Middlesbrough have moved six points clear at the top of the Championship standings after they recorded a 1-0 victory at Brentford.
Both teams began with attacking purpose at Griffin Park with Grant Leadbitter and Alan Judge both having opportunities, but the first real opening fell to Brentford's Lasse Vibe in the seventh minute, but after racing clear, he was denied by Dimi Konstantopoulos.
On the quarter-hour mark, Middlesbrough's David Nugent had a shot saved by David Button, and 12 minutes later, the Bees stopper prevented the former Leicester City forward from opening the scoring for a second time.
Button came to Brentford's rescue again when showing quick reactions to keep a Christian Stuani effort out, but just before the break, Konstantopoulos pulled off a one-handed stop from Judge to keep Boro on level terms.
Soon after the restart, Konstantopoulos punched away a Maxime Colin strike, but it was Middlesbrough who went ahead on 59 minutes through Daniel Ayala, who got the final touch after Button had misjudged a high ball.
As the game entered the closing stages, Stuani nearly added a second, only to flick the ball marginally wide, but Ayala's effort proved enough to help the North-East side move further ahead at the top of the table.
Darren Plant
