Middlesbrough have held Brighton & Hove Albion to a 0-0 half-time scoreline at the Riverside Stadium in the Championship

In what proved a vapid opening 45 minutes in the North East, Lukasz Jutkiewicz went closest to breaking the deadlock in the closing stages of the first half.

The 24-year-old found himself with a free header, but the striker failed to generate the power or direction to trouble Seasiders keeper Peter Brezovan in goal.