Middlesbrough Football Club

• Nickname:Boro
• Founded:1876
• Manager:Tony Mowbray

• Ground:Riverside Stadium
• Capacity:35049

Tuncay earns boss' praise

16 Dec 2007 - 11:57:23

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Middlesbrough boss Gareth Southgate picked out Turkey international Tuncay for special praise as the Teessiders built on last Sunday's 2-1 victory against Arsenal by sealing a hard-fought 1-0 win at rock-bottom Derby County.

Tuncay scored the crucial goal at Pride Park - his third goal in three matches - as Boro moved further away from the bottom three.

A delighted Southgate said: "Tuncay gives us incredible enthusiasm and energy. He took on an effort that two weeks ago he probably wouldn't have done because of his confidence.

"But after scoring two in two coming into this game he's now settled and he has a rapport with the fans who can see the effort he's putting in.

"His work ethic has been fantastic since he arrived. It's just that it took him a little while to find the back of the net.

"But we're now seeing the quality he has and, with three goals in his last three games, they've been crucial for us because all of them have been goals that have won us points.

"We were more free-flowing against Arsenal, but this was a good away performance where we had to dig in.

"This was Paul Jewell's first home game in charge and his team had a point to prove, so it was of huge importance to them.

"When you're facing a team fighting for their lives then it's always going to be a tough afternoon, particularly with a new manager in charge.

"In the end it was a moment of real quality that's won it for us, with 1-0 a good result, a clinical result."