Curtis Obeng says he was ‘delighted’ with his debut against Crewe on Tuesday, adding that the 1-0 victory was a ‘massive’ win.

Going into the match Boro were nine points behind their visitors with the Railwaymen occupying the place directly above the relegation zone in League 1.

Boro had accrued just 25 points from 30 matches this season before Tuesday, with no team in the third tier of English football staying up after winning that amount of points at this stage of the season since Cambridge United achieved safety in 2000.

Obeng, though, says it was a good performance from his team, saying Boro knew they had to ‘turn in a performance’.

“I’m delighted with my performance individually, but most importantly it’s such a massive win. We knew just how important it was,” Obeng said.

“I’ve come in [to the team] off a couple of losses. We knew we needed to go out and turn in a performance and we did.

“I wasn’t nervous, to be honest. It’s football at the end of the day.

“This is what I love doing and what I want to do for my life.

“I talked to the manager before the game, we watched clips on Crewe and the players that they’ve got.

“They’ve got some good players, they’ve got pace and power.

“I knew the job that I had to do against the winger and I got in there early and I took care of business like I know I can do.”

Tuesday night’s win saw Boro post a clean sheet for the first time in four matches, and alongside Obeng in defence was fellow debutant and former France U21 international Bira Dembele.