Middlesbrough have moved up to second place in the Championship by earning a 2-1 win over Cardiff City this evening.

The hosts started the game strongly and they felt that they should have been awarded a penalty in the early stages.

Kike had gone down inside the box under a challenge from Simon Moore, as he tried to follow up Patrick Bamford's blocked effort, but his appeals were waved away.

Craig Noone then fired wide for Cardiff and Bamford scuffed wide for the hosts, as both teams headed into the break on level terms.

After the break, Cardiff were the first to threaten when Kadeem Harris saw his strike tipped behind by Dimitrios Konstantopoulos.

However, it was Middlesbrough who took the lead minutes later as a fast break ended with Bamford sweeping the ball home.

They almost grabbed a second soon after, but Kike headed Bamford's cross wide of the post.

The hosts did manage to double their lead in the 79th minute when Lee Tomlin tapped in from Adam Reach's pass.

With four minutes of the game left Kenwyne Jones pulled a goal back for Cardiff with a header from Joe Ralls's cross, but it proved to be just a consolation as the hosts held on to claim all three points.