Southgate thrilled with rival win

Middlesbrough manager Gareth Southgate was happy with his team following their 1-0 victory in the derby match with Newcastle yesterday.

"I know how much it means to the fans," said Southgate.

"I thought it was an even game on the day.

"Newcastle played well in the first half, we weren't at the pitch of it, but second half we were a lot better and we had enough chances to get a goal before we did.

"They probably had two clear chances in the game and we probably had a couple more than that, so we just deserved to win it.

"It is the first time this season when we have got a touch more than we deserved maybe, if it had finished with a draw neither side could have had any complaints.

"The last 15 to 20 minutes we looked stronger and in the end were good value. "

He added: "Back to Back wins for us is a massive lift. Six points is a huge difference to your league total and you have to start looking up.

"We have a squad of players with a lot of quality and we shouldn't be surprised by winning games like this.

"This must be the standard we set so we have got to keep pushing forward."