Jonathan Woodgate turning an ankle in training over the weekend they were forced to field a central defensive pairing of Chris Riggott, who had not played since August, and Andrew Davies, who had been out for a month.

If they had only taken advantage of their early domination Boro might have got away with their makeshift back line. Goals were always likely - not since the first of these teams’ 51 meetings, in 1924, have they shared a scoreless draw - and neither side seemed particularly inclined to delay their arrival. In the early exchanges Julio Arca had a shot charged down, James Morrison forced Mark Schwarzer into a fine save and then from nowhere the visitors fell behind.

Fulham had not so much as set foot into the visitors’ penalty area before Moritz Volz cut in from the left, and once there his footing was none too sure. The merest hint of contact from George Boateng was all it took for the German to tumble, and Heidar Helguson’s penalty was typically assured. "He touched me so I think it was a penalty," Volz said.

If Middlesbrough have any complaints about Fulham’s second goal they must be directed at their own defenders. Riggott should have been marking McBride but when the American was found by Tomasz Radzinski 25 yards out he had time to turn, consider his options and decide that passing the ball into the net might be quite a good one. Riggott was miserably slow to close him down, arriving just in time to get a slight touch to the ball as it flew towards goal.

"You can’t give teams a two-goal start in this division, it’s as simple as that," said Southgate. "But I’m not going to start criticising the lads who were out there. The guys have come in and given me everything. They’ll learn from games like this."

They will need to. Boro have won one of their last nine league matches and none at all away from the Riverside this season. Helguson twice might have extended the home side’s lead in the second half before the visitors were allowed back into the game. Antti Niemi’s weak goal-kick only reached Yakubu Aiyegbeni and his header put Mark Viduka in the clear to dink the ball over Niemi, Fulham proving that they are not immune to defensive catastrophe themselves.

Despite that error, things are finally looking up for Coleman’s side. At Middlesbrough everyone is busy looking down, with increasing concern.