TONY MOWBRAY revealed Scott McDonald’s relief after the Australian striker finally broke his goal drought to keep Middlesbrough’s promotion bid ticking along.

McDonald’s lack of goals has come under scrutiny of late with the former Celtic hitman prior to last Saturday having last found the net in a 3-1 win over Barnsley back in August.

The crucial moment came on 41 minutes thanks to determination and flair from Boro’s Moroccan midfield maestro Merouane Zemmama.

With the ball set to go out on the half-way line the former Hibs man sprinted back to retrieve the ball and proceeded to slice his way through the Watford defence before squaring it to Barry Robson who played McDonald into the box.

However, two pieces of luck went his way. First of all, he was a clear yard offside and secondly, having hit his initial effort straight at Hornets keeper Scott Loach, the rebound spun back kindly for him to stab home.

A good bit of fortune and one that Mowbray says has given McDonald a smile wider than the Sydney Harbour bridge.

The Boro boss said: “It has been said that it does take a little bit of luck for a striker to get out of a rut and so it proved with Scott.

“It was offside but we won’t be complaining too much. Scott’s got a big smile on his face as it’s been a long time since he last scored.

“It’s been very frustrating for him but let’s hope that sets him off on a goal-scoring run. Sometimes a barren spell like that can create a bit of anxiety where you snatch at the odd chance.

“But now he’s got a goal and hopefully he’ll be striking the ball a little bit sweeter and timing his runs a bit better and the goals will start to flow.”

Despite McDonald’s winner, it was a scrappy affair and on reflection, Boro had enough chances to kill off the game instead of hanging on towards the end.

They nearly went in front inside the first 16 seconds when Robson’s crossfield shot just went wide while McDonald saw his volley brilliantly saved by Loach.