West Ham 2-1 Middlesbrough

That sinking feeling: Boro players see their slim hopes of survival diminish fuirther as Carlton Cole opens the scoring

Middlesbrough's relegation was confirmed after Brad Jones' blunder gave West Ham a 2-1 win.

Gareth Southgate's men needed a big victory and for results to go their way but they failed to do their part, with Junior Stanislas' weak shot sneaking past Jones for the winner at Upton Park.

Carlton Cole had given the Hammers a first-half lead but Boro were given encouragement when Gary O'Neil levelled and their relegation rivals were losing.

After Stanislas struck there was a resigned attitude to Boro as their fate was sealed.

Boro's stint in the top flight lasted 11 years and included a League Cup win and a UEFA Cup final appearance - but now they are heading for tricky away fixtures at the likes of Doncaster, Blackpool and Scunthorpe.

Southgate has been undermined by a lack of goals from Brazilian flop Afonso Alves, who missed this clash through injury along with England winger Stewart Downing.

Without them, the odds were stacked against Boro winning and getting the five-goal swing they needed to overtake Hull.

The focus will now be on whether Southgate will remain as manager and whether players such as David Wheater, Downing and Tuncay Sanli will have to be sold.

Southgate is considered one of England's brightest managerial prospects but this season has not found the goals or away points required to get out of trouble.

This match summed up their problems. Southgate's young players are promising but they lacked the cutting edge needed.

Adam Johnson wasted their first opportunity, blazing over when he was given time and room at the far post. Had that gone in, Boro may have been on course for the big win they needed.

When the ball broke in the penalty area after Robert Huth challenged Hammers goalkeeper Robert Green it fell to the wrong person, with Wheater hooking it over the crossbar.

The Hammers were far more dangerous in front of goal, and Stanislas had struck the crossbar early on from 25 yards after Boro defenders jumped out of tackles.

The opener came in the 33rd minute. Luis Boa Morte held the ball up and played Herita Ilunga down the left.

The full-back's cross went between Justin Hoyte and Huth, then Cole sent the ball back in the direction it came - between the two defenders but this time into the corner of the net.

Favourable scorelines were filtering through but Boro were not putting up a fight. Something had to give so Southgate took off Tony McMahon and Julio Arca at the break, with Josh Walker and Joe Bennett coming on.

Boro were level within five minutes of the restart.

Tuncay wriggled his way into the area but resisted the temptation to shoot, instead offloading to O'Neil who found the bottom corner with an angled drive.

Parity lasted eight minutes thanks to Stanislas. Jack Collison had retrieved a lost situation with his endeavour, then got the ball back and found Stanislas 25 yards out.

The youngster was encouraged to shoot from the crowd and by Boro's defenders backing away, with his shot lacking power but squirming past Boro goalkeeper Jones.

It was a howler from Jones and he was determined to make up for it when he dived at the feet of substitute Kieron Dyer to prevent a third goal.

The Hammers went in search of another, while Boro moved centre-back Wheater up front without reward.

Stoke 1 - 0 Middlesbrough

Late Shawcross strike boosts survival hopes

Ryan's express: Shawcross delivers the knockout blow to Boro

With a predictability bordering on the inevitable, Rory Delap's long throw proved too much for troubled Middlesbrough, and Ryan Shawcross brought the house down with a glancing header.

Skirmishes outside the ground, police arriving late at the various flashpoints and busy ambulances attending the scene provided a worrying aftermath to an enthralling afternoon.

Stoke's eighth victory at home was achieved with their trademark set-piece, though triumphant manager Tony Pulis admitted that it had not worked for a while.

'We scored eight of our first 13 or 14 goals through the long throw,' he said. 'But after that they dried up and this is the first time since that run at the start of the season that we've scored from it. It's a great weapon, though, and we've been oiling Rory up to get that quality on the throw again.'

Seven minutes from time Delap found that quality, and Stoke glimpsed Premier League survival. In that same moment, Boro manager Gareth Southgate found himself on the edge of the precipice and facing abuse from his club's own fans.

It did not matter that he had trained all week to prevent that long throw from beating his defenders.

'It would have been negligent not to, and we dealt with it for most of the game,' he pointed out with a certain amount of futility. Neither was it any longer significant that Boro had outfought Stoke for most of the match with a bruising display that provided a platform for some fine passing from the away team.

Eight successive away defeats, with no goals in seven of them, was too much for some of the hardcore Teesside supporters.

Boro chairman Steve Gibson is not the kind of man to panic and sack his manager just when togetherness is needed, though regular followers of the club say they would not bet against Southgate walking in the summer if Boro are relegated.

He takes such difficult days to heart, even though he shrugged his shoulders last night and insisted: 'It's part and parcel of the job, it is irrelevant how I am. My job is to keep the club in this division.'

That would have looked more likely last night if Tony McMahon had been able to end a sparkling move with a scoring header, if Gary O'Neil's shot had not been turned round the post, if Tuncay's skills had come with an end product. Boro's season has been full of if-onlys.

Clashes between rival fans left a steward in a stable condition in hospital after suffering a head wound. One female fan was also reported to have been injured. Three supporters were arrested.

Middlesbrough 1 - 1 Portsmouth

As the old saying goes, it was a six-pointer at the Riverside this afternoon and unfortunately for both sides, the game ended in a draw.

Yes, both Middlesbrough and Portsmouth remain right, slap bang in the middle of a relegation dog fight after they drew 1-1 this afternoon. It's a three points which Gareth Southgate or Paul Hart could have really used right now, however both will have to be satisfied with a single point after the hosts came from a goal down to leave the visitors to contemplate what might have been.

Boro now face an uphill task to maintain their Premier League status with just nine games to go. They currently sit 19th in the league, two points behind Pompey in 17th and with difficult trips to Stoke City and Bolton coming up next, it would take a brave man to predict Boro will survive.

Meanwhile, Pompey also have a massive fight on their hands to stay up this season, with the south coast club only evading the relegation zone on goal difference. They, too have a difficult fixtures coming up with the likes of Everton and Arsenal still to visit Fratton Park in the run-in.