Tottenham 0 Middlesbrough 0: The 90 minutes were up and the game was well into its four minutes of added time.

Tottenham were about to record a third goalless draw in their last eight Premiership games. Middlesbrough were about to endure a fifth game without a goal in their 10 matches to date.

Franck Queudrue, Boro's left-back, got the ball near the Spurs area. Queudrue has a sweet left foot and he swung in a dangerous centre across the six-yard box that invited an oncoming Middlesbrough striker. But Massimo Maccarone, on as a substitute for Malcolm Christie, stood and watched from the edge of the area. Two other Boro players joined him.

It meant an easy take for Kasey Keller and a calm ending. But 50 yards away the Middlesbrough manager Steve McClaren erupted and did his best not to launch a water-bottle carrier into mid-air.

The most prominent word from McClaren's lips afterwards was "frustration" - there were a few others on the touchline - and the £8.1 million McClaren paid Empoli for Maccarone last summer must be one of the matters that keeps him awake at night.

Maccarone had come on with Juninho - that's £12 million worth - but Boro have still only seven goals this season. But McClaren was not alone. David Pleat threw on Helder Postiga for the moderate Bobby Zamora with half an hour to go. Postiga cost Spurs £6.25 million but looks about as ready for English football as Bambi.

Postiga's one prominent moment also came towards the final whistle. Released into Boro's area by Rohan Ricketts, Postiga had a clear opening, albeit from an angle. His shot reached Mark Schwarzer.

So the match died. Yet both McClaren and the Tottenham caretaker David Pleat did their best to take something from a poor first half and a mildly entertaining second.

"There's a lot of frustration in the dressing-room," said McClaren. "But if you asked me beforehand if I'd take a point, I'd have said yes. It may be slowly, slowly, but we are getting there."

Evidence came with Boro sneaking over Leeds and Bolton into 17th place.

Pleat, who said before kick-off that his "conscience is clear" over Glenn Hoddle's dismissal, watched his team gradually lose the little authority they had and no doubt privately was grateful that Boro were as blunt as his own side. He body-swerved any mention of him getting the post permanently and one wonders if this is really a Spurs team he would want to take to Highbury on Saturday week.

Aside from a few glimpses of skill from Stephane Dalmat, on loan for the season from Internazionale, the home standard was low. Paul Konchesky gave everything as usual but without Keller's interventions this would have been a dispiriting defeat.

Important characters like Robbie Keane and Darren Anderton were anonymous.

It looks like being a long season at White Hart Lane.