Middlesbrough wasted a golden opportunity to boost their survival hopes as they were held to a goalless draw by Burnley at the Riverside Stadium. Boro are six points shy of safety and it appears the writing is on the wall with their remaining seven fixtures including games against Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea. It was at times a turgid spectacle played at a slow tempo, which was a surprise considering what was at stake for the Teesside club. Their best chances came in the second half. First, substitute Alvaro Negredo produced a wonderful overhead kick that keeper Tom Heaton did well to push away. Burnley defender Matt Lowton then made successive goalline clearances in the closing minutes - first to deny Stewart Downing and then Daniel Ayala.

The Clarets - yet to win on their league travels this season - barely threatened the Boro goal, although they did hit the crossbar through Robbie Brady's free-kick. The point moves the visitors eight points clear of the Premier League drop zone. This was the match many thought would see Boro end their run of 14 league games without a win - but not until the last five minutes did that look a possibility. Their former goalscoring hero Bernie Slaven feared the worst on BBC's Football Focus earlier, when he suggested his old team had not shown urgency in recent months. That urgency did rear its head, though only in the closing stages after coach Steve Agnew finally decided to twist by bringing on attackers Negredo and Adama Traore. Soon after his introduction, Negredo almost became a "super sub" when his brilliant overhead kick was palmed away by the alert Heaton.

They were then twice denied by brilliant defending from Lowton. The 27-year-old defensive player valiantly cleared Downing's goalbound free-kick before hacking Ayala's header off the line.  With a tough run-in coming up, it looks like Boro's days are numbered.