‘All games now winnable’ - Middlesbrough chief Neil Warnock

Neil Warnock was relieved to come away with a point he felt Middlesbrough deserved against his former club.
Point made: Middlesbrough's Paddy McNair celebrates scoring the equaliser. Picture: PAPoint made: Middlesbrough's Paddy McNair celebrates scoring the equaliser. Picture: PA
Point made: Middlesbrough's Paddy McNair celebrates scoring the equaliser. Picture: PA

Sean Morrison’s opener eight minutes before the break with a header from Will Vaulks’s long throw was against the run of play, but with Middlesbrough struggling to create clear-cut chances it looked like Cardiff would win for the seventh game in a row.

However, Paddy McNair’s equaliser with eight minutes remaining secured a point for Middlesbrough, who were indebted to their substitutes for making the difference in the end.

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Neeskens Kebano and Djed Spence combined down the right in the build-up to the leveller, before Aden Flint’s attempted clearance only got as far as Chuba Akpom, who headed goalwards for McNair to force in.

Warnock said: “We enjoyed it today. I’ve been on at them all week about how difficult it will be because of the way they play.

“The lads competed other than the goal and we played some good stuff at times. We passed it well.

“You only have to look at the stats, we dominated the game really. We had one or two really good performances. It’s a promising game in the circumstances.

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“I was ever so pleased with the substitutes, all of them, and we needed that. They had a couple of yellow cards, so we wanted to put them under pressure.

“I want the players to enjoy it now. We have two away games this week and they are both winnable. I think every game is winnable, we just have to go back to basics and do what we’re good at.”

Middlesbrough: Bettinelli, Dijksteel, Hall, Fry, Bola (Johnson 71); Tavernier, McNair, Howson, Mendez-Laing (Kebano 71); Watmore (Spence 81), Assombalonga (Akpom 81). Unused substitutes: Morsy, Archer, Fisher, Saville, Coulson.

Cardiff City: Phillips, Morrison, Flint, Nelson, Ng, Vaulks (Ralls 67); Pack, Bennett, Wilson (Bacuna 67), Murphy (Ojo 61); K Moore. Unused substitutes: Smithies, Williams, Sang, Harris, Bagan, Hoilett.

Referee: J Gillett (Australia).

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