Middlesbrough 0-0 Bournemouth

Neither side could break the deadlock at the Riverside Stadium

Bournemouth failed to extend their winning run to seven as they were held by fellow Championship high-fliers Middlesbrough at the Riverside.

Both sides had the chance to go into the international break at the division's summit with a win but the draw leaves Derby top by a point.

Boro's Adam Reach went closest to scoring when his 20-yard first-half drive smacked the crossbar.

Matt Ritchie had a fierce volley tipped over for the visitors.

On this evidence both sides will be there or thereabouts come the end of the season, with entertaining, attractive football backed up by strong defensive performances.

Eddie Howe's Cherries, unseated at the top by Derby's lunchtime win against Wolves, were on a run of six straight victories that led to his October manager of the month award.

However, a season's best crowd of 22,930 at a vibrant Riverside, buoyed by the hosts' own three-win streak, presented a lively atmosphere and the visitors initially struggled to impose themselves on a confident Teesside outfit.

Middlesbrough have lost only one of their last 12 games in the Championship and have the meanest defence

Boro possessed the best defensive record in the division before kick-off and it showed as the division's player of the month Callum Wilson was kept quiet, while their fluid forward line troubled the visitors.

Reach's clean strike rattled the Bournemouth crossbar and Lee Tomlin's footwork and skill twice put him in good positions but the finish was lacking.

At the other end Wilson's cross was acrobatically bicycle-kicked straight at Dimi Konstantopoulos by Ritchie, who was again foiled when the Greek palmed a venomous volley over the top.

The stalemate scoreline belied the quality of the football and the second period was equally open as both sides pushed for a breakthrough.

Clear-cut chances proved harder to come by for both sides, as Tomlin's cushioned chip for Kike skidded agonisingly away from the Spaniard, while for Bournemouth a string of crosses rolled tantalisingly untouched across the Middlesbrough box.

Passing by both sides became less crisp and precise as the daylight faded although there were still moments of danger, notably when Konstantopoulos did well to clutch an awkward half-volley from Marc Pugh.

The crowd kept up their intensity in the chilly November air but were not to be rewarded with a goal for their efforts as Simon Hooper blew for full-time after an absorbing contest.

Middlesbrough head coach Aitor Karanka:

"I'm very happy, it was a very difficult game. Before the game it was excited and in the game the players were a bit anxious. It's a new situation for us and we were playing one of the best teams in the league.

"This is the kind of game we have had bad moments before but the crowd was perfect, this is when you need your people and they were brilliant. I want to say thanks.

"It's one year since I arrived here and if you look at the table one year ago we were outside the play-off positions. But now we are in there.

"We know how difficult it is but if we keep working this way we'll secure our objectives. We're confident. We've got seven points from three games against three good teams."

Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe:

"We started positively and we set up positively but we know Boro are a good side, so we are happy with point, but the mentality of the side means we are disappointed.

"We were aware Middlesbrough was going to be a tough examination, but we've done well on the road.

"These are exciting times for us. Last year were getting beaten heavily on the road, but this year we've picked up some valuable points and this was a valuable point.

"The atmosphere from the crowd was good for Boro and they were very strong, but I felt we could have won."