MIDDLESBROUGH saw a chance to reach the summit of the Championship evaporate in the sweltering Teesside heat – on a night Leicester’s big-spenders posted a reminder of the dangers lurking in the second-tier promotion race.

With no goals but plenty of guile, Tony Mowbray won’t be panicking yet about a Riverside run that has seen them record just one win out of four home engagements so far.

At least not while they keep defending as doughtily as they did in the first half, when Leicester’s blue-chip acquisitions threatened to breach a Boro defence that has not conceded a league goal for some six hours.

But regardless of a result which takes them level at the top of the table, Mowbray was left with plenty to chew on as his side failed to find the goalscoring form that has seen them become such a dangerous animal away from home.

They had chances in this engaging contest – not least when Joe Bennett strode with purpose through the Leicester defence and tested Kasper Schmeichel with a fierce low drive in the early stages of the second half.

But overall there wasn’t quite enough to turn some typically neat Boro play into something more substantial.

Perhaps the biggest disappointment of the night was a crowd that couldn’t quite creep past the 17,000 mark. Granted, the recession continues to have far-reaching consequences in these parts, but Mowbray’s team are playing smart, slick football and deserve better backing from the long-suffering locals. On the pitch it was a below-par display from Marvin Emnes that caused most consternation.

Seemingly struggling for his usual sharpness due to an ankle injury, he failed to fire and Boro couldn’t conjure the goals from elsewhere to make the most of Southampton’s struggles in South Wales.

A first half bristling with attacking intent yielded no goals, but it wasn’t for the want of trying.