Fulham 1, Middlesbrough 2

AYEGBENI Yakubu was not at Craven Cottage at the weekend with Everton waiting in the wings for the forward. But after scoring on his Boro debut, new £6m striker Mido proved there is life after the Nigerian striker.

Everton are hopeful of concluding a move for Yakubu, although they will have to stump up the £12.5m asking price Boro have reportedly placed on the player, who cost £7.5m in 2005.

But, it would appear that Southgate already has a ready-made replacement in Mido.

After slipping down the Spurs pecking order, Mido's last competitive appearance was in April when Spurs lost 1-0 at Chelsea.

But the Egyptian international was successful on his return to west London at the weekend as Boro recorded their first Premier League win of the season at Craven Cottage.

advertisement While Yakubu's mind is seemingly set on a move away from the North-East, in Mido, the Teessiders have a player desperate to get his career back on track.

Cast aside by Spurs boss Martin Jol, Mido wants to show the Premier League what he is all about yet again. The forward became a cult hero among Spurs fans when he moved to White Hart Lane on loan from Roma in 2005.

And after making the move permanent, Mido's 12 goals the following year helped Spurs finish fifth in the Premier League.

MIDDLESBROUGH dug deep and demonstrated the character that was sadly lacking at Wigan in midweek.

Gareth Southgate's men certainly rode their luck at times and Fulham can thank themselves extremely unfortunate not to have come away with at least a point.

Where some teams may have capitulated after going a goal down early in the game, Boro were always in with a shout of getting at least a point at Craven Cottage. To come away with all three was the icing on the cake ahead of next week's Tyne-Tees derby.

Boro simply refused to succumb to a third straight defeat ahead of Sunday's visit of Newcastle United.

And with the addition of Mido, the storm clouds finally appear to be lifting above the Riverside Stadium.

Boro's new recruit was impressive alongside Tuncay Sanli, marking his debut with a goal. Tuncay on the other hand, despite playing as a forward for Boro for the first time, was way below his best.

But, after struggling to hold down a regular place last season, when he scored just one goal, Mido now hopes to prove his English top flight credentials in a Middlesbrough shirt.

"What people don't know is that I haven't played a game since April and you don't know how difficult it is to play after four or five months," he admitted.

"I played a big part in helping Spurs finish fifth the season before last and I have nothing to prove to anyone.

"All I want to do is play football and to do well for Middlesbrough."

However, Mido refused to discuss whether or not he will get the chance to partner Yakubu in the Middlesbrough attack.

He said: "I think Yakubu has done very well for the club and I think he has been top scorer for the last two seasons.

"If you ask me I wish he was staying here, but if not then we have to deal with it."

While Mido's debut strike proved crucial on Saturday, it was referee Andy D'Urso's failure to award Fulham a goal deep into injury time that ensured all three points for the Teessiders.

David Healy's header was pushed away by Mark Schwarzer, but replays clearly showed the ball crossing the line.

D'Urso was fourth official on Saturday, but due to an injury to Lancashire referee Lee Mason, he took charge of proceedings after only eight minutes.

In what should have been a quiet afternoon's work on the sidelines turned into one D'Urso will want to forget after coming under fire from fans and a less than impressed Fulham boss Lawrie Sanchez.

"It was well over the line and I think our boys were saying to the linesman to go and have a look on the screen, which wouldn't have been a bad idea," said Sanchez. "Why he hasn't given it I don't know."

Southgate admitted his side were fortunate to come away from the capital with maximum points, but was nevertheless the Boro boss was just relieved to see his side get off the mark after losing their opening two games of the season.

"I've been told that it was over the line, but sometimes you don't get the rub of the green and sometimes you do," said Southgate. "We won the game in the end because we put the effort in.

"The team needed a bit of belief. Things have happened to us already this season that we didn't deserve and maybe we have won a game we might have drawn."

Following defeats to Blackburn and Wigan, Southgate must have been fearing the worst when Brian McBride put Fulham ahead in the 16th minute, slotting home from close range, and dislocating his knee in the process.

Lee Cattermole and Stewart Downing both wasted chances in the first half to level and despite falling behind early on, Boro always looked dangerous on the break.

And after the ineffective Tuncay Sanli was replaced at half-time, the Teessiders were ahead ten minutes after the interval when Tony Warner allowed Mido's speculative effort to squirm through his fingers.

Clint Dempsey should have regained Fulham's lead when he somehow managed to fire wide on 79 minutes with the goal at his mercy.

And the Cottagers were made to pay two minutes from time when Cattermole put Boro ahead with a neat finish past Warner.

It got worse for Sanchez's men when Healy looked to have rescued an injury time point, but neither the referee nor his assistant were able to see that the ball had crossed the line by a good yard, much to Southgate's relief and delight.

Fulham: Warner, Baird, Knight, Bocanegra, Konchesky, Davies, Smertin, Davis (Diop, 89), Bouazza (Dempsey,35), McBride (Kamara, 20), Healy. Subs (not used): Ricardo, Batista, Volz.

Middlesbrough: Schwarzer, Davies, Wheater, Riggott, Taylor, Cattermole, Boateng, Arca, Sanli (Aliadiere, 46), Downing, Mido (Lee,69 (Hines, 89). Subs (not used): Jones, Johnson.