A FRIEND IN NEED
IF PROMOTION hopefuls need to show fighting spirit and the will to go until the end, then Middlesbrough’s equaliser in the seventh minute of added time suggests they are on the right track.
They trailed by two goals in the dying minutes but Martin Braithwaite scored to provide a glimmer of hope for Tony Pulis’s side. Then, from chaos in the box, George Friend rose to poke the ball in to snatch a draw.
It spoiled an otherwise perfect day for Millwall, who were in party mood after Aiden O’Brien and Lee Gregory put them ahead on the 25th anniversary of their move to The Den.
Neil Harris named an XI that did not include a single summer addition. Pulis, hampered by the impending sale of Ben Gibson to Burnley, gave Aden Flint his debut.
Middlesbrough have been heavily tipped for promotion but Pulis said: ‘If you look at the team we had today compared to the team that ended last season, we’re six players down. We know we have to bring players in. That group is not good enough to get us promoted.’
It was the Lions who bared their teeth first. A throw on the right was won in the air by Gregory and from his cross O’Brien swept the ball past Darren Randolph to put Millwall ahead after 12 minutes.
Then an innocuous ball reached Boro’s £7million signing Flint. He headed it back towards Darren Randolph, not realising that Gregory was behind him. The 29-year-old striker reached the ball before the keeper and fired into an empty net.
Pulis threw on substitute after substitute. Flint failed to make amends for his error as he fired over.
With time running out Braithwaite scored but even then it seemed unlikely that Boro would have another goalscoring opportunity.
‘We were very average in the firsthalf,’ Pulis admitted. ‘It was only the last 20, 25 minutes that we started to have a go. We missed some good opportunities. We needed a goal. Luckily we got a goal.’
There were fouls and time-wasting as Millwall tried to run the clock down but when goalkeeper Jordan Archer failed to react to a cross into his goal area, Friend bundled the ball past him.
Harris, whose t eam narrowly missed out on the play-offs last season, said: ‘I told my players what a good performance that was against a team that will be in the top two. They are a quality side, they have an experienced manager that knows what it takes to get promoted.
‘We’ve just thrown away two points at home at the death.’