AFTER three successive Premiership victories, 11 goals in five league games and a UEFA Cup debut dreams are made of, Middlesbrough should have been able to continue their early-season heroics at Everton.

There was a real chance for Boro to earn a fourth consecutive top-flight win for the first time since 1997, but things rarely go according to plan in football, and this was another one of those occasions.

Instead of Middlesbrough occupying third place this morning it is Everton who have climbed up two places to sit behind Arsenal and Chelsea at the top of the table courtesy of Marcus Bent's second half strike yesterday.

Bent struck three minutes after half-time, after he was put clean through by attacking midfielder Leon Osman and, despite a late surge by the visitors, Everton held on to condemn Middlesbrough to their second defeat of the campaign.

It was a loss that very few would have expected, despite Everton's promising start to the season.

But Middlesbrough's nine-goal strikeforce, of Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Mark Viduka, never hit the heights achieved in previous games.

Seven years ago, the last time Middlesbrough took 12 points from four Premiership games on the spin, Bryan Robson's Juninho-led side ended up being relegated.

The same is unlikely to happen to this bunch and they will be keen to get back to winning ways at home on Saturday - although they face a tough test when Jose Mourinho's Chelsea visit the Riverside Stadium.

Yesterday, McClaren resisted the temptation to rest one or two of the players that crushed Banik Ostrava so convincingly on Thursday. Instead, he opted for the same starting XI meaning another chance for Slovakian Szilard Nemeth to shine on the right of midfield - in the continued absence of Gaizka Mendieta.

While Middlesbrough's impressive start to the campaign could have been expected following the arrivals of some top names during the summer, the same could not to be said of Everton.

The long-winded transfer saga of Wayne Rooney to Manchester United, after initially being tracked by Newcastle, was a curse of distraction and sparked the boardroom infighting at the Merseyside club which went close to ending with manager David Moyes leaving.

However, Moyes stayed on. And, despite being tipped as relegation fodder, Everton's only taste of defeat remains to champions Arsenal - the other team to have beaten Middlesbrough.

Even without Rooney, goals should have been on the cards in this game; with no goalless draw between these two sides recorded in 71 years - and with Viduka and Hasselbaink up front for the visitors the omens looked favourable even before a ball had been kicked.

But it was Everton who looked the more dangerous early on and had three great chances to open the scoring before Middlesbrough had conjured up a meaningful effort on target.

Striker Bent was first to test Mark Schwarzer when the Everton man headed Kevin Kilbane's centre into the Aussie's hands.

Former Newcastle defender Steve Watson did similarly with a volley, while Schwarzer was pushed to the limit when he somehow palmed a Kilbane header over for a corner as the ball look destined to fly into the top right of the net.

Bolo Zenden saw a shot, after controlling Franck Queudrue's ball with his chest, fly high into the stands and Nemeth drove straight at Nigel Martyn following a searching cross-field ball from Viduka had set the forward-cum-winger free.

Middlesbrough had thwarted Everton's initial advances and began to enjoy a strong foothold on proceedings. But, despite plenty of attacking ambition, a tendency to deliver a poor final ball, with Nemeth the main culprit, proved damaging.

What may have had a more negative effect was George Boateng's over-excitement after an elbow incident pushed the game to boiling point. Kilbane was booked after his strayed arm clashed with the face of Chris Riggott as the pair rose for the ball.

But Boateng followed the ex-Sunderland midfielder into referee Howard Webb's notebook after charging over to Kilbane - sparking a mass pushing and shoving spell in Middlesbrough's half. Boateng, though, refused to let it lie and could quite easily have seen red. However, the Dutchman survived. Just as his side did as half-time approached.

A 50-yard ball over the top from Gravesen set Bent free between his markers, Gareth Southgate and Riggott. Bent then only had the keeper to beat but Schwarzer made an exceptional low save when he turned the volley away for a corner.

Nemeth, after two good displays since his return to the side, paid the penalty at Goodison Park for his failure to provide the ammunition for the firepower of Hasselbaink and Viduka. He was replaced by Doriva at half-time.

The Brazilian, who had a powerful drive blocked not long after being introduced, did not have the desired effect though. As, just 125 seconds after coming on, Everton opened the scoring.

Youngster Osman, the man charged with having to follow in Rooney's footsteps, played a delightful slide-rule pass into the path of Bent.

The £450,000 signing from Ipswich beat Southgate for pace before his chip deflected off the stretched leg of Queudrue and rolled over Schwarzer into the empty net.

Middlesbrough lacked the invention and fluidity apparent in previous games and could not argue with going behind to the Toffees.

And, 11 minutes after the opener, McClaren went about changing things by replacing Viduka and Zenden with Joseph Job and Stewart Downing.

The pair's involvement certainly had an impact, although they still failed to find the elusive goal that would have brought Middlesbrough level.

Boateng shot wide from distance and Martyn denied Job, Parlour and Riggott as Middlesbrough rallied.

But Everton held on to take all three points and could even have added to their advantage when James McFadden was denied by Schwarzer in injury time.

Result: Everton 1 Middlesbrough 0.

Read more about Middlesbrough here.