Jonathan Woodgate on Middlesbrough penalty claim and how his side matched Leeds United during defeat

It was a completely different game from the one Boro lost 4-0 at Elland Road earlier in the season and they had a number of chances to hit the Leeds hit.

Woodgate agreed with Marcelo Bielsa's assessment that Middlesbrough, now firmly ensconced in the Championship relegation fight, had improved on their most recent performance levels.

"Miles better than last two games," he said.

"Night and day between the performances. If we play like that we'll be fine. Work ethic, determination, okay times on the ball we were poor but we matched a really good Leeds team.

"We played with a back three at Elland Road and got annihilated. Tonight was miles better.

"I thought the energy was really good and we matched them for large parts of the game."

The former Leeds defender moaned the lack of quality in Boro's attacks at times, but praised Hayden Coulson for an 'electrifying' performance on the left wing and highlighted his team's intensity as the major difference between their displays against Leeds this season.

What seemed to frustrate the Middlesborough boss most was the manner in which they conceded and the timing of the goal, which came in first half stoppage time. And the non-award of what he felt was a clear penalty late on in the second half.

"It's the same when we went to Leeds," he said.

"It's the last 20 seconds, all you've got to do is turn it and put it in the corner, it's a square pass, Sav gets blocked by the referee and they go down the other end and score. It's a frustrating thing. At Elland Road we conceded at crucial times, after two minutes, and tonight we conceded with 20 seconds to go in the first half. You go in at 1-0 at halftime, you think okay we've got a chance, you never know what might happen.

"I felt we should have had a penalty from Lewis Wing's free-kick. I thought it was a clear handball. Didn't get given, so you move on."