Middlesbrough Vs Leicester City: McGree’s stoppage-time leveller secures 1-1 draw at Riverside
Middlesbrough Vs Leicester City ended 1-1 at the Riverside Stadium on Tuesday night as Riley McGree levelled for the hosts in first-half stoppage time. The draw keeps second-placed Middlesbrough within reach of the summit while offering early signs of fight from relegation-threatened Leicester under new boss Gary Rowett.
Middlesbrough Vs Leicester City: how the goals came
Leicester took the lead 18 minutes in when defender Caleb Okoli got in front of Luke Ayling to nod home Divine Mukasa's right-wing free-kick; the header bounced underneath the diving Sol Brynn. The visitors’ advantage lasted until the second minute of first-half stoppage time, when Boro pounced after Okoli gave the ball away in the build-up. Hayden Hackney played the ball left to Tommy Conway, who pulled it back for Riley McGree to fire low past Asmir Begovic. The equaliser was McGree’s third goal in his past four matches.
Caleb Okoli, Divine Mukasa and the key moments that followed
Okoli’s presence in the six-yard area from Mukasa’s set-piece produced Leicester’s opener, but his later error directly enabled Middlesbrough’s response. Early in the match Matt Targett curled a free-kick that Begovic palmed away, and Conway’s early raid down the left was bundled behind by Okoli. Luke Ayling’s attempted header early in the second half failed to clear a long ball, leaving Patson Daka one-on-one with Sol Brynn; Daka nodded wide. Abdul Fatawu also sent an effort narrowly wide as Leicester continued to threaten after falling behind.
Goalkeeper interventions: Sol Brynn and Asmir Begovic’s roles
Begovic denied McGree with a legs-down save and later made two important stops to deny McGree and Callum Brittain in the 84th minute. Brynn, meanwhile, survived several scares for the hosts: he collected Jordan Ayew’s shot, punched away a Harry Winks corner, and held Luke Thomas’ effort in additional time. Across the 90-plus minutes McGree had a header blocked and another shot smothered in stoppage time as the spoils were shared.
Table consequences: Coventry City, West Bromwich Albion and Boro’s position
The draw means second-placed Middlesbrough stay two points behind leaders Coventry City; Coventry are in action on Wednesday night and will go five points clear of Boro if they beat Sheffield United. Coventry are also six points clear of third-placed Ipswich and Hull in fourth. Leicester remain third from bottom, are without a win in eight league matches and sit one point behind West Bromwich Albion.
Managerial context: Gary Rowett’s second game and Kim Hellberg’s reaction
It was Gary Rowett’s second match in charge of the struggling Foxes; Leicester have drawn both of their matches under him. The performance under Rowett drew encouragement that the side can fight to climb out of trouble, even as the run without a league win stretches. Middlesbrough boss Kim Hellberg, speaking to Radio Tees, said: "It makes it one loss in the last nine, but of course you want to win games. We weren't good enough to win today. From the last two games we created a lot of opportunities but for us now the ball is not going into the net to win it. "
Match rhythm and what it means for the coming fixtures
Middlesbrough have now gone three Sky Bet Championship matches without a win after a run of six successive victories. Their next fixture is away to Birmingham on Monday. Leicester are at home to Norwich on Saturday. What makes this notable is how small incidents—Okoli’s header for Leicester and his later giveaway—directly shaped a match that will influence both clubs’ short-term momentum in the table.
Across the match a string of decisive interventions and missed chances underlined the fine margins: Callum Brittain’s cross was narrowly missed by David Strelec, Tommy Conway fired over, Oliver Skipp’s cross was cleared by Adilson Malanda, Luke Thomas feathered a low strike wide, Bobby De Cordova-Reid’s charge forced defensive reactions, and Harry Winks’ rebound was collected by Brynn. An unattributed comment from the post-match exchanges stated: "You always want to win, so in some ways at home it feels like a loss. In some ways coming back from behind that's difficult in this league to get a point"—unclear in the provided context who made that observation.
The 1-1 draw left both teams with lessons: Middlesbrough must rediscover the finishing touch that produced six consecutive wins, and Leicester will hope Gary Rowett’s early defensive solidity can be turned into the victories needed to climb out of the relegation zone.
