Tony Pulis blasts penalty decision after Middlesbrough held to Hull draw

Tony Pulis was disappointed his side weren't given a penalty

Despite a poor opening to the game, Britt Assombalonga handed Boro a second half lead at the KCOM Stadium when he converted Jonny Howson's low cross.

But the visitors were pegged back when some clever play from Chris Martin drew a foul from Dani Ayala in the penalty area - allowing Jarrod Bowen to step up and level the scores from the penalty spot.

And while Pulis admits that the referee has got that decision correct, he has questioned why his side were not awarded a spot kick of their own in the late stages of the game when Martin Braithwaite went down in the area.

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A win would have seen Middlesbrough go top, and their manager was seething that his side weren't afforded the opportunity to take all three points from 12 yards out.

"The penalty, he (Chris Martin) is very clever," Pulis admitted.

"He's stepped in Dani's line and stepped across him, you can see why the referee has given it.

"But there's one late on for us where Braithwaite goes to go down the line and steps over the ball, the lad just pushes Martin down. That's more of a penalty than what theirs was."

The latest stalemate saw Boro drop to third in the Championship and, while Pulis was disappointed with the penalty decision, he knows there was more his side could have done themselves to snatch a victory.

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Once again, a clinical touch was lacking as Aden Flint and Howson both spurred good chances to net a winner on Humberside.

Pulis knows that his side need to find a ruthless edge in front of goal and has urged Boro to start taking the chances that come their way.

He added: "Flinty has hit the bar, Jonny has had a header where the keeper has made a great save. We just need to be more clinical."

"Every game you play is going to be tough and you have to be on it 100%.

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"I don't think we controlled the ball enough in the first half, although we had a couple of opportunities. They played past us and squeezed us, which is decent, give them credit.

"But when we got the goal, again we had chances to get the second goal. Get that and you win the game."

Boro return to action on Tuesday evening as they make the trip to struggling Ipswich Town.