Southampton 3 Middlesbrough 0

A TEMPORARY blip against the in-form league leaders or a more fundamental reality check for a side that have now won just one of their last seven league games?

Only time will tell, but just as the end of British Summer Time signifies chillier days to come, so Saturday's three-goal thumping at Southampton hints at significant weaknesses that could yet take much of the heat out of Middlesbrough's promotion charge during the winter.

There is no disgrace in becoming the seventh successive team to fail to take a point from St Mary's this season, with Guly Do Prado's first-half double and a second-half effort from substitute David Connolly maintaining a 100 per cent record for a Saints side who look more than capable of ending a six-year exile from the Premier League this season.

But for all that Southampton's attacking excellence was clear to see as Boro slumped to a second straight away defeat, the emphatic nature of the visitors' capitulation was nevertheless alarming.

Yes, the Teessiders remain comfortably ensconced in a play-off place ahead of tomorrow's trip to Doncaster, but measured against the team at the top of the pile, some of the more optimistic predictions of a month or so ago are beginning to look a little misguided.

“I'd like to think nobody at the football club has been getting carried away with our position,” said Mowbray, who has always conceded his side remain a work in progress. “We've had to work very hard for every result we've had this year.

“I don't think there's been any game where we've been able to stroll through it. Every game has been tight margins. Even last weekend (a 2-0 win over Derby), the last quarter-of-an-hour was one-way traffic towards our goal.

“We have to keep going and keep believing, but I think we've been very aware since the start of the season that we're not good enough to think we can dominate any team in this league. I don't think there's going to be too many comfortable days throughout the season.”

Saturday was certainly anything but comfortable, with Middlesbrough's normally reliable defence coming apart at the seams under incessant first-half pressure from their hosts, and their attack proving utterly impotent for all but a handful of moments.

Prior to the match, Mowbray had talked of a similarity of styles, with both he and Southampton boss, Nigel Adkins, extolling the virtues of a slick, passing game.

To a degree that was evident. Southampton's third goal, which was dispatched by Connolly after a pull back from Rickie Lambert, came at the end of a 26-pass move, and while Middesbrough's possession in dangerous areas was limited, the visitors always attempted to construct their attacks patiently.

The major difference between the teams, however, was that in the hugely impressive Lambert, Southampton possessed a powerful, muscular centre-forward capable of pulling on to the full-back's shoulder, winning possession in either the air or on the ground and bringing other players into play.

Middlesbrough did not have that option, and for all that Marvin Emnes' goals have papered over a number of cracks in the opening three months of the season, a lack of physicality up front is becoming increasingly apparent.

“They can pass it and they've got good mobility, but they've also got Lambert on the diagonal,” said Mowbray. “His physicality gave us a problem. He's a huge physical presence and they've got great legs from midfield areas to join in the box and profit from that.

“That same diagonal ball is not really an option for us. We tried to address that in the last window, but we didn't quite get a deal for a player (Coventry striker Lukas Jutkiewicz) who would have been capable of doing a very similar job to Lambert.

“We're getting on with what we've got. Let's not be over-critical, we've done pretty well this season with that, but we're fully aware of what strengths we probably need to add. We'll be trying very hard whenever we can to do that.”

Lambert was integral to Southampton's second goal on the half-hour mark, nodding Adam Lallana's cross back across goal to enable a stooping Do Prado to nod home.

That was the Brazilian's second goal in 15 minutes, as he had already ghosted past Tony McMahon to meet Danny Butterfield's hanging cross and power a thumping header past Jason Steele.

Do Prado would have had a hat-trick had a 36th-minute strike not hit the upright following the culmination of another slick passing move, and Steele was at full stretch to prevent the scoreline getting worse late on, turning a stinging Lambert volley over the crossbar.

Middlesbrough's attacking was much less threatening, but things might have been different had an out-of-sorts Scott McDonald not found the side-netting after successfully rounding Kelvin Davis in first-half stoppage-time.

“All centre-forwards who haven't scored goals for a while have to keep going,” said Mowbray. “You can only try to encourage and hope something drops for Scott or he sticks a chance away.

“It would have done him the power of good if that had gone in, but at the moment, things are just not going for him. He has to keep working hard and believing he's going to score in the next game.”

Matchfacts

Goals: 1-0: Do Prado (15, stole in unmarked at back post to head Butterfield’s cross into top corner) 2-0: Do Prado (30, headed home from close range after Lambert headed Lallana’s cross back across the area) 3-0: Connolly (80, slotted home from eight yards after Lambert pulled the ball back from the touchline) Booking: Robson (43, ungentlemanly conduct)
Referee: Roger East (London) - Wasn’t forced into anything controversial, but was clearly annoyed by Robson’s constant bickering 6
Attendance: 26,630
Entertainment: *

SOUTHAMPTON (4-4-2): Davis 6; Butterfield 7, Hooiveld 6, Fonte 7, Fox 6; Chaplow 7, Cork 6, Hammond 7 (De Ridder 83), Lallana 8 (Schneiderlin 74); Do Prado 8 (Connolly 55, 7), LAMBERT 8. Subs (not used): Bialkoswki (gk), Martin.

MIDDLESBROUGH (4-4-2):

6 Steele: Prevented the scoreline getting worse with fine secondhalf saves from Cork and Lambert
5 McMahon: Never stopped trying, but failed to close down Do Prado as he scored his first
5 Bates: Tried his best to hold things together but was beaten by Lambert in the build-up to Saints’ third
4 R Williams: Never looked comfortable against the physical Lambert and found himself pulled out of position
4 Hoyte: Tried to get forward on the overlap, but lost Lambert as he squared for Do Prado’s second
6 ROBSON: Was always the Middlesbrough player trying to urge his team-mates forward
5 Bailey: Fought a losing battle as he tried to stem the tide of Southampton’s slick passing moves
4 Arca: Couldn’t secure enough quality midfield possession to get his usual passing game going
5 Bennett: Pushed forward into a more advanced role, but wasn’t really given the opportunity to counter-attack
5 Emnes: Lively enough in patches, but never really looked like forging a goalscoring position
4 McDonald: His lengthy barren run continues after he failed to convert his side’s best chance of the game

Subs: Haroun (for Arca, 63): Made one excellent defensive interception but didn’t really change anything in attack 4 Nimely (for McDonald, 63): Hit the target with a tame late effort and at least added pace to the attack 5 Zemmama (for McMahon, 73) (not used): McManus, Ogbeche.

MAN OF THE MATCH
RICKIE Lambert – the muscular Southampton striker is exactly the type of player Middlesbrough are crying out for.