It might not have been pretty, but Middlesbrough kickstarted their new year with a massive victory over Hull City at the MKM Stadium.

Not at their best from an attacking perspective, it looked very much like they were heading for a second consecutive goalless draw. That was until Alex Gilbert popped up with a 93rd minute winner, delivering an important three points that sent Boro up to fifth in the Championship table.

With the new year bringing a new transfer window and a month of opportunity for Boro to potentially strengthen their squad, there was a lot to be learned in the Hull win. Here are the talking points and conclusions emerging from the game.

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Alex Gilbert hopefully has his catalyst moment

What a special moment that was for Alex Gilbert. On the pitch for just seven minutes, he made the most of it by grabbing the winner. It’s not the first time in what has largely been a frustrating 18 months at the club that he’s produced a big moment for Boro.

Just recently, Michael Carrick suggested that he wanted to keep Gilbert at the club this month, when asked if a loan move might be best for the 24-year-old. With Boro’s squad full, loaning Gilbert out would have also created a gap for which Boro could then strengthen in the window.

But Gilbert showed that he can be an asset for Boro in the second half of the season, with his big night at Hull hopefully proves a catalyst for him to finally kickstart his career on Teesside. But for injury early into this season, there were already signs that this might have been a campaign in which he played a big part. While injury curtailed that, Hull was hopefully the start of a big second half of the season for him.

Win highlights Boro squad strength at the start of interesting transfer window

Hull had their injury problems for the game and it proved costly for them. But Boro were without nine important first-team players for the game, at least four of which would likely have started the game had they been fit. On top of that, they were able to rotate in three key positions after a busy festive period and still come out with the win.

Carrick’s decision to make the four changes of his fit players just about paid off, with Neto Borges and Ben Doak particularly looking in need of a rest of late having played a lot of football. Along with Delano Burgzorg, they were able to play just 20 minutes of this one and make an impact for Boro from the bench to ensure they got the win.

With so many players out injured, very few Championship clubs would have the strength in depth to be able to cope with that amount of absentees, make four changes, and still come out with a win, which in the balance, even on a bad day, was deserved. It says a lot about transfer business in recent windows that has shaped the Boro squad well.

And that leads us into what should be a very interesting January transfer window. As you’d expect, with plenty of work done in between windows to prepare for them, the recruitment team have potential targets in mind as they try to second-guess what might happen this month. A lot is likely to depend on players leaving - whether that be by choice or because offers too good to turn down arrive - as well as the current injury picture.

Of course, there will always be places in the squad that could be strengthened. That’s always going to be inevitable in a constantly evolving landscape like football. If the right opportunities do present themselves, Boro will be working hard this month to ensure they make the most of them. But with January never a favourable window for a buyer, and with Boro’s budget not unlimited, the positive is that Boro wouldn’t have to do anything this month provided they didn’t lose anybody.

Left-sided tweaks for balance pays off

Two of Carrick’s four changes at Hull came on the left side as Borges was given a much-needed rest, while Riley McGree came in for Burgzorg. It’s no secret that Boro’s left side has been a bit of a problem position stretching beyond this campaign, which made it all the more pleasing that Boro’s winning goal came from that avenue.

In an attempt for variation and balance, Borges has recently been inverting from left-back when playing with Burgzorg, with Carrick explaining it was an attempt to create more space in the wide areas that the forward can exploit. In the case of McGree, he’s more suited to the roaming wide forward role, which requires the full-back to stay wide and attack the wing, which is what Lukas Engel tried to do for the first 70 minutes in a steady return to action after a four-month injury absence.

But with Borges and Burgzorg on for the final 20 minutes, it was Borges in-field run that created extra space for Burgzorg down the channel as the game entered its final stages. Making use of the space, Burgzorg drove to the byline before pulling it back for Gilbert to win the game. Hopefully there can be more left-sided success for Boro going forward.

Late winner perhaps justice served

Boro maybe weren’t at their free-flowing best in the game, but their late winner was perhaps justice served. Replays weren’t available to journalists at the MKM Stadium and at the time, Isaiah Jones’s first-half penalty claim looked innocuous to say the least - mainly because he seemed the only one to really appeal it. The referee was not interested.

But having seen Lewie Coyle’s challenge back, it’s risky to say the least, and is a far more credible penalty claim than it felt in real time from the highest possible point of the MKM Stadium where the press benches are located. With the referee far better positioned, Luke Chambers was convinced it should have been a Boro penalty.

Working for Sky Sports for the game, he said: “For me, you’ve got to be asking serious questions of the referee. Jones stands him up and goes on the outside and I think Coyle thinks he’s got him. It’s the two hands for me, the way he comes over the top. He steps across him, almost takes his standing leg, and then the two hands come over and it’s the intent to put him down. He doesn’t get anywhere near the ball.”

Former Hull defender Curtis Davies was a little more understanding of why it didn’t get given. He said: “I don’t believe the referee has got this one right. What I would say though, I think the thing that goes against Isaiah Jones is that he runs out of ground. Once he takes that touch, if he’s got another ten yards to run onto the ball, that’s a foul anywhere else on the pitch. Between the linesman and the referee, I would imagine they’ve decided he’s never getting to the ball after he knocks it on.”