GORDON Strachan last night claimed that two “great professional fouls” had condemned Middlesbrough to a 2- 0 defeat at Blackpool.

Boro played against ten men for the final half-an-hour at Bloomfield Road after Seasiders defender Rob Edwards was dismissed for a challenge on striker Scott Mc- Donald.

They might already have had a man advantage at that point, however, after Charlie Adam checked Jeremie Aliadiere’s progress as he bore down on goal 14 minutes earlier, only for referee Mark Haywood to show the Scotsman a yellow card instead of a red.

Both incidents involved clear goalscoring opportunities, and after strikes from Brett Ormerod and DJ Campbell ended Middlesbrough’s six-game unbeaten run, Strachan felt they were the decisive incidents in the game.

“I think the first was a sending off the same as the second,”

said the Boro boss, who also saw Scott McDonald miss an 84th-minute penalty.

“From where I was sitting, it certainly looked as though Jeremie was clean through.

“But I suppose you’d have to say from their point of view, it was two great professional fouls. If they hadn’t taken those two players down, it would have been us leading the game instead of them.”

Boro were only one goal down when both fouls occurred, and while they would undoubtedly have fancied themselves playing against nine men, they were still offered a glorious opportunity to claim a point when Ian Evatt felled Barry Robson in the area with six minutes left.

McDonald stepped up to take the spot-kick, but the Australia international is still awaiting his first Boro goal after Blackpool goalkeeper Matthew Gilks saved his weak penalty attempt.

“Scott had a few efforts at goal, but it’s just not really happening for him yet,” said Strachan.

“It will though, I’m absolutely sure of that.”

The penalty miss effectively ended Boro’s hopes of a comeback, but rather than pointing the finger of blame at McDonald, Strachan was intensely critical of his side’s below-par display before the interval.

“It will though, I’m absolutely sure of that.”

The penalty miss effectively ended Boro’s hopes of a comeback, but rather than pointing the finger of blame at McDonald, Strachan was intensely critical of his side’s below-par display before the interval.

Blackpool created enough chances to have been out of sight at the break, and having praised his side’s professionalism in their back-to-back home wins over Barnsley and Peterborough, the Scot felt they displayed considerable naivety last night.

“The game was all about the first half,” he said. “It was a narrow pitch and a poor playing surface, but Blackpool were very professional in what they did.

“They turned us and got the knock downs. It wasn’t beautiful to watch, but it was very effective.

“They handled the conditions well, but we were caught between playing that way and trying to play football, and in the end we did neither.”

Blackpool manager Ian Holloway admitted his side enjoyed some fortune during the second half, but was delighted to record a notable double having overseen a 3-0 win at the Riverside in November.

“I thought it was two good sides fighting tooth and nail,”

he said. “It was very close, it hinged on two decisions, and we got some good luck for a change.

“I thought Charlie Adam should probably have gone, although I also don’t think it was a penalty.

“I thought the referee gave that to balance things out, but that’s six points we’ve taken off Middlesbrough now, which is no mean feat.”