Middlesbrough showed their battling qualities to twice come from behind to draw at Preston North End.
Boro were twice forced to cancel out Preston goals from Lewis Dobbin and Jordan Storey, with the latter looking like a match-winning goal in the 88th minute. But goals from Matt Targett and Sontje Hansen/Alan Browne earned Boro a point.
It ensured Rob Edwards’ side remained unbeaten at the start of the Championship season, even if they missed out on making history by becoming the first Boro side in history to win the first five of a new campaign. Here’s the debrief after the game, with a number of take aways.
The goals
22 mins: Preston 1-0, Dobbin - A simple pass through the Boro midfield finds Dobbin in the hole and he’s given time to drive to the edge before beating Ayling too easily and firing beyond Brynn.
72 mins: Boro 1-1, Targett - A goal all about Nypan, just seven minutes after his introduction. Wonderful skill from the Man City loanee to skip past two men and get into the box before sliding it across the box. Conway’s effort is blocked but it falls to Targett who fires home.
88 mins: Preston 2-1, Storey - With Boro pushing for a winner they’re caught on the counter and have to concede a corner. From that set-piece, they allow Storey to escape his man, running around the group of players in the middle, to head home free of attention.
90+2 mins: Boro 2-2, Hansen/Browne - Both Boro players are claiming it and four replays are inconclusive. It’s ultimately immaterial with the important thing being that it went it. Ayling flicked a corner on at the front post.
After a good save from Iversen, Hansen bicycle kicks it back on target and Iversen can’t stop this one getting through. Spinning up in the air, Browne flies in trying to touch it over the line. He claims he did, Hansen claims it’s his. Either way, it rescued a point for Boro.
The game-changing moment
Not for the first time, Edwards’ substitutions proved decisive for Boro, starting with the introduction of David Strelec at half time. Boro struggled the find their usual quality in the first half, with Targett admitting after they were sluggish and off the pace.
But, perhaps with a bit of a boot up the backside at the interval, and with the personnel change, Boro’s performance was much-improved in the second half and on another day might have left Deepdale with that fifth successive victory. All of Edwards’ subs made a positive impact in one way or another.
Boro's best player
As noted above, the subs made a big impact, and for that, Strelec and Sverre Nypan in particular deserve a lot of credit after this one. They both helped improve Boro from the bench to inspire a better performance.
Of the starters, Darragh Lenihan probably just about earns man of the match, after making his first start in just shy of two years. He had a tough battle on his hands against the lively Daniel Jebbison, but largely kept him at bay while winning his aerial duels and making some good tackles.
A shout out to Alfie Jones too, who overcame an understandable sluggish start after suffering from illness in the 24 hours before the game, to ultimately having another solid outing for Boro. He’s been a great signing.
The positive
This was a new test for Boro and they passed in the end - ultimately proving unlucky not to do so with flying colours. In what has been an excellent start this term, one thing we hadn’t seen until this one was how Boro would react to going behind.
In this one, they had to do so twice, with the second equaliser particularly impressive. Having worked so hard to cancel out the first, many would have folded and dropped their heads when conceding a second with two minutes of normal time left.
Not this Boro side though. They dug deep, and with the help of another Edwards sub in the form of Hansen, who was thrown on after the goal, they managed to rescue the point. It shows incredible character, grit and determination as they stayed unbeaten.
The negative
Having conceded only one goal before this one, the manner of both Preston goals will disappoint Edwards. You’re never going to like any goal you concede, but these two were particularly soft and avoidable.
The first saw Boro opened up by a simple pass straight through the midfield, before Dobbin was offered far too much space to drive to the edge of the box and finish, with Ayling struggling when defending one-vs-one.
The second frustratingly came from a set-piece. It was a clever run from Storey to escape Callum Brittain and run around the pack to get in towards the centre of the goal unmarked. Boro have to be so much tighter when marking from set-pieces.
The main thing we learned
On top of all the quality they’ve shown this season, Boro do have the fight when the going gets tough. As well as twice fighting from behind, they were just below par in the first half. They could have easily let frustrations get the better of them. Instead, they stuck to their task and ensured they stayed in the game. It’s a really encouraging sign.
The verdict
This wasn’t Boro at their best. But they say good teams find ways to avoid defeat on days like this and that’s exactly what Boro did - and in dramatic fashion to boot. There are elements to improve on, but positives to take too. The main one is that their unbeaten start to season continues.