FRUSTRATED Michael Carrick couldn't hide his disappointment after Middlesbrough's 0-0 draw with Blackburn and admitted it was two points dropped as his side lost ground in the Championship play-off race.

Boro extended their unbeaten run to four games and have now kept three clean sheets on the bounce but Carrick says it's "winning that matters" at this stage of the season. Norwich's win at Stoke means Boro are now seven points shy of the top six.

Boro had their moments against Blackburn and almost snatched a winner in the last minute when Isaiah Jones hit the bar, but Carrick admitted his side lacked quality in the final third.

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He said: "I'm frustrated really, I think it was one of those games where we needed a moment and couldn't quite find it, whether it was the pass or the finish.

"There was some alright football in between the boxes and defended the box alright, but couldn't quite find the moment.

"I thought we started alright and looked bright and dangerous and had a couple of opportunities that didn't quite go in for us, then we lacked quality after that and didn't have the moment to make a difference.

"There's always a positive. The clean sheet, Seny has had to make a couple of saves but nothing extra special. We defended the box pretty well. Of course the clean sheet is important but we hope for more and the point doesn't do an awful lot.

"It's a little one to add to the tally but really it's winning games that matters."

Asked whether he sees the draw as two points dropped, he said: "100%, yeah."

Boro started brightly against Rovers but lost Marcus Forss to injury, though Carrick refused to use that as an excuse for the disappointing attacking display - and also dismissed suggestions the schedule caught up with his side after a busy spell.

He said: "We started well and in some ways the spaces we were opening up maybe suited having Riley and Finn on the pitch, we just couldn’t capitalise on that.

"Of course, you’ve done a bit of work preparing for the game and plan. But that’s football. You’ve got to adapt. In the end, we just couldn’t quite make the difference.

"There's a cluster of games but it's what we're used to so I don't think that's a reason for it. Tuesday, Saturday is fine, there's plenty of time to recover."