Middlesbrough's 3-3 draw with Sheffield Wednesday was mind-blowingly entertaining for the neutral, utterly depressing for the majority of the sold-out Riverside and an absolute joy for the away fans who sang manager Danny Rohl's name loudly at the end of it.

Thirty-two years after they threw away a 3-0 Boxing Day lead to draw 3-3 at Hillsborough, Wednesday were the ones spectacularly spoiling the home side's party.

Turnarounds like this say a lot about mentalities. It was another reason to believe that with a shrewd January the Owls can barge their way into the play-off picture, for Boro an indication as to why for all the talent they showcased in the first 45 minutes, reaching them might be the limit of their ambitions.

Not that is was all about character. Rohl’s half-time tactical rejig, his second of the game, was crucial too.

COMEBACK COMPLETE: Yan Valery celebrates putting Sheffield Wednesday back on equal terms at Middlesbrough

placeholder image — COMEBACK COMPLETE: Yan Valery celebrates putting Sheffield Wednesday back on equal terms at Middlesbrough

For 45 minutes the Owls were struggling even to be second best, all at sea defensively and blown away by a Boro team whose attacking play was of the highest quality.

But 14 second-half minutes in which the visitors scored three, and in which Middlesbrough had Rav van den Berg sent off and goalkeeper Sol Brynn go off injured changed everything. The only surprise was Wednesday did not go on to win.

The gulf in class between the sides in the first half was huge. With Di'Shon Bernard suspended, 19-year-old Gabriel Otegbayo came into the centre of a defence which looked shambolic in the face of Boro's sharp and confident football.

Further helping Boro was a goal inside six minutes for Ben Doak.

SHARP SHOOTING: Finn Azaz puts Middlesbrough 2-0 to Sheffield Wednesday

Hayden Hackney slid another pass to release Tommy Conway, whose pace won him a yard on Otegbayo and Max Lowe. When they caught him up, Conway played in Fin Azaz for a cross on-loan Liverpool winger Doak was able to stoop and head in.

The space he was in would be a feature for Boro's attackers in a first half when they did not need any help, but got plenty anyway.

Delano Burgzorg played the ball to Neto Borges, coming inside from left-back, to pick out Azaz in far too much space between Otegbayo and Lowe to double the lead.

The difference in mental sharpness was writ large in the 19th minute when substitute Emmanuel Latte Lath ran across James Beadle to beat him to a Marvin Johnson backpass. The Owls were lucky the angle was tight enough for him to only be able to hit a post.

TIME-OUT: Danny Rohl reoganises his Sheffield Wednesday but within minutes Middlesbrough had gone 3-0 up

With the half-hour approaching, Beadle went down seeking treatment to force a time-out which saw Rohl reshuffle from 5-2-3 to 4-4-2.

Within minutes Azaz had made it three. Doak got to the byline and Hackney's shot bounced up off Barry Bannan for Azaz to finish.

The confidence coursing through Boro was clear. When Doak played the ball into centre-forward it was left-back Neto Borges there to shoot just wide as Djiedi Gassama stood off him.

Another Rohl of the dice was inevitable at half-time, and this one paid dividends, Boro's panic turning a drama into a crisis.

YANK: Yan Valery pulls Middlesbrough's Neto Borges over

Svante Ingelsson came on as the left winger and Nathaniel Chalobah's introduction for Otegbayo allowed Shea Charles fewer defensive responsibilities as the new man anchored a 4-1-4-1.

Charles who pulled the ball back from the byline for Ingelsson to find the net less than two minutes after coming on.

Dominic Iorfa was not quite able to reach Ingelsson’s cross but when the substitute won a slide tackle at the byline, Charles' cross hit Josh Windass and went in.

Two minutes later van den Berg received a second soft yellow card.

Boro panic was obvious in a clearance which picked out Ingelsson. Brynn saved but injured his shoulder. The rebound was begging to be scored, but Iorfa put it into orbit.

It meant Brynn had to be replaced at the same time as Azaz was sacrificed to get Matt Clarke on as an extra centre-back, and Doak made way too, for Isaiah Jones. Like Rohl's first reshuffle, it very quickly produced a goal at the wrong end.

Valery scored it, glancing in a Charles' corner to make it 3-3 after 63 minutes.

When Boro had a free-kick around Wednesday's area in the 86th minute, the visitors managed to spring the speedy Gassama from it but Latte Lath tracked the winger all the way and celebrated winning a corner as his man shaped to shoot.

Boro had actually caught Wednesday on the counter six minutes earlier, only for Beadle to save from Jones but unsurprisingly it was the 11 men, not the 10, making the running.

Middlesbrough: Brynn (Glover 60); Dijksteel, van den Berg, Fry, Borges (Engel 90); Barlaser, Hackney; Doak (Clarke 60), Azaz (Jones 60), Burgzorg; Conway (Latte Lath 9). Unused substitutes: McGree, Gilbert, Hamilton, McCabe.

Sheffield Wednesday: Beadle; Iorfa, Otegbayo (Chalobah HT), M Lowe; Valery (Valentín 76), S Charles, Bannan, Johnson; Windass (Ugbo 87), Gassama (Smith 87); J Lowe (Ingelsson HT). Unused substitutes: Paterson, McNeill, Kobacki, P Charles.

Referee: A Backhouse (Carlisle).