AN IMPRESSIVE Ollie Wright denied Middlesbrough from the spot to keep Saints B’s lead during a 1-0 Premier League 2 victory at St Mary’s.

Saints survived that penalty as well as two disallowed Boro goals to ensure that Jayden Smith’s opener would be enough to snatch all three points and a second consecutive win in Division Two.

Wright was regularly tested during an afternoon in which Saints were under pressure for much of the 90’, and the visiting side will take a long trip home feeling rather aggrieved.

Dave Horseman named another young team with Dynel Simeu suspended and Kazeem Olaigbe out with illness. Thierry Small started, as did 15-year-old Tyler Dibling appearing for the B team for the first time.

The youngster supported an attack that also featured 16-year-olds Kamari Doyle and Dom Ballard.

Action started with the rare concession of an indirect free-kick, after Ethan Burnett’s under-hit back-pass was handled by Wright inside three minutes. Isaac Fletcher struck the post from the set-piece.

Burnett then atoned with a brilliant sliding block to prevent the conversion of an open goal at the near-post following a Wright save and rebound, before Boro had a goal ruled out for offside.

Callum Kavanagh was on hand to tap in from yards out after a fortuitous bounce 23 minutes in, but he was already beyond the last Saints man before the final touch which fell his way.

Against the run of play, Dibling and Smith combined to create the opener. Advancing through the Boro defenders to the right of the goal, Smith was laid off and finished across the keeper.

Boro’s own attacks continued, Wright producing a superb footed-stop low to his left to end a swift counterattack, but they almost converted from a corner-kick but for a header crashing off the post.

Saints B went into the break ahead, but had had their fair share of warnings. Horseman made a change during the interval with Zuriel Otseh-Taiwo replacing Burnett at the back.

Boro then had another goal ruled out for offside, before Payne conceded a penalty for tugging on a visiting shirt inside the area.

Kavanagh did a small stutter in the run-up to the spot-kick and Wright saved low and straight down the middle – all within the first 15 minutes of the half.

Horseman’s defensive changes began to keep Boro at bay, but Fletcher forced an ambitious long-shot to be well saved by a diving Wright.

Neither side looked likely to score the second of the contest, with a succession of dangerous free-kicks and speculative shots sailing wide and over the crossbar.

Saints: Wright; Payne, Burnett (Otseh-Taiwo, h-t), Tizzard (Hewlett, 61), Small; Chauke, Turner, Dibling, Doyle; Smith (Pearce, 66), Ballard

Unused subs: Hall, Bragg

Booked: Tizzard

Middlesbrough: Swan; Dodds (Folarin, 66), Bilongo, Sykes, Gitau, Beals, Cornet, Fletcher, Kavanagh (Collins, 70), Gibson, Willis (Sivi, 85)

Subs: Walker, Fisher

Booked: Sykes, Beals