FULL-TIME

Middlesbrough have shown class tonight, there is no doubt about that. Adam Johnson's first goal was fantastic - there is no way of disputing that, and I still feel that as a team they deserve the three points that they leave Glanford Park with tonight.

United were unlucky, and could easily have snatched at least one goal; but at the end of the game they haven't - so it's got to be a case of heads up and look towards the next game - Brian Laws' Sheffield Wednesday away. Mouthwatering.

SECOND-HALF

90 Minutes: A minimum of four minutes added time is to be played.

89 Minutes: Sub by Middlesbrough - Justin Hoyte is on in place of Adam Johnson.

87 Minutes: Martyn Woolford's header at goal is unlucky not to find the net following a Josh Wright cross. Instead it's saved by Danny Coyne.

86 Minutes: Cheers of 'ole' fly around the ground as Boro' exchange pass after pass. The ball ends up with Murphy (after it's already out of play for a corner to the away side) and he sums-up the frustration of everyone in the ground by smacking it up and over the roof.

83 Minutes: Sub by Scunthorpe - Sparrow replaced by Garry Thompson. Sub by Middlesbrough - Mark Yeates replaced by Julio Arca.

81 Minutes: United win a free-kick in a shooting position. McCann fires it. It hits Gary O'Neil in the wall and flies over.

77 Minutes: Josh Wright spins a corner into the box, and it causes something of a muddle for the Boro' players. Eventually though, Danny Coyne pushes it in the general direction of 'away'.

75 Minutes: Sub by Middlesbrough - Lita off; Tuncay Sanli on.

73 Minutes: Sparrow levels a shot at -goal after a United free-kick is played towards him. It cannons over after deflecting off a defender. The subsequent corner then finds Jones, but he can't quite get the connection needed to steer it home.

68 Minutes: Hayes tries to wedge a ball through to Hooper. But for once the duo are tuned into different frequencies, and it goes all the way through to Coyne.

62 Minutes: Emnes sends another shot over. It was an opportunity that he had to hit first-time, but from about twelve yards he only had to find the target...

58 Minutes: United are playing much better now - they seem to be playing with much more a drive - a point to proove. Firstly Jones heads at goal from close-range, and Wheater clears off the line - although Jones feels that he was fouled (the referee doesn't) - and in fairness he was under heavy pressure from his marker. Then Hooper heads a Matt Sparrow cross towards goal; but Coyne pushes it away.

55 Minutes: It appears to me (and much of the crowd) that Robert Huth either punches or pushes Matt Sparrow, but it's hard to tell which. The referee awards him a yellow card.

50 Minutes: Sub by Scunthorpe -  Josh Wright on for O'Connor.

48 Minutes: Middlebrough score - Johnson goes the same way again; Murphy leaps the other. Chants that I can't repeat about the referee fly around the ground.

Scunthorpe United 0 Middlesbrough 2

47 Minutes: He doesn't.  Johnson does. Murphy saves, But Boro' win another after Murphy brings Johnson down while vying to beat him to the loose ball. It looks a very harsh decision. Fifth penalty of the season against United...

46 Minutes: Penalty to Boro' after a foul by O'Connor. Someone near me shouts "Let Southgate take it!". That's the fourth penalty United have had given against them this season.

45 Minutes: The away team commences this second period of football.

HALF-TIME

20:40: United are one-nil down at the break, and in all fairness Boro' are very good value for their lead. United aren't playing badly - and it's in no way a critisicm to say that they're not in the ascendancy - you can just tell who came up from League 1 and who came down from the Premiership last season. I hope that in the second period United can carve some more chances out. They have made a few, and furthermore a few half-decent ones, but they just have to be more clinical, and take advantage of any scraps that come their way.

45 Minutes: One additional minute to be played. The team in red are content to keep the ball at the moment. The team in claret are chasing the ball; and the game.

41 Minutes: Grant McCann tries his luck from distance. He gets the ball after a shot pass to him from O'Connor, and promptly turns and shoots. It cuts through the air like a bullet, and swerves from side to side, but ultimately dips too late - and ends up over the bar.

38 Minutes: Marvin Emnes gets into a great position, and gets every last muscle fibre behind the shot that he leathers at goal. Over.

34 Minutes: Michael O'Connor apologises to Andy Crosby on the bench after shooting over from about thirty-yards. It's not very often that those shots go in, but if it had have, I don't think Crosby would've minded him having a crack!

33 Minutes: It's like someone has pressed the mute button in here. United are really trying to work the ball upfield, and create something for the fans to get excited about; but Middlesbrough just seem capable of counteracting everything United do.

28 Minutes: Middlesbrough score - Murphy is furious - he's sure it was offside. Adam Johnson receives a long ball from Gary O'Neil, and cooly slips it past Joe Murphy to give his side the lead.

Scunthorpe United 0 Middlesbrough 1

26 Minutes: Paul Hayes whacks a ball across the area, and Martyn Woolford manages to get on the end of it. He forcces Coyne into a great stop.

24 Minutes: Emnes is tripped on the edge of the area. The striker is so sure it's a foul he grabs the ball before the referee has even blown the whistle. Yeates takes a poor free-kick, and Murphy catches with ease.

21 Minutes: Joe Murphy makes a great stop to deny Leroy Lita. It was an instictive save, as the striker was situated very near to the goal (on the penalty spot); so Murphy did well to palm the ball away; rather than back to the striker.

19 Minutes: Paul Hayes is having alot of joy on the right-wing. He's roaming out there and getting in behind his man to work himself and the ball into some very advantageous positions. I'm writing this because he just got down that flank again, and from the corner flag narrowly missed his target (Gary Hooper) when he attempted to square the ball to him.

18 Minutes: The Boro come very close to going ahead. Yeates weaves down the line, and whips a ball across the area. To the whole stadium it looks like it's going to land on Lita's head; but from nowhere, Cliff Byrne emerges and not only beats Lita to the ball; also turns it over the bar. So very close for Gareth Southgate's men.

14 Minutes: Hooper's tugged back after Joe Murphy launches a long-ball forward, so United win a free-kick in a dangerous position. McCann clips it towards Jones; but it's headed away fairly comfortably. I thought he would've shot from there to be honest.

12 Minutes: United are rather quiet at the moment. Boro' are certainly doing the majority of the attacking, and Hayes and Hooper are almost spectators. Still, the score reamins 0-0.

7 Minutes: Mark Yeates delivers a free-kick into the box, which troubles the United defence. It's one of those where nobody knows if they should go for it or not; as if they do it might just deflect off them and creep into the net. Eventually, it finds its way through to David Wheater, who heads the ball down for someone to strike - and thankfully that someone is Rob Jones, as he strikes it away from the Iron's area!

4 Minutes: Boro' win a corner, but Mark Yeates gets his angles a little wrong, and he sends the ball flying over the danger zone.

3 Minutes: Hayes bursts down the wing and sends a testing shot towards Danny Coyne's goal. But the Welshman dives to his left and plucks the ball from the air.

1 Minutes: Hayes takes the ball down and backheels it into Hooper. Hooper then sprays it to O'Connor, who nudges it across further to Matt Sparrow. Sparrow pulls the trigger; but it hits a defender and fizzes away. It ends up with McCann, but he sends a shot over the bar.