Boro miss chances to seal victory

Boro boss Tony Pulis was left to bemoan two giltedged opportunities in either half - from Britt Assombalonga and Ashley Fletcher - for dropping two points at Wigan on Saturday.

Assombalonga somehow missed a completely open goal from two yards out in the first half, while after the break Fletcher found himself one on one with the Wigan keeper.

He took the ball around him, but dragged it too wide and could only find the side netting with his finish.

Boro did put the ball in the net inside the final quarter, but Fletcher was rightly adjudged to have barged Cedric Kipre off the ball before slipping the ball past Jones.

Not even the late introduction of Stewart Downing, Marcus Tavernier and Jordan Hugill off the bench could tip the balance the way of the visitors.

Pulis said: “We scored a goal at a good time at Blackburn recently, and we went on to control the game. We needed to do that here, but we didn’t.

“They set themselves up really, really solid. They changed their shape and certainly got people behind the ball and made it difficult for us.

“We needed that goal, which would have opened the game up, and I’m sure we would have gone on from there.”

Wigan had chances of their own, with Sam Morsy being denied early on by a brilliant save from Darren Randolph, and Leon Clarke heading a Lee Evans cross just wide in the second period.

But the Teessiders looked the more likely to nick it at the death.

“The players have given it everything again,” he added.

“There’s no easy games in this league, coming to Wigan is not easy - not with the results they’ve had here.

“But you need to take your chances, and it’s the same old story.

“We had more opportunities again today, I saw four occasions when we could have played people in. They’re simple passes, and we’re overplaying.”