STEVE McClaren must be wondering what he can do.

For half an hour of the derby with Newcastle on Saturday the Middlesbrough manager's plans were finally coming to fruition.

Boro had hit the net for the first time this season, were genuinely in control and the better of the two sides.

Eyebrows were raised around the Riverside prior to kick off when star striker Alen Boksic's name was not on the team sheet.

But forwards Brian Deane and Dean Windass posed problems for the Newcastle defence and the Teessiders deserved to be one up with Colin Cooper's early header.

However, as McClaren knows only too well, a losing run is hard to end, especially when the side concerned are not enjoying the rub of the green.

And little wonder McClaren was frustrated with a couple of decisions made by referee Graham Poll that altered the flow of the game completely.

At 1-0 Mr Poll's decision to send off Boro keeper Mark Schwarzer had an immediate effect - Alan Shearer equalising from the spot.

But whether Schwarzer should or should not have been shown the red card, the Tring official should have handed Newcastle keeper Shay Given exactly the same punishment when the Irishman brought down Paul Ince.

Inconsistency and referees - two words that are said in the same sentence too often these days.

But the two incidents were almost identical and if Poll had been consistent both stoppers would have been having early baths.

Many have argued that when Given was booked for his incident, it was the right decision because there were two defenders running in on the goalline.

But nine minutes earlier Schwarzer had both Jonathan Greening and Curtis Fleming doing exactly the same when he fouled Laurent Robert, but the Aussie stopper was not as fortunate.

Perhaps neither warranted the red card for a professional foul but Poll needed to stick to the letter of the law on two counts, which in the end had a major influence on the 4-1 result.

But credit to Newcastle, they made that extra man count and their attacking pace will cause problems in the Premiership.

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