Sky Bet Championship: Fulham's recovery halted after a 2-0 defeat at Middlesbrough

Middlesbrough climbed back up into the Sky Bet Championship play-off places with a 2-0 victory over Fulham at the Riverside on Saturday.

The Cottagers, buoyed by three wins in a row, were unlucky to be on the receiving end of a two-goal defeat having dominating large parts of the game.

After Adam Reach's opening goal within a minute of the second half, Fulham wasted three good chances before Albert Adomah doubled Boro's lead in the 82nd minute against the run of play.

It ended the west London side's winning streak under caretaker boss Kit Symons, with Fulham remaining in the bottom three.

Fulham enjoyed some early pressure but it was the home side who nearly took the lead in the 12th minute with a flowing move. Lee Tomlin released Ryan Fredericks down the right and his low cross was flicked off the post by Adomah.

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Other than Boro hitting the woodwork the first half was a cagey affair, but it did not take long for the game to spark into life after the break.

Just 35 seconds were on the clock when Tomlin's attempted over-kick inside the area was flicked past Marcus Bettinelli by Reach.

Reach was inches away from a second two minutes later when Adomah clipped a great ball into the box but the young winger's header hit the upright.

Boro continued to press and should have doubled their lead in the 54th minute when Grant Leadbitter's corner was flicked towards goal and Kike's close-range effort was blocked by Bettinelli.

It was much better stuff by Aitor Karanka's side, who looked like a different team.

But Fulham were by no means out of it. They continued with a patient approach and it nearly paid off when they forced a corner on the hour.

When Boro failed to clear, Ross McCormack whipped a second ball into the box and Tim Hoogland's header thumped the crossbar.

It was a big let-off for Boro, and there was another reprieve in the 66th minute when substitute George Williams played a long ball in behind Boro's sleeping defenders but Colombian striker Hugo Rodallega blazed over from just inside the area with a hasty first-time shot.

The visitors pressed again and should have levelled in the 72nd minute when Lasse Christensen found plenty of space in the area to shoot at goal but Daniel Ayala somehow managed to get a foot to the low shot on the line.

Fulham were getting on top, and forced a free-kick two minutes later, but McCormack's ambitious effort was punched clear by Dimitrios Konstantopoulos.

But the second came against the tide as Boro hit Fulham on the counter eight minutes from the end.

Adomah started the move and Kike did some great work down the right before playing it back inside for the midfielder to side-foot past Bettinelli and into the bottom corner.