SO DERBY’S farewell tour of the Premier League continues. This was another woeful performance from a team that cannot wait for the season to end. There may have been only one goal in it, but by the time Middlesbrough had retreated into their shell for the last 20 minutes, the game should have been well out of sight.

Only panic and profligacy, and the desire to protect a very valuable three points, prevented a catalogue of goals. But at least this was a huge step, if not an entirely convincing one, towards allaying any lingering fears of relegation on Teesside. They still have a difficult run-in and there may still be time for the nerves to keep jangling just a little.

As for Derby, the only target they have left of a miserable campaign is to secure another six points from somewhere to eclipse the 15 gathered by Sunderland in 2005-06 – the worst Premier League total ever.

Middlesbrough manager Gareth Southgate said: “Had we scored a second, we ought to have gone on to win it comfortably. But we still did our usual and defended our six-yard box for the last 20 minutes. But we scrambled the line and everyone here knows the importance of the three points.”

This was his team’s first match at the Riverside since their humbling FA Cup exit to Cardiff. The blustery and bitingly cold wind, mingled with wintry blizzards, did little to raise the expectations or warm the atmosphere. However, much of it went to script with Middlesbrough in total dominance until the closing stages.

Twice inside the first five minutes they nearly snatched the lead. Stewart Downing twisted Andy Todd inside and out before sending a cross across the goal that Robbie Savage fortuitously deflected away for a corner. Then goalkeeper Roy Carroll, the busiest man on the pitch all afternoon, scrambled away Tuncay’s header with David Wheater, called up to the England squad for the first time, eyeing up a celebratory tap-in.

Of course, with these two teams among the weakest in the Premier League when it comes to putting the ball in the net, the omens were not good for a free-scoring afternoon. Before yesterday, Derby had only managed an average of a goal every 193 minutes, while Middlesbrough’s home tally of 14 – now up to 15 – was the second worst in the league behind, perhaps unsurprisingly, their visitors for the afternoon.

In the first 20 minutes, Derby had barely crossed the halfway line and conceded five corners. Downing, another Teessider on Fabio Capello’s list, was the catalyst for much of the creativity, aided and abetted by the fact he was given almost the freedom of the stadium by some diffident defending from the Derby backline.

More chances came and went before the inevitable breakthrough on 32 minutes. Again, all the damage was done down the left flank with Downing and George Boateng combining well to supply Tuncay. He cut infield evading a series of challenges, before unleashing a fierce drive that wrong-footed Carroll and nestled in the far corner for his sixth strike of the season.

The unopposed football continued as the teams changed direction. Jeremie Aliadiere forced a fine close-range save from Carroll in the opening seconds of the new half, and the striker then flicked a header narrowly off target. In between, Gary O’Neil had a shot blocked and then the overworked Carroll dived spectacularly to his left to turn away Boateng’s piledriver that seemed destined for the roof of the net.

Desperate times call for desperate measures and, just like rearranging deckchairs on the Titanic, Derby reshuffled their pack. On came Stephen Pearson for David Jones and the visibly tiring Savage, booked minutes earlier for a foul on Tuncay, made way for Hossam Ghaly.

These changes coincided with the heaviest blizzard of the afternoon and the visitors made the most of the reduced visibility to momentarily hassle and confuse the home team with some sporadic attacks, most of which came to nothing.

With the minutes gradually ticking away, a touch of anxiety crept into Middlesbrough’s play as they decided to keep what they had. It allowed Derby into the game and goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer was called into some belated action. His best moment saw him react quickly to smother the ball at the feet of the onrushing Robbie Earnshaw. On what was now a rare breakaway, Aliadiere galloped from the halfway line only to be thwarted by another fine block from Carroll.

Derby nearly stole a point right at the end when Earnshaw found himself completely alone, but he somehow managed to direct his header wide.

Star man: Jeremie Aliadiere (Middlesbrough)

Player ratings

Middlesbrough: Schwarzer 6, Young 6 (Shawky 64min, 4), O’Neil 7, Pogatetz 7, Boateng 7, Wheater 6, Taylor 6, Cattermole 6, Downing 7, Aliadiere 8 (Johnson 81min), Tuncay 7 (Alves 81min)

Derby: Carroll 7, McEveley 5, Leacock 5, Jones 5 (Pearson 62min), Todd 4, Moore 5, Sterjovski 5 (Villa 39min, 4), Savage 5 (Ghaly 62min), Lewis 4, Earnshaw 6, Miller 5 Scorer: Middlesbrough: Tuncay 32 Yellow cards: Middlesbrough: Cattermole, Tuncay Derby: Savage

Referee: M Atkinson Att: 23,649