In front of a record attendance of 34,800 at the Cellnet Stadium the Middlesbrough and Leeds United fans were treated to one of the most entertaining 0-0 draws they may ever see.

Chances came on a regular basis but some fine goalkeeping and some poor finishing left the contest goalless.

Leeds, who were without six first team players, dominated the early exchanges.

United looked to have taken the lead in the first minute when Harry Kewell picked up the ball just inside the Boro half.

He ran some thirty yards before unleashing a fine left foot drive that Schwazer fumbled. Lee Bowyer hammered the rebound into the net only to have his effort ruled out by the referee's assistant.

Bowyer again went close with a left foot drive from 20 yards after the ball was carelessly given away by Middlesbrough captain Colin Cooper.

Middlesbrough slowly got into the game and Christian Ziege hit a rasping 20 yard shot straight at Leeds goalkeeper Nigel Martyn.

On the half hour mark Leeds produced the best move of the first period.

Ian Harte played the ball down the left to Alan Smith. Smith crossed to the far post where Lee Bowyer burst into the box, only to see his header come back off the crossbar.

Danny Mills following up had his shot blocked, the ball broke to Harte, whose effort was well saved by Schwazer.

Middlesbrough came into the ascendancy in the last 15 minutes of the opening half.

Juninho's fine run through the middle brought the best out of Nigel Martyn. The ball then dropped invitingly for Curtis Fleming but the Boro full back hit his shot wide of the far upright.

The Juninho's superbly 40 yard ball found the unmarked Ziege on the left. The German international cut inside and played the ball back to the little Brazilian. His left touch laid the ball for Campbell but his shot from 12 yards cleared the Leeds crossbar.

Columbian striker Hamiltan Ricard then struck the post as Boro again threatened to take the lead.

As the half came to a close, Middlesbrough had the ball in the back of the net, only to see the linesman raise his flag.

After a fine one-two, Juninho broke clear but Ricard was judged to be offside when ambling back to the halfway line .

The second half started with Leeds again dominating the early period. Mills, Kewell and Bowyer all came close to scoring.

Nigel Martyn was again called into action with a fine stop from Ricard after an excellent move involving Juninho. Martyn had to be on his toes again to save a free kick from Juninho.

Just before the hour Leeds brought on Darren Huckerby for Alan Smith.

The substitution almost paid off for United when Lee Bowyer, who had an outstanding game, broke through the middle. He played the ball to Huckerby, whose cross shot was met by Jason Wilcox.

Wilcox's effort came back off the post Bowyer was again on hand, but his tow poke was scrambled away for a corner.

With 15 minutes remaining Middlesbrough made a double substitution in an effort to take all three points, but Leeds were in no mood to allow the home side any time on the ball.

Late in the game Leeds wing back Danny Mills was cautioned after an incident with Colin Cooper.

Mills appeared to lash out at Cooper with his elbow. United were relieved to see referee Uriah Rennie only show a yellow card.

Leeds, who have made a habit of snatching late winners, almost did it again with just eight minutes to go. Huckerby played the ball inside, Kewell dummied the ball and Lee Bowyer slipped the ball under the advancing Schwazer only to see his shot go inches wide of the post.

Middlesbrough had Italian defender Gianluca Festa dismissed with minutes to go. Festa was given his second yellow inside three minutes for tackles on Darren Huckerby.

After the game Leeds manager David O'Leary said that he felt that his team had done enough to win. However, he felt that United still have a chance of catching Manchester United.

O'Leary also said that after seeing Lee Bowyer's goal from half a dozen angles he was disappointed that attackers never get the benefit of the doubt, as Bowyer was clearly on-side when Kewell shot.

"We could do with a change of luck," said substitute Huckerby. "Nine times out of 10, Lee would have scored from all his chances."

Harry Kewell said: "We expected to get something more than we did. We hit the target so many times without getting one in, and that's very disappointing."

Middlesbrough 0, Leeds Utd 0

Middlesbrough: Schwazer, Fleming, Festa, Paluster, Maddison (Cummins 77), Ziege, Campbell (Armstrong 77), Ricard (Vickers 87), Summerbell, Juninho, Cooper.

Sent off: Festa.

Booked: Pallister, Ziege.

Leeds United: Martyn, Harte, Haaland, Radebe, Woodgate, Hopkin (Bridges 87), Kewell, Bowyer, Wilcox, Smith (Huckerby 56), Mills.

Booked: Kewell, N=Mills, Haaland.

Referee: Uriah Rennie (Sheffield)

Attendance: 34,800

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