Middlesbrough's wait for a first Premier League win since mid-December continues as they played out a goalless draw with Everton in Saturday's clash at the Riverside Stadium this afternoon.
Ronald Koeman's charges began brightly as Ross Barkley found Tom Davies in the Boro box in the first few minutes, but the youngster could not get the ball under control.
In the fifth minute, Idrissa Gueye slotted another ball through to Davies but Victor Valdes was alert to rob the ball off the midfielder's toes.
Despite Everton's bright start, they suffered a few hiccups at the back as Adam Forshaw was gifted the ball in the visitors' half, but Ramiro Funes Mori was able to get a tackle in.
On the half-hour mark Romelu Lukaku came close to opening the scoring after being put through on goal, but Valdes was the hero as he kept out the Belgian's ball.
After the interval, Boro captain Ben Gibson's header was cleared off the line by Leighton Baines, before Valdes made another excellent stop to deny Ademola Lookman.
Everton keeper Joel Robles then produced an impressive save to deny Rudy Gestede's powerful header from 12 yards late on as the final whistle blew on a stalemate.
The draw, which keeps Boro in 15th place and Everton in seventh, means that the Teessiders are still without victory this year, having now gone eight Premier League matches without a win.
Meanwhile, the Merseysiders remain unbeaten in the league since their 1-0 loss against Liverpool on December 19.
Giuseppe Labellarte
