THE statistics tell us this is the closest Premier League campaign ever – but with resolve like this, Wanderers should have nothing to fear.

It was an afternoon for real men to stand up and be counted with temperatures so cold there was a danger of chipping a tooth on the half time soup.

Even though Kevin Davies and Matty Taylor handed the Whites a perfect start, a Boro side who were unbeaten in five were in no mood to give up the points lightly.

Lucky for Wanderers, if this season has taught us anything, it is that they cannot not be accused of lacking in the guts department.

They don’t boast the division’s fifth-best defensive record for nothing but, as Gary Megson rightly pointed out after the game, his back line should probably not have been put under such pressure after seizing such a commanding lead.

Wanderers lived on their nerves at times as they tried to protect what they had, clearing off the line on two occasions and making countless last-ditch tackles to frustrate a creative yet ultimately toothless Boro.

Indeed, had Johan Elmander not scored the most timely of goals – 63 seconds after Emanuel Pogatetz had finally beaten Jussi Jaaskelainen to bring his side back into the game – it might have been a very different story altogether.

The scoreline might suggest somewhat of a field day for Wanderers. It was anything but.

Elmander will grab the headlines having ended his worrying goalless spell but the real credit must go to centre half pair Andy O’Brien and Gary Cahill – the likes of which this type of afternoon was made for.

Strangely for the home side, Boro seemed to be caught cold by the freezing conditions on the river as Wanderers exploded out of the traps to forge an early two-goal advantage.

Emanuel Pogatetz had given a needless foul away on Elmander on the edge of the box, leaving Taylor to whip a free-kick to the far post.

Steinsson appeared to call for Davies to leave the ball, heading it back towards goal – but en route it took a flick back off the Wanderers striker’s upper body and into the net.

Davies later emerged to claim the goal, joking that he may give the full-back a share of his bonus should he reach double figures this season. He’s half-way there as long as the Dubious Goals Panel don’t have their say.

Just two minutes later, Taylor had helped himself to another stunning effort.

Collecting Steinsson’s low cross, his first touch took him away from Gary O’Neil before his second dispatched the ball past a helpless Ross Turnbull.

It was a dream start to say the very least. But within seconds, Boro could have halved the Whites’ lead.

A dangerous cross by Stewart Downing was half-cleared by O’Brien. O’Neil drilled the ball back through a sea of legs but Kevin Nolan was back on the line to hack the ball away.

Wanderers wanted to protect what they had but much to their manager’s chagrin, too often retreated to the safety of their own 18-yard line.

Megson was urging his side to push up as cross after cross was pinged into the penalty box. Thankfully, Boro – and Alves in particular – rarely looked capable of breaking through.

The club record signing, who cost £12.7million from Heerenveen, has had a miserable afternoon, running down a string of blind alleys and blasting two decidedly un-Brazilian free kicks high and wide.

The home side continued to huff and puff without success into the second half. Wanderers continued to sit tight and rely on their defensive strength – but then with a back four in such form, you could hardly blame them.

Tuncay got a brief glimpse of goal when Downing chipped a straight ball through to him in the six yard box but before the Turkey international was able to turn, O’Brien had recovered to make the challenge.

The locals were restless. And the focus of their discontent was hapless front man Alves who continued to spurn every half chance that fell his way.

Suddenly, Wanderers started to take more of an advantage of the space that was being given to them as their opponents chased the game.

Fabrice Muamba had a couple of good opportunities to put the result beyond doubt but could not finish off some sterling work in the build-up by Elmander and Davies.

And that gave Boro a sniff that they could get back into the game as the snow started to sprinkle down.

They finally did on 77 minutes when sub Marvin Emnes and David Wheater helped Downing’s cross on to Pogatetz, who fired into the roof of the net.

No sooner had the home fans stopped celebrating than they were stopped firmly in their tracks.

It took just over a minute for Jlloyd Samuel to break down the left and fire a great ball into the penalty box. From there, it was all Elmander, who chested the ball past Pogatetz and drilled the ball into the bottom corner with his left foot.

There was still time for Jussi Jaaskelainen to stifle Tuncay’s shot and for O’Brien to block yet another low drive from O’Neil on the line.