Moors Academy side underlined their excellent progress with a third win in a row on Wednesday afternoon when they defeated Middlesbrough 3-1 at Consett.

A cold and damp afternoon did little to put Moors off their game as they gained revenge over a Middlesbrough side who put seven past them back in October.

The Teessiders started the stronger and probably should have taken the lead with just three minutes on the clock when they spurned a golden opportunity in front of goal.

Moors goalkeeper James Brown, who have been in excellent form in recent weeks, was on top of his game once again and made the first of a number of saves when he dealt with a 20-yard strike.

Boro kept on coming but Brown made another trio of saves all before the half hour mark to protect Moors’ clean sheet and give them a foothold in the game.

And they took advantage of that when a wonderful, chipped finish from Jayden Fulton gave Moors the lead against the run of play.

However, the visitors did manage to find a breakthrough of their own on 37 minutes when some neat footwork from the forward Owen Gaskin finally saw Brown beaten.

Moors responded immediately. Leighton Hope latched on to a cross field pass from Shay Jackson and showed great composure to tuck his finish beyond the keeper to restore the lead.

Unsurprisingly, Boro came out fighting after the break, but Morgan Campbell almost made it 3-1 to Moors on 56 minutes when his shot from 35 yards was just about kept out by the visiting goalkeeper.

Josh Oliver was introduced for Moors on the hour and showed some good touches as they went about finding the killer third goal.

However, Boro were given a boost just afterwards when dissent from Hope saw the referee produce a red card and reduce Moors to ten men.

The Teessiders sensed an opportunity and began to press Moors back in their own half, enjoying a good spell of attacking play as they sought another equaliser.

On 80 minutes their hope was snuffed out when Shay Jackson capped a fine performance for Moors by grabbing the third goal, pouncing to score after a shot from the edge of the box was spilt by the keeper.

Moors had some defending to do in the final ten minutes as Boro put them under the cosh, with Man of the Match Brown called into another catalogue of fine saves to keep the visitors at bay and help clinch an impressive three points.

“The boys worked hard and deserved the points,” insisted Lee Walker, who was in sole charge of the team in the absence of Matty Dolan through illness.

“We still remembered how it felt to be beaten so heavily at their place earlier in the season, so the lads used that as motivation – and they got their rewards.

“We’re on a great run just now and you can see that the players are looking forward to every game, so long may that continue.”

Full Time: Moors 3 Middlesbrough 1

Moors: Brown, Yates, Stapleton, Neely, Campbell (Oliver 60), Fulton, Robertson, Cook, Jackson, Tate, Hope.