Uefa Cup first round, second leg / FC Xanthi 0 Middlesbrough 0 (Middlesbrough won 2-0 on aggregate): Middlesbrough eased into the group stage courtesy of a 0-0 draw in Greece as they bounced back from their derby day misery against Sunderland.
Steve McClaren's side, so poor in Sunday's 2-0 home reverse at the hands of the Wearsiders, rarely looked like surrendering the 2-0 first leg advantage with which they arrived in Xanthi, and might have won on the night had a tight offside decision not denied Massimo Maccarone a first-half strike.
It took the visitors barely 25 minutes to quieten a passionate, 5,013-strong crowd at the Skoda Xanthi Arena, and from then on it was largely plain sailing as their professionalism was more than enough to see off Ioannis Matzourakis' men, whose second European adventure ended with them yet to score a goal.
The Greeks had high hopes of springing a surprise after causing problems in the second half at the Riverside Stadium, but in an area famous for the aromatic tobacco grown nearby, it was the small band of around 100 fans from Teesside lighting the cigars on the final whistle.
Even on a pitch which might have raised eyebrows amongst the non-league fraternity back in England, Xanthi were unable to unsettle the visitors despite the best efforts of former Middlesbrough midfielder Emerson and fellow Brazilian Luciano, and McClaren could have had few complaints as he headed back to the dressingroom after witnessing a job well done.
Returning striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink led the line imperiously, while Chris Riggott performed admirably at the back in his first appearance of the season.
Xanthi, rather like their main sponsors, are a once unfashionable outfit currently in vogue and are not sitting second in the Greek League for nothing.
They began with Emerson and the dangerous Luciano running the game in the middle of the field, the latter testing goalkeeper Brad Jones with a well-struck long-range effort with barely two minutes gone.
But as Middlesbrough tightened up with Doriva and George Boateng working hard to cut off the supply lines to Luciano, they started to get on top.
FC XANTHI: Pizanowski, Papadimitriou, Torossidis, Sikov, Paviot, Antzas, Maghradze, Luciano, Labriakos, Emerson, Gomes Andrade. Subs not used: Anastasopoulos, Zapropoulos, Garpozis, Carabas, Kazakis, Leo Mineiro, Lafata.
MIDDLESBROUGH: Jones, Xavier, Southgate, Riggott, Pogatetz, Queudrue, Doriva, Boateng, Morrison, Maccarone, Hasselbaink. Subs not used: Knight, Parnaby, Bates, Mendieta, Yakubu, Nemeth, Johnson.
Referee: Knut Kircher (Germany).
