Middlesbrough 1 Blackburn Rovers 1: Karanka unhappy as Boro fail to impress

Rovers earned a well-deserved point at the Riverside as below-par Boro had to come from behind.

Paul Lambert’s deadline day signing Jordi Gomez put the visitors ahead in the second half but David Nugent salvaged it for Boro 11 minutes from time.

There was no dream debut for £9m signing Jordan Rhodes against his former club. He started on the bench as Karanka handed debuts to Ritchie de Laet and Kike Sola.

Even though it ended back-to-back defeats for the promotion-chasing Teessiders, Karanka was unhappy with the display. “The best example was the last 20 minutes because that was the only time we wanted to win the game,” he said.

“The first 70 minutes we haven’t played with the intensity that we need to play, especially after our last two defeats.

“I thought the reaction was going to be better, but the last 20 minutes is the only time we wanted to win or draw the game.

“I know the concern, now we try to motivate them as we were two or three weeks ago. So now we try to work more and try to pick the right players.

“The problem is the goalkeeper was completely lost because five or six players around him did nothing. It’s a difficult league, and when your team-mates do nothing, it’s difficult to perform.”

Middlesbrough: Konstantopoulos, Nsue, Ayala (Kalas 45), Gibson, De Laet, Clayton, Leadbitter, Adomah (Rhodes 77), Kike Sola (Stuani 46), Downing, Nugent. Unused substitutes: De Sart, Ramirez, Mejias, Forshaw.

Blackburn Rovers: Steele, Marshall, Ward, Hanley, Spurr, Lenihan, Evans, Akpan, Gomez (Bennett 83), Graham, Watt (Jackson 74). Unused substitutes: Kilgallon, Taylor, Duffy, Conway, Raya.

Referee: D Whitestone (Northants).

Man of the match: Jordi Gomez.