Julian Speroni: The Argentine goalkeeper was rarely tested but when called upon showed good handling in poor weather conditions, as well as coming off his line quickly to act as a sweeper. Could do nothing about the goal and stopped Marvin Emnes from scoring another in the closing stages. 6

Peter Ramage: Tested by Boro's left-side players all game but coped well. Needs to offer more going forward to prevent the more attack-minded Nathaniel Clyne from taking his place when he returns from injury. 6

Paddy McCarthy: Was fantastic defensively and offensively. Eagles’ skipper came close to putting his side 1-0 up when his header went narrowly over the bar early on. Intercepted many of the opposition’s attacks through good positioning and by putting his body on the line. 7

Aleksander Tunchev: The on-loan defender showed a good understanding with the rest of Eagles’ defensive line-up. He will be looking to keep out the returning duo of Gardner and Marrow in the coming weeks. 7

Dean Moxey: Dealt with the threat of Justin Hoyte and Scott McDonald well. Didn’t really add much going forward as he has done in previous games. Palace should make more use of his long throws especially when pushing for an equaliser in the final minutes. 6

Darren Ambrose: Followed up his impressive performance against Wigan with another lively appearance. Showing signs of getting back to the form he showed two seasons ago. Was unlucky to be subbed immediately after Middlesbrough scored their goal. 7

Mile Jedinak: Made a couple of crunching tackles to break down the opposition’s attacks. Passed well in the final third, showing that he can create chances as well as being astute defensively. 6

David Wright: Excelling as a centre defensive midfielder doing exactly what Dougie Freedman asks him to do, by breaking up attacks and feeding the ball to his team-mates. Does the simple things well and keeps Palace ticking over. 7

Jonathan Parr: Had a quiet game for his usual high standards. I had to double check his age as he looks so experienced and composed on the ball for a 22-year-old. Will definitely make a huge impact at Selhurst Park this season. 6

Sean Scannell: Was a constant threat due to his pace and willingness to make runs off-the-ball. Proved that he likes to try to unselfishly assist his teammates as well as try to score goals for himself but he just could not add to his three league goals. 8

Jermaine Easter: Had to feed on scraps in the first half as he seemed to be slightly isolated upfront. He had two decent long range shots which troubled Middlesbrough’s goalkeeper. Should have equalised in the 82nd minute but his shot came crashing off the bar in front of the Holmesdale. 7

Subs:

Wilfried Zaha (Ambrose, 66): Impressed as soon as he came on with a shot that hit the side netting after a mazy run. Caused Joe Bennett so much trouble that the defender had to deliberately foul the 18-year-old and received his second yellow card. The Palace youngster played in both Scannell and Easter after beating defenders but they could not convert their chances. 9

Glenn Murray (Parr, 68): Came close to scoring a header but his attempt narrowly sailed over the bar. Showed neat touches in Palace’s build-up play. Murray is putting healthy pressure on Easter and Scannell as he looks to win a place in the starting line-up, which can only be good for the club. 7

Jon Williams (Wright, 80): Did not really have time to make a significant impact as he did against Wigan. Likely to start again in the Carling Cup on Tuesday and will hopefully gain more minutes in the league soon. 6

Not used: Price, Gardner