TONY Mowbray last night piled praise on Barry Robson after the midfielder's brace secured a 3-1 victory over Doncaster Rovers and fired Middlesbrough back up to third position in the Championship table.

Having suffered their second league defeat of the season at the weekend, it looked like being another difficult evening for the Teessiders when Billy Sharp broke the deadlock early on.

But Robson drilled home a long-range equaliser in the 30th minute, and after Marvin Emnes scored from close range in first-half stoppage time, the Scotland international claimed his sixth goal of the season from the penalty spot to make the victory safe.

Emnes has won plenty of plaudits for his performances in the opening three months of the season, but Robson's midfield promptings are becoming increasingly influential, and Mowbray is delighted with the 32-year-old's record in front of goal.

“Barry brings power, determination and real quality,” said the Middlesbrough manager. “He's his own biggest critic as well. He'll beat himself up if he has a bad touch or a bad pass, but his recent performances for us have been excellent.

“He always works extra hard on the training ground, and he's a fantastic professional. He's great to work with and he's having a big effect on the team.

“When we have one striker (Scott McDonald) who isn't really firing goals wise, it's great to have a midfield player who's banging them in.

“To be honest, he's disappointed he didn't get a hat-trick because he had a bad touch late on that would have taken him clean through on the goal. He took it a bit wide and wasted the chance, but I'm pleased with him.”

Last night's success ensured there would be no lasting fall-out from Saturday's comprehensive defeat at Southampton, and owed much to a spirited response to Sharp's 14th-minute opener.

An injury to Justin Hoyte forced a tactical reshuffle that saw Robson and substitute Faris Haroun fill the wide midfield positions, and with Rhys Williams and Nicky Bailey gradually gaining control of the central areas, the Teessiders eventually ran out comfortable winners. As a result, Middlesbrough have now gone 33 league games without suffering back-to-back league defeats.

“We spoke about that before the game and told the players to make sure this wasn't the night when that run stopped,” said Mowbray. “They took that on board and, despite going a goal down, they showed a lot of character to get three points again.

“On the road, whether you're playing the team that's second bottom or second top, they're all very tough games. We saw that for a fair percentage of the first half, but thankfully we got the goals and won the match.”

The only downside to the evening's entertainment was the injuries suffered by Hoyte, who over-stretched when attempting to win the ball in the first half, and Bailey, who watched the closing stages with an ice pack strapped to his leg after injuring his calf. Both players are major doubts for Saturday's televised home game with Watford.

“We'll assess everything and by Thursday we'll start preparing for that game,” said Mowbray. “Every team has injuries and every team has to deal with them. There are players in my squad who need an opportunity to play and sometimes an injury gives someone else a chance to show me what they can do.”

Last night's game proved an emotional experience for Sharp, who played despite the loss of his two-day-old son, Louie Jacob, at the weekend. The Doncaster captain was the subject of a minute's applause before kick-off and dedicated his opening goal, a fantastic volleyed effort, to his son's memory.

“I can't really find the words to say how sorry we are for him and his family,” said Mowbray. “It's desperately sad and for him to score a goal like that was unbelievable.

“I don't know if I should really say this, but I'm delighted for him scoring and hopefully the goal will have given him a bit of solace in the moment that he's going through.”