MICHAEL CARRICK was delighted with his Middlesbrough players’ performance in this evening’s 1-0 win over West Brom, and feels his side beat opponents that will be major factors in the promotion race come the end of the season.

Boro became the first away side to win at the Hawthorns this term as Hayden Hackney’s second-half strike secured a deserved victory.

The Teessiders were the better side throughout the game, with Riley McGree and Delano Burgzorg wasting decent opportunities and Ben Doak seeing a decent second-half effort saved by Alex Palmer.

The win followed hot on the heels of Saturday’s 2-0 victory over Stoke City, and suggests Carrick’s side are clicking into a gear after a somewhat stuttering start to the season.

“I’m really pleased,” said the Boro boss. “It had the feel of a real, proper game about it tonight. Not that others don’t, but this one had a bit of an extra edge coming here. It’s a tough place to come, we haven’t had much success over the couple of years I’ve been here.

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“They’re a good team and they’re going to be in and around the top of the league at the end of the season because they’ve got experienced players and knowhow. We knew we had to be at our best, and I thought we were, in many ways.

“All over the pitch, I was delighted with them, more so with the maturity and composure than anything else.

“In the first ten minutes, I thought we took control of it and took the game by the scruff of the neck. We diffused the emotion and energy in the stadium, and then in the last ten minutes I thought we managed the game really well. The subs came on and were terrific, they had a massive impact for us when we needed it.”

While Boro carved out a number of good opportunities, West Brom barely threatened the Teessiders’ goal, producing just one effort on target all night.

Rav van den Berg impressed as he returned to the starting line-up after an injury absence, with summer loan signing George Edmundson producing another solid display alongside him at the heart of the back four.

“The lads at the back did really well,” said Carrick. “There were going to be balls coming into the box and we expected to have to deal with crosses.

“Credit to Rav, he’s not played a lot of football and not done a lot of training, to be honest with you. He came in and probably epitomised that maturity and composure that set through the team.

“George was magnificent next to him – they looked like they’d played together for quite some time as a whole unit, which I was quite pleased about.”