Boro freeze as Bay grab the points

Having dominated much of the fixture, Boro were stung by two blows that killed their chances.

With a strong, gusting wind at their backs, Boro could have snatched the lead inside the opening two minutes, but after Wriggling free, Michael Coulson's shot from 10 yards was blocked.

The hosts continued to press as the half went on, though Bay looked sharp on the break, throwing numbers forward to cause problems.

A theme developed over the opening 45 minutes, with Boro getting themselves in good positions, but fluffing their lines.

James Walshaw was the next to get in behind, his shot being blocked and cleared before Coulson could pounce on the bits and pieces.

Striker Walshaw then struck the outside of the post with an angled header as Boro continued to press the issue.

The woodwork was then shuddered again when Max Wright let fly with a vicious drive that smashed against the bar.

Yet another Coulson break led to a Bay defender clearing the ball against his own post, then a smart move involving Walshaw, Wright and Coulson resulted in the latter driving a strike just wide.

Keeper Tommy Taylor finally had his palms warmed after 37 minutes when he got down to hold a strike from Jack Hindle.

Just before the break Walshaw sneaked onto a throughball, but a defender managed to get back and make a saving tackle.

It looked to be more of the same in the second half when Sam Hewitt planted a header just wide.

But, Boro were soon punished for their wasteful nature when Jack Johnson failed to deal with a long ball, Elliot Rokka took it down and lifted over an advancing Taylor.

The Bay lead was almost doubled minutes later, but Taylor made a fine save to keep out an effort from an unmarked Hindle.

Boro opted for change after this shock, throwing on Jimmy Beadle and Jamie Price to alter the approach.

But as they pushed forward they were hit by another sucker punch.

Wright's scuffed free-kick was cleared and on the counter Hindle smashed the ball into the top corner.

After absorbing more Bay pressure, Boro set out to right their wrongs and it looked like they had worked a path back into the game when Nathan Valentine was felled in the box.

Coulson stepped up and smashed the ball against the wall of the swimming pool to compound the home agony.

Boro's top scorer had another opportunity, as he went around the keeper after Walshaw's throughball, but he took it too wide and the chance was gone.

The referee blew up seconds later to end an afternoon to forget.