Bristol City 1 Middlesbrough 2: Bristol shown size of league divide by Wheater wonder

A comfortable win for Middlesbrough over lower-ranked opposition barely registered on a day of third-round shocks, but then few would have been surprised had it gone the other way. Worse Championship sides than Bristol City beat better Premier League ones than Boro on Saturday and Gareth Southgate must fear the cracks in his squad, papered over by this result, being exposed when they return to League action.

Southgate's weakened 4-5-1 formation was chosen more out of necessity than disrespect to Bristol but injuries, suspension and the African Nations Cup aside, he was still short of attacking options. No matter, as it turned out, as the 20-year-old centre-back in to cover for the injured Jonathan Woodgate came to the rescue with a moment of rare quality for the winner.

But David Wheater, who also looked good in Boro's defence, is not employed to score goals and it is not surprising that Southgate has been linked with Heerenveen's Brazilian striker Afonso Alves. The manager would not be drawn on names but did admit an intention to buy. "We will be trying to improve the squad," he said. "This is a difficult month to do business, there are all sorts of stories linking players with coming and going and it unsettles the squad. The sooner it's over the better."

Another difficult period he would like to see the back of is his spat with his captain, George Boateng, who made himself unavailable for selection, and presumably available for transfer, after being dropped after Boro's win at Portsmouth. "George was disappointed and has not been in the right frame of mind to be involved today," Southgate said. "But he's a good professional and will be back involved with the team as of Monday."

City's manager, Gary Johnson, must begin his week repairing any dents in the confidence built up after his side's rise to the Championship summit. At least all his players are aware of the step they would have to take to bridge the divide to the top flight.

Liam Fontaine, who scored only his second senior goal to put Bristol ahead before Adriano Basso gifted Stewart Downing an equaliser, already knew, having started his career at Fulham. "The gap between us and them looked bigger than a lot of our players think," he said. "If we are to get up there we have to focus on closing that gap. There are lessons to be learned from this."

Goals: Fontaine (18) 1-0; Downing (37) 1-1; Wheater (72) 1-2.

Bristol City (4-4-2): Basso; Orr, Fontaine, Vasko, McAllister; Sproule, Johnson, Elliott, Wilson (Murray, 73); Noble (Trundle, 61), Byfield (Showumni, 61). Substitutes not used: Skuse, Weale.

Middlesbrough (4-5-1): Schwarzer; Young, Wheater, Huth, Pogatetz; Johnson (Tuncay, 66), Cattermole, Rochemback, Arca, Downing; Hutchinson (Lee, 75). Substitues not used: Turnbull, Owens, Grounds.

Referee: C Foy (Merseyside).

Booked: Middlesbrough Cattermole, Arca. Bristol Fontaine, Johnson, Sproule.

Man of the match: Arca.

Attendance: 15,895.

Call from Capello?

Stewart Downing (Boro)

Looked good against a Championship side and kept switching from left flank to right, but did not do enough in possession.