Middlesbrough 1-0 Bolton Wanderers

Albert Adomah scored his fourth goal of the season

Middlesbrough kept pace with Derby at the top of the Championship as Albert Adomah's first-half goal earned a 1-0 victory over visitors Bolton.

The Ghanaian midfielder fired in his fourth goal of the season from Lee Tomlin's measured pass.

Liam Feeney could have equalised late on for Neil Lennon's side but directed his header wide from six yards out.

The result extends Bolton's losing streak to three matches and leaves them 19th in the table.

It was a stuttering performance from Boro, though they did go close to a late equaliser when Tomlin struck the crossbar with a free-kick.

Aitor Karanka's side had taken just one point from their previous two matches and they were lucky not to concede an early goal when Ryan Fredericks' poor backpass played in Emile Heskey.

Middlesbrough's win means they are now three points clear of third-placed Ipswich and remain two points behind Derby.

Bolton are just six points above the relegation zone after a poor recent run, having conceded 14 goals in their last five matches.

Middlesbrough manager Aitor Karanka: "Four days ago, I was saying we had played one of our best games and lost [against Leeds]. Today, we have played one of our worst games since I have been here, but we have won.

"We have fixed one part of our mistakes, and that is the defensive errors. But now we have to fix the attacking mistakes as well because it is not possible to finish the games with a win when we have problems like this."

Bolton manager Neil Lennon: "I felt we definitely deserved something from the game. Boro were the better team in the first half but we were infinitely superior in the second half and had a few chances.

"It was a huge improvement on the weekend [when Bolton lost 4-1 at Nottingham Forest], and gives me a lot of encouragement going forward.

"The reaction from that result was excellent and Emile Heskey made a huge difference. I am disappointed we couldn't get something out of the game."