HE might have known little about it at the time – but Kevin Davies wasn’t relinquishing his grip on a fifth goal of the season for anyone.

The Wanderers striker won’t have scored many with the back of his head, yet that is what Gretar Steinsson’s far-post header bounced off to hand Gary Megson’s side an eighth-minute lead at the Riverside.

To most observers it looked like the Icelander’s goal. But on closer inspection, Davies’s unknown intervention changed the trajectory enough to bamboozle Boro keeper Ross Turnbull and send the ball flying into the net.

No wonder he was so adamant after the game.

“I’m definitely claiming it,” he said. “Matt put a great ball in and I knew Gretar had spun round the back. I ducked and as he headed it, the ball clipped the back of my head.

“It altered the line of the ball, Gretar’s happy for me to have it and it came off me last, so having not scored in a few games, I’ll be taking it.”

Boro had been in fine fettle prior to Saturday’s game, without defeat in five. And Davies knew his side would have to get it spot on if they were to cause an upset.

“It’s obviously a great result for us because they are a team in form,” he said. “They have gone to places like Aston Villa and Everton and got results, so it was a big task but I thought we played brilliantly.

“We started the game well, got on top, and they struggled to break us down. We had a good shape and broke well.

“We got the two goals in quick succession and even though they got themselves back in it, we killed them off quickly. It was a perfect away performance today.”

Davies held up his hands for a missed header in the build-up to Emanuel Pogatetz’s 77th minute strike, which looked to have brought Boro back into the game.

But he was full of praise for strike partner Johan Elmander, whose second goal of the season wrapped up the points in emphatic fashion just 63 seconds later.

“I should have probably done better from the corner because I missed it and Pogatetz finished it off quite well,” he said.

“But we went straight down the other end and Johan took a great first touch and then produced an excellent finish.

“That will do him the world of good and give him a massive lift I would imagine. He’s a good, honest lad and has been working hard for us. All he has needed was a goal. He says he’s one of those strikers who gets one goal then goes on a run, so hopefully he’ll do that.”

Davies added: “We feel we’re in the position to kick on now and put some distance between us and the bottom clubs.”