Middlesbrough boss Aitor Karanka described their goalless draw at Watford this afternoon as a good point.

Boro scored a disallowed first-half goal but were put under more pressure after the break by Walter Mazzarri's side.

The visiting manager admits his team were forced to defend in the second half as they held out for their sixth away draw of the Premier League campaign.

Karanka said: “I think it’s a good point. We were better in the first half and they were better in the second half. We knew that it was going to be a difficult game against our opponents.

"We tried to play our style in the first half but in the second half we knew that they are a really strong and mature team. The only thing we could do in the second half was to defend."

Karanka continued: “We know we always have problems against teams like Watford and Burnley where they are playing long balls with strong players up front.

"We were really good today and the defenders and midfielders played with commitment as they do every day and I’m very pleased with them."