Sam Allardyce believes West Ham will have sent out a message by ending Middlesbrough¿s unbeaten home record.
Mowbray left frustrated as Boro's unbeaten home run ends
Sam Allardyce believes West Ham will have sent out a message to their Championship rivals by ending Middlesbrough's unbeaten home record.
The Hammers enjoyed a 2-0 success at the Riverside Stadium with Frederic Piquionne opening their account and Carlton Cole making the game safe in the closing moments.
Boro battled hard to preserve their record, which had stood since a 3-0 reverse to QPR in February 2010, but Scott McDonald and top scorer Marvin Emnes were both denied.
"The squad is being used to its full potential and it's looking pretty good for us," Allardyce said.
Big statement
"We've missed some big players today and we came and performed like that and in the end won the game very comfortably against a team that hadn't lost a game here.
"We got every element right today. When we had to defend, we defended well, when we attacked, we exploited the spaces they were leaving to show our quality in the final third.
"We created good chances to win the game and deservedly so.
"We're a very happy bunch at the minute, we're just keeping our feet on the ground, enjoying our training and enjoying our time together. We prepared right for this one today.
"Kevin Nolan was talking about it (the unbeaten record) before the game, that we could make a big statement tonight and I think we have on the quality of our performance.
"We comfortably won the game tonight and long may it continue.
"We're getting to know each other's strengths and weaknesses and that makes us, as a team, better and better and better as time goes on."
Huffed and puffed
Unhappy Middlesbrough boss Tony Mowbray spoke briefly after a disappointing defeat on a cold night on Teesside.
"It was frustrating as we didn't play particularly well," he said.
"It was one of those nights we huffed and puffed and had a few chances but I never really sat on the edge of my seat.
"They've got a lot of Premier League experience and I think it showed.
"They know when to put their foot through it, they know when to clear it, they're big and strong.
"We got in behind them once or twice, but we needed the back of the net to ripple. We'll take it on the chin and move on. Good luck to them."
