Derby County 3 Middlesbrough 1: Bemused Mowbray sees Boro flounder

Boro have hopes of claiming an automatic promotion place, but were defeated by a Derby County side producing a first win in four Championship matches.

Young midfield duo Michael Jacobs and Jeff Hendrick provided first-half goals and Conor Sammon scored midway through the second half to seal the three points.

Middlesbrough created very little and the margin of victory for Derby might have been greater, with Ben Davies’s free-kick striking the crossbar and Jason Steele saving when one-on-one with Sammon.

The visitors did pull a goal back in stoppage time through Lukas Jutkiewicz but it was too little, too late.

Mowbray was without a number of key players but refused to use that as an excuse.

“It’s disappointing to lose any game, but you have to give them credit,” said Mowbray. “They are a team full of energy and some very good players. We never got to the races at any stage of the game.

“We’ve done okay so far this season but for whatever reason, we didn’t get going at all (at Derby). But we will get stronger as the season goes on and players are back from injury.

“There was probably almost a team missing, but I don’t want to use that as an excuse. Derby played well and good luck to them.”

Derby County: Legzdins, Brayford, Keogh, O’Brien, Freeman, Coutts, Hendrick, Hughes, Davies, Sammon (Hoganson 87), Jacobs (Tyson 77). Unused substitutes: Fielding, Robinson, Doyle, O’Connor, Gjokaj.

Middlesbrough: Steele, Parnaby, Rhys Williams, Woodgate (Thomson 37), Halliday, Bailey, Leadbitter (Miller 66), Smallwood, Reach, Jutkiewicz, McDonald (Luke Williams 46). Unused substitutes: Leutwiler, Zemmama, Burgess, Weldon.

Referee: Dean Whitestone (Northants).