Source: Team_Talk
Rams boss laments soft spot-kick
The Teessiders had lost their last three home games to West Brom, Leicester and Watford, without scoring but ended that run against the Rams.
Adam Johnson converted from the penalty spot on 22 minutes to end a 297-minute wait for a Middlesbrough goal at the Riverside after Shaun Barker had brought him down in the box.
It was his seventh goal of the season and his eighth 14 minutes after the break oozed real class.
Picking up possession wide on the left from full-back Joe Bennett, Johnson cut inside and carved a path between the white shirts before curling a superb right-footed shot past goalkeeper Stephen Bywater.
The win, coupled with defeats for top two West Brom and Newcastle, left Boro just a point off the summit.
But for Clough, who arrived on Teesside with several players missing through injury and left with midfielder Jay McEveley having suffered a suspected fractured cheekbone and striker Kris Commons nursing a hamstring strain, there was little comfort.
Clough said: "We conceded a soft penalty having had two turned down on Saturday which we thought were probably more of a shout than that one given tonight.
"The first goal was going to be very important, primarily for us having not got a win away from home this season and Middlesbrough on the back of three defeats.
"Once that one went in, it changed the game."
