Ramirez gives Boro deserved Hull win

A goal from Gaston Ramirez earned Middlesbrough a well deserved 1-0 victory over a flat Hull City at the Riverside Stadium.

The win - just the second Boro have registered in the Premier League since August - moves them up to 13th in the table and was one which they fully merited as they outplayed a Hull side who have now lost eight of their last 10 and look certainties to be fighting a relegation battle all season long.

Viktor Fischer's corner found Ramirez unmarked in the box and the former Hull loanee nodded home for the game's only goal.

The goal came on the hour-mark but it had been a long time coming, the Tigers offering little attacking threat with only the hosts' poor finishing preventing them from leading until that point.

Alvaro Negredo, fresh from a brace in their draw at Leicester City last time out, missed a couple of good opportunities, firing over from 10 yards on one occasion while he also made a mess of a close range headed chance, timing his jump completely wrong.

Fischer had the ball in the back of the net in the first half but the linesman, correctly, ruled it out for offside.

It took Mike Phelan's side until stoppage time at the end of the 90 minutes to actually apply some pressure with Adama Diomande sliding onto Ahmed Elmohamady's flick but the ball went just wide of the post.

The home side had taken their foot off the gas in the closing stages allowing Hull to believe they could fashion an unlikely equaliser but Boro held on for a vital win.

Aitor Karanka's men now lie four points above the drop zone and with only one defeat in the last six they are beginning to prove that they could well survive in the top flight this season.

For Hull however, it looks like a long battle ahead and on this evidence it is a battle they will probably lose.

Photo-Getty Images/Stu Forster

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