HOPPERS secured their fifth consecutive win against a Middlesbrough side that rarely looked like scoring.

In a scrappy affair Hoppers always looked the likely winners and should have won by a wider margin.

The home backs looked much sharper and the back row dominated in the loose while Boro's attacking strategy seemed limited to the boot of fly half Richardson.

Hoppers went ahead in the fourth minute with a Paul Bailey penalty and three minutes later hooker Richie Sands showed an impressive burst of speed to score his first senior try for the club. Another point scoring spree seemed on the cards but the home side took their foot off the gas and over complicated moves while the backs squandered some useful possession.

Richardson missed a relatively simple shot at goal but made no mistake in the 15th minute to narrow the gap.

The only other points in the first period was a second penalty from Bailey, making the half time score 11-3. After the break sustained pressure by Hoppers eventually brought a try from Sam Houston but 20 minutes of fairly sterile play elapsed before Richard Morton powered over from close range, both tries being converted by Bailey.

The final 15 minutes followed a similar pattern and Hoppers settled for a further penalty from Bailey in the final minutes.

The win lifts Hoppers to third place in the table on points difference, two points behind leaders Hull. On Saturday Hoppers host Tyldesley in the third round of the Powergen Intermediate Cup.

Final score:Pr'n Grasshoppers 28

Middlesbrough 3