Liverpool loanee Ben Doak showed a key variation to his game in big moment of Middlesbrough win

Middlesbrough recorded their first successive league victories of the season as they followed up Saturday's win over Stoke City with an impressive 1-0 victory over previous table-toppers West Brom.

Hayden Hackney's strike in the second half sealed a hard-fought victory for Boro in a tight game between two good sides who are both tipped to challenge at the top end of the Championship. The win moved Boro into the top six for the first time this season ahead of Wednesday evening's games.

And with momentum now in their favour, Boro have really turned the dial in the last four days, reacting well to the massive disappointment of losing to Sunderland. Here's the West Brom game analysis at a glance.

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The game-changing moment

For so long this looked like it could be a game in which Boro might rue missed chances yet again. They limited West Brom to just one shot on target, with Carlos Corberan bemoaning his side's lack of an end product throughout. But Boro dominated a lot of the game and had numerous opportunities to score.

West Brom hadn't conceded a goal at the Hawthorns this season until Hackney's 73rd minute strike though, and it was easy to see why in what was becoming more and more a resolute defensive performance to keep Michael Carrick's side at bay.

So often have they struggled to break down compact and organised defences who sit deep, and West Brom looked to do the same again. In a real positive though, Ben Doak once again proved a real difference maker. The Liverpool loanee had inspired a far better attacking display at the weekend against Stoke.

This one was different. Though he still had the beating of his man often, West Brom were working hard to make it harder for Boro to work the ball to him to allow him to face his full-back up one-on-one. On the odd occasion he did beat him to the byline, the fact he's still a raw 18-year-old was on show as he didn't manage to find the final pass.

Proving why he is tipped to have such a bright future though, the Liverpool loanee didn't let that phase him and was ultimately the man to unpick the lock for Boro - showing an encouraging variation to his trademark of beating a full-back with his pace.

Instead, in the build-up to the Boro goal, it was Doak who spotted Riley McGree's clever run (another example of why Boro look so much better when the Aussie star is playing) and he played a really incisive infield pass to find his team-mate and ultimately create the opening for Boro as McGree teed up Hackney to strike.

When you're playing against low-block defences you need variety and you need tempo to your play to drag the opposition around, move them out of position and create space. In cleverly picking the opportune moment to mix it up and surprise the West Brom defence, Doak showed both his football intelligence and how he's certainly no one-trick pony.

READ MORE: Michael Carrick's message to Anfernee Dijksteel as he explains 'harsh' Middlesbrough decision

Boro's best player

There were a fair candidates for Boro man of the match, particularly within a solid spine. It was, like Stoke, another solid all-round team performance. Rav van den Berg and Goerge Edmundson deserve special shout outs for the manner in which they defended Boro's box together, particularly late on as the Baggies pushed for a late equaliser.

Match-winner Hackney won the official man of the match award and you could make a very fair argument that his goal, as well as his overall positivity throughout, made that a warranted one. However, it was his midfield partner Aidan Morris who edged our man of the match.

A lot of West Brom's positivity this season has been centred around their really strong three-man midfield and yet, alongside Hackney, Morris dominated the game with another performance of zest, energy and tenacity. The USA international continues to thrive in the Championship for Boro and is proving the perfect foil for Hackney - allowing the England under-21 international the freedom to time his late darts towards the box to get into shooting range.

West Brom had a lot of success on the transition throughout the game, but quite often, Morris was on the scene to support Boro's defence and make some tough tackles and well-read interceptions as we described him as a 'disruptor' in our post-match ratings.

READ MORE: Positive update released after linesman took ill during West Brom-Middlesbrough match

The positive

It was great to see Boro stick to their principles and stay patient to finally break down a low-block defence. But a lot of this victory was about the other side of this performance as Carrick's side picked up a second successive clean sheet.

Again, Seny Dieng had only one save to make as Boro largely limited West Brom to very few sights on goal despite the fact they have the Championship top scorer Josh Maja in hot form right now. In total, the home side put 31 crosses into the Boro box, with a particular late barrage as they sought an equaliser. Boro showed their mettle as they made 29 clearances across the 90 minutes, with Carrick's self-proclaimed 'harsh' decision to drop Anfernee Dijksteel for Van den Berg ultimately proving justified.

As an aside too, credit goes out to medical staff of both teams at the game who quickly treated linesman Rob Smith after he took ill early in the game. Thankfully, Wednesday's update was that he had been discharged from hospital and is recovering at home.

Match officials and Boro fans deserve a shout out too. West Brom announced pre-match that they would pay tribute to supporter Mark Townsend in the 57th minute of the game after he sadly died on Saturday while supporting the Baggies at Hillsborough. The referee stopped the game at the opportune moment to allow the players to join in with paying their respects, while the Boro fans who had made the trip to the Black Country also respected the applause and joined in. It was a touching moment to honour a fallen member of the wider football community.

The negative

Too many times this season, Boro have been guilty of missing gilt-edged chances that have ultimately come back to bite them. There was an awful feeling for much of this game that McGree's miss could once again prove costly.

The Aussie star was really important once again in the game overall and can have further reprieve from the fact that he not only set up the winning goal, but that he is just returning from an injury and likely still building his sharpness.

But he will know the chance he missed when the ball rebounded to him from a vicious Finn Azaz effort should have been buried to give Boro a far earlier lead. It's a minor negative that effectively also highlights how largely positive the evening was from a Boro perspective. But it is worth highlighting even if it didn't prove costly, because it's still an area Boro need to make improvements in to make games a little easier for themselves. Having said that, would that really ever be the Boro way?

The verdict

A brilliant away win for Boro - this one was tough on paper and had you asked most before the game, they'd have likely snapped your hands off with a point. But Carrick will never settle for draws and will be delighted that his constant belief in his side is now coming to fruition, with this a second consecutive win for them.

With the bigger picture in mind, it put Boro into the top six for the first time this season (as of writing ahead of Wednesday evening's games) and it's completely changed the mood on Teesside after the disappointment of the Sunderland defeat. While by no means emphatic, it was a deserved victory for Boro against the league leaders going in, which adds to the sense that things might have finally clicked for Boro. If they can head into the international break next week on the back of another away win at Watford, they will be right back in the promotion mix, as hoped.