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Middlesbrough 3-1 Stoke City: Matt Crooks' double helps Boro take their play-off chase down to the final day

Middlesbrough kept their Championship play-off hopes alive with a comfortable victory over Stoke at the Riverside.

The hosts needed a win to maintain their hopes of climbing back into the play-off places going into the final round of matches.

Two goals in three first-half minutes, first from Matt Crooks and then a Lewis Baker own goal, set them on their way.

Crooks poked home a second before Nick Powell's late consolation to leave Boro seventh and within two points of Sheffield United and Luton.

Middlesbrough's chances of making the top six looked slim after a winless five-match run, but they came through must-win matches with Cardiff and Stoke to remain in the hunt.