Stuart Parnaby popped up in injury time to hand Boro an unlikely victory and virtually secure the club's Premiership status, writes Jack Pickering.

The Durham lad's last-gasp strike came against the run of play as Bolton were pushing for the winner.

Sam Allerdyce's men had fought back from a 3-1 deficit as Boro's heavy programme of League and Cup fixtures began to take its toll in a gruelling second half.

Wanderers had started strongly, as if they expected Boro to be struggling, after their FA Cup clash at Charlton and took the lead.

Some poor defending allowed Stelios Giannakopoulos to fire the Lancashire side head after three minutes.

But Steve McClaren had made six changes and, although his team's quality showed eventually, it was a fortunate goal that let them back into the game.

Bolton full back Joey O'Brien inexplicably handled a left-wing cross from Fabio Rochemback and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink brought Boro level with the penalty that squirmed under goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen.

Mark Schwarzer then made two terrific saves to keep out free-kicks from Gary Speed and Jay Jay Okocha as Bolton tried to hit back quickly. But Boro regained their senses and Mark Viduka broke through to put them in front in the 30th minute.

Boro should have put the game beyond Bolton just before the interval but Hasselbaink fired wide from a narrow angle after Jaaskelainen had parried a cross-shot from Viduka.

The third goal came two minutes after the restart when the Bolton defence was caught flat-footed by a Franck Queudrue ball, allowing Hasselbaink to waltz clear to stroke the ball just inside the post.

The game was there for the taking but Bolton refused to lie down and decided instead to take control after they cut the arrears 10 minutes later. Ugo Ehiogu held back substitute Jared Borgetti inside the box and referee Howard Webb awarded the second penalty of the match.

Okocha's effort was hardly a good one and although Mark Schwarzer saved he could not hold on to the ball and Okocha slammed the rebound high into the net.

From then on, the game was virtually one-way traffic before Rahdi Jaidi fired home from close range to grab the equaliser Bolton deserved as the game moved into the final 10 minutes.

As the game threatened to boil over in a hell for leather finale, Kevin Davies accidentally caught Emanuel Pogatetz with his elbow as the duo went for a ball in the air.

Pogatetz, his face streaming with blood, lost his control and grabbed Davies by the throat, before order was re-established.

But the incident seemed to un-nerve Bolton rather than Boro.

And, in the end, as the visitors pushed men forward to cap an amazing comeback with their fourth goal, it was the home side who settled this seven-goal thriller.

In the 92nd minute Yakubu made progress down the left and sent a scintillating cross into the goalmouth which was prodded home by a gleeful Parnaby just ahead of team mate George Boateng.

At the final whistle, Pogatetz was in no mood to celebrate, and had to be grabbed by his assistant manager Steve Round as he threatened to resume the argument with Davies.

Fortunately Round was able to keep the Austrian defender, nicknamed Mad Dog by his team-mates, from ruining a spectacular finish.

The victory will take a huge amount of pressure out of Boro's league worries while they concentrate on two cup fronts.

Keep your cool, defender told

Boro's hot-headed defender Emanuel Pogatetz was last night warned by manager Steve McClaren to curb his over-reaction.

Pogatetz, nicknamed Mad Dog by team-mates, lost his head in the closing minutes of the 4-3 victory against Bolton Wanderers after being caught by the elbow of Bolton striker Kevin Davies.

It looked like an accident but Pogatetz, with blood steaming from a wound just above his eye, confronted Davies and was booked for raising his hands.

At the end Pogatetz was restrained by Boro assistant boss Steve Round, who raced on to keep him away from Davies. McClaren said: "Emanuel wasn't too pleased. It was a clash, and he was bleeding, and these things happen in football.

"It was an over-reaction, but Emanuel has a tendency to do that. It's something he has to curb."

After the clash, Pogatetz was held back by his team-mates as referee Howard Webb discussed the incident with his linesman.

The Austrian, who was receiving treatment on the touchline from the Boro physio, was then shown a yellow card for shoving Davies in the chest.

McClaren said: "It could have been dealt with better. It was allowed to go on for too long."

Pogatetz managed to escape a harsher penalty, despite remonstrating with the referee when play resumed, but clearly the defender cannot afford to keep losing his head as he has done several times before.

The incident did not sour what was a remarkable finish for Boro, who grabbed the winner through Stuart Parnaby in the second minute of injury time.

McClaren said: "It was a strange game. It was a manager's nightmare, but the fans would love it, the TV would love it and the neutrals would love it.

"We are delighted with the win, but I think both managers have to be disappointed with the number of goals.

"But we kept going and that pleased me greatly. We got a 3-1 lead, but Bolton came back and we showed our character and our resilience in the final ten minutes.

"I was pleased to see Stuart score the winner. He's had bad luck through injuries, but that goal will help his confidence."

The three points take Boro on to 37 and surely safe from relegation.

McClaren said: "I told the players that this was a big, big game for us.

"We need to get to 40 points as quickly as possible so that we can concentrate on finishing as high as possible, and push on in the cups.

"This was a huge step in the right direction."