MiDDLESBROUGH'S unhappy period on and off the field continued when their sequence without a victory was extended to seven matches despite a spirited rally at the Baseball Ground yesterday.

Bryan Rob son's side has taken only two points out of 21 to add to the unrest among his foreign stars, highlighted by Emerson's absence without leave in Brazil, which only ended yesterday.

Emerson was at the game and has had talks about his future with Rob son, but it was only in the final quarter that the visitors moved into top gear despite three fine saves from Derby goalkeeper Russell Hoult.

Middlesbrough started brightly and there was a suspicion that Mikkel Beck was held back by Gary Rowett before firing in a shot which was blocked by Hoult.

But it was Derby who went ahead in the 15th minute. Christian Dailly's pass found Ashley Ward and his low cross was met by Asanovic, who turned sharply before planting a low drive under Gary Walsh's body.

Hoult produced a fine save to turn over a 20 yard free kick from Ravanelli and then he beat out another fierce effort from Ravanelli.

But Derby gave themselves some breathing space two minutes into the second period with a second goal and this time Asanovic was the provider.

His free kick bypassed the visitors' defence and Ward was on hand at the far post to force the ball over the line.

Middlesbrough looked down and out at that stage but they rallied strongly and Derby were again indebted to Hoult.

He turned a curling shot from Juninho around the post and then pushed a 20 yard drive from Robbie Mustoc over the bar.

Middlesbrough tempers became frayed after appeals for a penalty after a challenge by Rowett on Beck were rejected and Juninho and Alan Moore were booked in quick succession for dissent.

Ravanelli then volleyed against the crossbar but Middlesbrough finally received some tangible reward for their efforts in the 73rd minute.

Juninho fed Hignett on the right flank and Ravanelli found himself unmarked in the centre to head home the resulting cross for his 14th goal of the campaign, but only his second in the last seven matches.

Rob son had harsh words for match referee Paul Durkin after the game.

"Sometimes referees' decisions decide games," he said. "We felt there were three or four blatant penalty decisions we could have had but didn't get.

"And the lads feel really hard done by with the second goal as well, where Steve Vickers had a blatant push on the back. The only pleasing thing was our overall performance was good."

Danish forward Mikkel Beck said he could not believe his side had managed to lose the match, but shrugged off the disappointment to pledge his future to Middlesbrough.

He said: "I thought we were very unlucky today, we had a lot of chances, hit the bar, I really feel sorry. I don't know what we can do, it's unbelievable.

When asked about his future, in the light of recent speculation concerning the club's other international stars, Ravanelli and Juninho, Beck insisted he was settled in the North East.

"From the beginning, when I could not play, the club were very supportive towards me," he said. "I just want to stay here as long as I can and score as many goals as I can for the club. I'm happy and don't really worry about what the papers say about other players."

Derby manager Jim Smith added: "There is still a lot of building to do here looking at the way we played in the second half.

"But I've got to be honest and say it was a great win for us because we needed two wins on the trot to put us back in the comfort zone.

"Boro played really well, but we just hung in there, and played for our lives. I thought when we went 2-0 up they would go under but they didn't, their spirit was excellent and we lost our way."