3/1 To Win
Derby County claimed a late point at Riverside Stadium after fighting back twice against Middlesbrough in a 2-2 draw in their first Sky Bet Championship away trip of 2020.
The hosts took the lead in the first half through Lewis Wing’s fine effort from range.
Ten minutes after the restart, 18-year-old midfielder Jason Knight bagged his third goal for the Rams inside the last month.
The Academy product whipped in a cross from the right-hand side of the penalty area that beat Aynsley Pears in the Boro goal and found the net via the far post.
Midway through the second half, however, Middlesbrough regained the lead when Paddy McNair converted from the penalty spot.
The goal of the game fell to Duane Holmes in the first minute of added time. The ball was half-cleared to the midfielder outside of the area and his superb volley struck the back of the net to move the Rams to five games unbeaten in all competitions.
Boro set the tone early and within a minute looked to grab the lead from the first set piece of the game. Patrick Roberts flung a corner into the box towards Wing at the back post, who headed inches wide of the mark.
Derby’s defence was called upon to remain strong throughout the first half, with Ashley Fletcher also going close with a low shot that was sent wide for the home side.
Boro got off the mark after 16 minutes. Roberts fed the ball inside to Marcus Tavernier who flicked the ball back to Wing on the edge of the box to drive his right-foot shot into the bottom corner.
The Rams had their best chance of the opening 45 minutes just after the half hour mark. Max Lowe picked Holmes out through the Middlesbrough defenders on the edge of the box. The midfielder played forward to Martyn Waghorn, but his pass had slightly too much on it and Aynsley Pears was able to dive down on to the ball before the Derby frontman could meet it.
The Rams came out attacking in the second half and it wasn’t long until the score was level. Tom Lawrence did brilliantly to win the ball back off Dael Fry by the corner flag. He found Knight with space next to him down the right of the area and the youngster whipped in a cross and going against the strong wind it clipped the inside of the far post and ricocheted into the net.
Moments later the Rams were driving forward again. Wayne Rooney bounded down the middle off the pitch before feeding out wide to Holmes. The midfielder found Lowe down the left flank and the defender forced his way into the box, but his cross was grabbed by Pears. Soon after, Rooney curled a free-kick over the bar from the edge of the box.
Boro regained the lead ten minutes later. Matt Clarke was deemed to have brought down Roberts in the box and referee Tim Robison awarded the penalty. McNair stepped up to the spot and sent his effort to the left. Although Hamer went the right way, he couldn’t quite stretch to meet it.
For the second time of the afternoon, the Rams fought back in the final stages.
As the Rams piled on the pressure, the ball was headed away by a Boro defender in the middle of the area to Holmes. His wonder-strike evaded everyone in the area and rippled into the back of the net to hand the Rams the late equaliser.
Middlesbrough: Pears; Howson (C), McNair, Fry; Spence, Tavernier, Wing, Saville, Coulson; Roberts (Nmecha, 79); Fletcher (Gestede, 89).
Unused Subs: Mejias, Clayton, Johnson, Wood, Liddle.
Derby County: Hamer; Bogle, Davies, Clarke, Lowe; Holme, Bird, Rooney, Knight (Martin, 83); Waghorn, Lawrence (Whittaker, 86).
Unused Subs: Roos, Wisdom, Forsyth, Huddlestone, Malone.
