A header from Jelle Vossen has given Middlesbrough a 1-0 lead at half time in the first leg of their Championship playoff tie with Brentford at Griffin Park this evening.
The visitors made a bright start as they seek to end their six-season absence from the Premier League, but Patrick Bamford was unable to connect with an early Lee Tomlin corner.
Brentford wanted a penalty just over 15 minutes in when the home side claimed the ball had struck Dean Whitehead's hand in the box, but referee Jon Moss was not interested.
It did not take the Bees long to create another chance as Alan Judge unleashed a powerful long-range strike, but Dimitrios Konstantopoulos just got a finger to it, tipping it onto the post.
However, it was Middlesbrough who broke the deadlock midway through the opening period when Vossen met the ball with a powerful header after Adam Clayton crossed it in.
The on-loan Genk forward thought that he had added a second just a few minutes later when David Button parried a Tomlin effort into Vossen's path, leaving him to smash it towards the Brentford goal from just a couple of yards out, but the officials were not convinced that it crossed the line before the keeper hooked it clear.
James Tarkowski had a chance to get Mark Warburton's men back on level terms shortly before the break when he won a free kick, resulting in him getting an opportunity from a header at the far post, but his finish was a fraction wide.
