Middlesbrough survive late Brighton & Hove Albion rally

Middlesbrough were forced to hold on to claim a 2-1 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion in the Championship this afternoon.

Boro had the lead inside the first 10 minutes, and it was Lee Tomlin who scored when he arrived to meet Adam Reach's pass to fire past David Stockdale in the Brighton goal.

The visitors had Ben Gibson to thank for keeping them in the lead when the defender made a crucial tackle to deny Inigo Calderon moments after Danny Holla had fired over the crossbar.

On-loan Liverpool youngster Joao Teixeira had a good opportunity for the home side on 25 minutes, but the Portuguese playmaker fired wide when well positioned inside the box.

Albert Adomah doubled the lead for Aitor Karanka's side shortly after the restart when he converted the rebound after seeing his first effort saved.

Sami Hyypia's men saw plenty of the ball in the second period, but Boro defended well to keep their hosts at bay until Gordon Greer struck with two minutes of normal time remaining.

Sam Baldock headed wide in stoppage time as the home side searched for an equaliser, but Boro held on to take the points to climb to third in the table.