A brace from second-half substitute Mustapha Carayol late in the game gave Middlesbrough three points away to Blackpool in the Championship.
In the early stages, it was the Tangerines who pressed on with Barry Ferguson testing the gloves of Shay Given.
Angel Martinez also provided a threat for the Seasiders in the opening period, twice producing saves from the Republic of Ireland international.
However, it was Middlesbrough's Carayol who proved to be the hero, twice scoring for the counter-attacking Boro in the final ten minutes.
His first goal on 84 minutes came after a break from Emanuel Ledesma and the substitute managed to curl his effort beyond the reach of Matt Gilks.
Carayol's second came in stoppage time as the forward rifled his shot into the top corner from close range.
The result keeps Aitor Karanka's strong start as Boro boss going, with his team just outside the top half of the Championship.
They also climb above Paul Ince's Blackpool, whose recent slide has seen them drop from the playoff picture to the bottom half of the table.
Chris O'Keefe
