Pulis: We should have had penalty before goal

Middlesbrough boss Tony Pulis had no complaints about the outcome at Carrow Road on Saturdey - but felt his side should have had a penalty just before Norwich went ahead.

He said: “Norwich were the better team but I think it was a clear penalty when Britt Assombalonga was brought down in the box early in the second half.

“It wasn’t given and they go up the other end and score a soft goal which had a lot to do with poor defending.

“We started the game okay and then dropped off after 20 minutes and we also started the second half poorly.

“It’s disappointing of course but this is the Championship and there’s always a chance you can get results like this. What we have got to do now is put it behind us and make sure we bounce back.”

The Canaries gave as good as they got in a dull first half, although it was the visitors who created the one good opportunity.

Former Norwich midfielder Jonny Howson had a clear sight of goal after being picked out in the box by Assombalonga and it took a good save from Tim Krul at his near post to keep the scores level.

The resulting corner from Stewart Downing struck the angle of upright and crossbar before being cleared - but those were rare moments of concern for the home defence.

The home side started the second period on the front foot and Randolph was called into action after 56 minutes to save a low Alex Tettey drive from just outside the box.

But they deservedly went in front a couple of minutes later when a break into the area from young defender Max Aarons caught the visitors out and George Friend inadvertently played the ball into the path of Teemu Pukki, who poked the ball home from eight yards via a slight deflection.