Middlesbrough manager Bryan Robson's woes continued after his side were dumped out of the Worthington Cup by Wimbledon.

Welsh striker John Hartson netted the only goal of the game when he converted a Wimbledon penalty after Curtis Fleming was adjudged to have handled the ball in the penalty box with just five minutes left on the clock.

But it was the performance of Par Karlsson which caught the eye. The young Swede, making his full debut in place of on-loan Jon Harley, who Chelsea refused to allow to play in the match, was a constant threat and it was his header which Fleming deflected away with his arm.

Injury-hit Middlesbrough, who have not won at home all season, now face Arsenal at the Riverside on Saturday and travel to Old Trafford the following week, so the last thing Robson needed in preparation was a fourth consecutive defeat.

Skipper Gary Pallister returned from a groin injury that had kept him out for most of the last two months, but even that did not gel the Middlesbrough defence together.

Hartson and strike-partner Marcus Gayle terrorised the visitors throughout.

Hartson was involved in most of the home side's attacking moves and a clever nod-down for Karlsson had produced the best chance of the first 10 minutes, only for the Swede to drag his shot wide.

There was room for Hamilton Ricard in Robson's line-up despite his early substitution at Portman Road last weekend, but the Columbian was as ineffective as he had been in that match.

Christian Karembeu's distribution did provide occasional chances for the visitors, but for all their effort the strike partnership of Joseph-Desire Job and Ricard never found the target.

While both Middlesbrough strikers ran down blind alleys shut out by the effective Wimbledon defending, it was up to Gianluca Festa to provide the visitors' best effort.

After Wimbledon failed to clear a corner, the ball fell sweetly for Festa 25-yards out, but his rasping shot flew inches over Kelvin Davis' goal.

[ --- news.bbc.co.uk]