Middlesbrough Vs Leicester City: middlesbrough vs leicester city ends 1-1 at Riverside
middlesbrough vs leicester city at the Riverside Stadium finished 1-1 as Caleb Okoli put Leicester ahead and Riley McGree levelled in first-half stoppage time. Promotion hopefuls Middlesbrough had to settle for a point against relegation-threatened Leicester City and the result left both teams with clear consequences heading into their next fixtures.
Middlesbrough Vs Leicester City match events
Caleb Okoli opened the scoring for the visitors when he got in front of Middlesbrough defender Luke Ayling to head home a right-wing free-kick delivered by Divine Mukasa. In one report that goal was noted as coming after 20 minutes and attributed to Divine Makasa; both spellings appear in contemporary accounts. Just before half-time Okoli gave the ball away in the build-up to the hosts' equaliser. Boro sprang forward: Hayden Hackney played left to Tommy Conway, who pulled the ball back for Riley McGree to tuck away his third goal in his past four matches, levelling in first-half stoppage time.
Key moments and second half
Early in the second half a botched attempt by Luke Ayling to head away a long ball left Patson Daka one-on-one with keeper Sol Brynn, but Daka headed wide. Leicester continued to threaten: Abdul Fatawu sent an effort narrowly wide of the far post. At the other end, Callum Brittain's cross was nudged narrowly wide by David Strelec, Conway fired well over, and veteran keeper Asmir Begovic saved with his legs to deny McGree. In the second half the Foxes worked hard to keep Middlesbrough out and could have scored again, with Daka missing a good chance when capitalising on a poor header by Ayling.
Standings and implications
A victory would have put second-placed Middlesbrough level on points with leaders Coventry City; Coventry will go five points clear of Boro if they beat Sheffield United on Wednesday evening. Middlesbrough have now gone three Championship matches without a win after previously winning six in a row. After a recent defeat by Coventry that saw the Sky Blues regain top spot from Boro, Kim Hellberg's side have dropped points against two teams battling against the drop, having played out a frustrating goalless draw against Oxford United at the weekend. Middlesbrough are six points clear of third-placed Ipswich and Hull in fourth. They will be keen to get back to winning ways in their next match, away to Birmingham on Monday.
Leicester under Gary Rowett
Leicester have drawn both their matches under new boss Gary Rowett, who will be encouraged by a spirited performance at the Riverside. The Foxes remain third from bottom and are without a win in eight league matches, but they are just a point behind West Bromwich Albion, the team immediately above them in the table. The midfield pivot of Oliver Skipp and Harry Winks was praised for supporting the defence and moving forward when possible. Abdul Fatawu was fit enough to take a place on the bench for this game, while Bobby De Cordova-Reid was back after a three-match suspension, replacing Jeremy Monga in one of two changes from the side that took the field at the bet 365 Stadium in a previous match.
Boro reaction and manager quote
Middlesbrough boss Kim Hellberg reflected on the result, saying 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. " He added: "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. " The home side, noted as promotion hopefuls, had won ten of their 16 home games at the Riverside this season, losing only two, while of their 17 away matches City have won only four. Middlesbrough rarely looked like taking the lead in the second half despite home form.
EFL notes and wider reaction
An EFL round-up headline listed "Middlesbrough stumble; Wrexham, Ipswich win & Southampton thrash QPR, " though the related blog was unavailable on one platform with the message: "Sorry, this blog is currently unavailable. Please try again later. " Commentary on the weekend noted that Blackburn and Portsmouth suffered defeats and West Brom's draw helped to improve the mood amongst the Blue Army. One analysis pointed out that Oxford United defended deep to take a point at the weekend, that Leicester did not look like a relegation-threatened side on the day, and that Rowett has made a big impact even as questions remain about how the club reached its current position. The same commentary observed that "That's now 28 games without a clean sheet" for the side referenced in that discussion.
Leicester are next at home to Norwich on Saturday; Middlesbrough travel to Birmingham on Monday. The draw leaves both sides carrying clear tasks into those fixtures as the campaign progresses.
