THE PREMIERSHIP fate of Middlesbrough was taken from their own careless hands last night.
To survive, the team assembled at vast expense by Bryan Robson must beat Leeds at Elland Road on Sunday and pray that either Sunderland lose at Wimbledon or Southampton succumb to a heavy defeat at Aston Villa.
Last night's dour goalless draw guaranteed the safety of not only Blackburn Rovers but also Everton and West Ham United.
Should Middlesbrough surrender their place among the elite they will rue the madness that enveloped their club like an early morning mist just before Christmas.
By refusing to play this fixture back in late December because several of their influential players were either poorly or injured, they unwittingly cast themselves in the role of villains and were duly castigated by all and sundry.
So swift and loud was the condemnation of their actions that not one dissenting voice outside of Teesside was raised in protest when they were docked three points.
Blackburn had been awash with worried Middlesbrough fans all day. They sat nervously in the Lancashire club, probably unable to see beyond excursions to Stockport and Bradford next season.
And where was Ravanelli, the provider of goals, the dream weaver, when they needed him most? Sadly, on a treatment table back home. Never mind. There was still an enviable sense of spirit about Middlesbrough, a surprising poise to their football which, by necessity, was being produced under desperate circumstances.
Two robustly efficient back lines ensured that play was too often marooned in midfield, where Tim Sherwood and Emerson locked horns like disgruntled stags disputing territory.
The first and arguably the best of a dreary opening half fell to the visitors after 10 minutes, Mikkel Beck contriving to head wide Craig Hignett's fine cross from the left. Blackburn's Graeme Le Saux was similarly profligate shortly afterwards when he collected Nigel Pearson's inadequate clearance only to steer his shot over the crossbar from 18 yards.
It took Middlesbrough half an hour to discover that Blackburn's ambition actually embraced very little. Their sense of urgency then became appreciably more acute, to the discomfort of a Blackburn defence which was again grateful to the vigilance of the redoubtable Colin Hendry. Tempers frayed as limbs tired and in the 54th minute Hignett's running feud with Kevin Gallacher appeared to reach an ugly climax with a less than subtle dip of the elbow, but no action was taken.
Both sides were displaying surprising patience when the occasion screamed out for a gamble of some description. Middlesbrough's moment of destiny seemed to arrive in the 65th minute, when Hendry took the legs from beneath Juninho just inside the penalty area, but play was mystifyingly waved on.
