Chris Wilder reacts to Middlesbrough's win over Luton Town

Boro won for the eighth home league game in a row for the first time in a single season since the 1997-98 promotion campaign.

It was enough to lift them up into the final play-off place and above Luton, who had started the day two points ahead of Wilder’s men.

Paddy McNair’s fifth goal of the season in the 17th minute from the penalty spot paved the way for the win after Folarin Balogun had been upended in the area by Reece Burke.

It was a tight affair after that remained in the balance until Duncan Watmore added the second goal with three minutes remaining of normal time.

Although Harry Cornick pulled one back for Luton in the sixth minute of added time by turning in Elijah Adebayo’s low cross, Middlesbrough had already done enough to seal the points.

Wilder said: “It was a different type of performance from us, it was an arm-wrestle.

“I said after 10-15 minutes it was going to be about the result and we needed to show different qualities to get over the line.

“From a defensive point of view we did deal with what Luton served up but from a football view it was scrappy, it was an arm-wrestle, turgid. The first goal came from a great bit of play.

“I was disappointed we had a couple of chances before half-time, and Luton came back at us after that with nothing to lose. It became that sort of afternoon, so we had to get over the line by hook or by crook and we did that.

“Luton were on a fabulous run and they are up there for a reason, they have structure and win games of football.

“It became lively, tasty, with moans and groans from each bench. Nathan (Jones) might have moans about a couple of situations and I could moan about a couple of situations too. It was getting the result and squeezing over the line and we have.”

Luton had their moments to find the net before Cornick eventually did, with Cameron Jerome and Adebayo both having efforts denied by Middlesbrough goalkeeper Joe Lumley.

There were other frustrations too, with Hatters boss Jones suggesting there were some strange decisions from referee Dean Whitestone – who was a late replacement for Jeremy Simpson.

Jones said: “First half there was very little in the game, we didn’t defend one situation well enough and conceded. Then it became a scrappy game, tried to generate enough but there was no flow.

“We had some chances second half and had we taken those we might have seen a change. I am disappointed with our first half performance and then massively frustrated with how the game pans out.

“We had the best chances. Second half we tried to generate as much fluency as we could, but we just didn’t take one of those. It was disjointed and that can be Championship games, it is just what it can turn into.

“Isaiah Jones punched the ball into the stand, kicked the ball away twice and nothing happened, then our lad falls over and gets booted, and yet it is a free-kick the other way. Things were going on.

“Then we have had a moment where Cameron Jerome was clean through in the first half and he has given offside when he is not. The explanation I got was quite baffling really in terms of some of the answers. So there is frustration to be had.

“This is the Championship, tight, and the fact we are here fighting means we are still in a decent place.”