Bakary Sako's calmly converted penalty has given Wolverhampton Wanderers a 1-0 half-time lead over Middlesbrough.

Sako almost gave the home side a dream start inside the first five minutes, but the Malian winger placed his shot narrowly wide after a rapid burst away from the Boro defence.

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Carl Ikeme almost gifted the visitors a 13th-minute lead and was incredibly relieved to see his clearance bobble wide after it struck Patrick Bamford.

Grant Leadbitter almost added another goal to his tally for the season, but Ikeme kept the midfielder's free kick out with a smart save.

Sako continued to be a thorn in the Boro defence's side and saw another effort beaten away before chipping an audacious penalty straight down the middle of the goal and beyond the despairing Dimitrios Konstantopoulos.

Boro almost got back on level terms in the 37th minute as Jelle Vossen pounced on a defensive mix-up, but the forward saw his looping effort bounce back off the crossbar and Bamford's follow-up strike was well saved by Ikeme.

Wolves were left clinging on their lead as the half-time whistle sounded after Vossen and Bamford saw a flurry of chances saved by the impressive Ikeme.