The pressure is mounting on Middlesbrough boss Bryan Robson - and the forthcoming fixtures hardly help his cause.

After sinking to a third successive defeat on Saturday, Robson's men now face Arsenal and Manchester United in successive League games.

Next up is a tricky trip to London to meet Wimbledon in the Worthington Cup tomorrow night and with the injury list ever-increasing - Brian Deane was added to the casualty tally after going off with concussion - life is far from rosy by the Riverside.

The striker needed stitches in the head wound and was stretchered down the tunnel following his accidental clash with Hermann Hreidarsson.

Robson was shorn of Paul Ince, Ugo Ehiogu, Gary Pallister, Alen Boksic, Mark Schwarzer, Phil Stamp, Robbie Mustoe and Keith O'Neill - but the game was long lost before Deane's departure five minutes from time -fter some terrible first half howlers.

Mark Crossley's kicking was abysmal throughout but when he came for a hopeful long ball with Matt Holland, the keeper sliced his clearance straight to Richard Naylor.

The Ipswich striker steadied himself and like a golfer judging his chip shot in the windy conditions, lobbed the ball back into an empty net from 30 yards.

The game looked dead and buried three minutes later when Mark Venus found a way through a sloppy wall with a left-foot free kick from 25 yards out and beat Crossley low down inside the keeper's left-hand post.

Venus put on a super showing against the club he has supported since his boyhood days growing up in Hartlepool.

Boro had their own chances early on, particularly when only a superb one-handed save from young England keeper Richard Wright kept out a Mark Summerbell header from a good Deane cross.

Hamilton Ricard then found himself in a good position to take a Christian Karembeu pass. But with time on his side the Colombian's shot was weak and easily taken by Wright.

That miss - and his apathetic manner afterwards - prompted Bryan Robson to haul him off and the striker trudged miserably straight down the tunnel without collecting anything from the dug-out or wishing his replacement Noel Whelan well.

Robson later revealed the club had tried a number of ploys to boost Ricard's confidence but admitted little seemed to be working.

Their confidence in Crossley must also have been shaken following his wretched first-half showing.

Crossley was helpless as Matt Holland hit a post with a header from a Venus corner. But the keeper did push over a John McGreal shot and denied Naylor with a headed opportunity.

And he got very lucky when he pushed a Marcus Stewart cross straight into the path of Naylor but it bounced off the striker's knee and rolled straight back into Crossley's grateful arms.

Boro were fortunate to escape further punishment when Stewart flashed a shot just wide from 20 yards.

But the red-shirted visitors plugged away with Gianluca Festa heading a Andy Campbell cross wide and Colin Cooper was also off-target with a header from a Karembeu corner.

For a while it was a similar story in the second half as Jermaine Wright, Stewart and Holland all threatened Boro's goal.

But Boro plugged away and as Ipswich fell asleep, Robson's men looked more threatening.

Boro won a free kick 30 yards out and Dean Gordon's shot took a deflection off Noel Whelan to completely wrong-foot Wright for the visitors' 67th-minute consolation.

Ten minutes later Campbell, rumoured to a target of England's caretaker-manager at Leicester, was replaced by Joe Desire-Job while Ipswich brought on David Johnson for Stewart.

Johnson almost scored with his first touch after creating space for himself but fired wide.

Boro dealt with a late flurry from Town as Jamie Clapham hit a shot at Crossley and the keeper then caught a Johnson cross