Boro make an Ash of it
plenty of pressure after taking the lead, but the nearest they came to a second was when striker Omar Bogle thundered a diving header against the top of the crossbar.
Bogle also got his feet in a tangle when he was put clear by Joe Ralls and a header from Callum Paterson also went over the bar as Boro escaped conceding a second.
But defensive defiance aside, there was little to please manager Jonathan Woodgate, who admitted that a statistic of no shots on target was telling.
Fletcher worked hard up front to try to make amends for his error, but, when Boro did create one clear secondhalf opportunity for George Saville, the midfielder was way off target.
“We didn’t create enough chances for our forwards – they were basically starved of the ball,” said Woodgate.
“You have to match Cardiff physically and I thought we did that throughout the game, but we didn’t show enough quality on the ball.”
Woodgate had sympathy for Fletcher as the former Real Madrid defender knows the agony of putting the ball into the wrong net on bigger stages.
“I have scored an own goal at the Bernabeu,” he added. “It happens. We move on and get on with it.
“Hopefully, he will score a couple of goals in our next game against Sheffield Wednesday.”
MIDDLESBROUGH 1 ......... Shots on Target ........ 0 5 ........ Shots off Target .........6 3 ................Corners .................8 10................. Fouls .................. 12 0 ............... Offsides ................. 2 56.6 .. Passing Success % ... 57.5 267 ....... Total Passes ......... 315 45.9..... Possession % ...... 54.1 57.0 ..Territorial Adv % .. 43.0