Ad-a-go hero in at the double for Pulis
ADAMA TRAORE scored two crackers to give stuttering Middlesbrough a welcome win over Reading.
Tony Pulis’ Boro had been far from convincing and struggled to test keeper Vito Mannone before Traore hit the opener in the last minute of the first half.
And four minutes after the restart he added his second which should have ended the game as a contest.
Instead Reading were allowed back into it and Chris Martin pulled one back 12 minutes from time.
Britt Assombalonga then missed a lat e penalty but they held on to win.
Boro boss Pulis said: “If Adama gets it all together he’ll be a wonderful player.
“In the second half he looked a little bit tired but was still working hard so we’re delighted with him.”
Boro had not scored in their three previous home league games and Rudy Gestede kept his place up front after having the red card he picked up at Norwich overturned.
The closest Boro came to scoring early on was when Stewart Downing volleyed wide from the back post.
Traore was by far the most dangerous player again for the home side and he finally took matters into his own hands in the 44th minute.
The former Barcelona man celebrated only his second goal for Boro when his low drive had too much on it for Mannone to deal with.
After Jon Dadi Bodvarsson headed into the hands of Darren Randolph, Traore grabbed his second.
He darted at the Reading defence before finishing inside the far corner with a stunning right-foot drive.
Home skipper Grant Leadbitter drilled a 22-yard free-kick against the post but Reading dragged themselves back into it when Martin picked out the bottom corner from the edge of the area.
Despite Assombalonga’s late penalty miss, though, Boro held on.
Reading boss Jaap Stam said: “It’s frustrating how you concede goals at times. We had opportunies to score playing balls into the box.
“It looked promising at times.”