Middlesbrough FC 2 Millwall 2: From jeers to cheers as Amario Cozier-Duberry inspired Boro rally in rousing fashion

On a night when victory would have seen them go top, albeit in mid-September, it all looked seemingly set up for the hosts against an injury-ravaged Millwall side without a raft of players from the line-up who picked Boro’s pockets in a promotion six-pointer on Teesside back on Good Friday.

Chief among them was their main tormentor that afternoon in the shape of Bedale-raised Josh Coburn, with the butcher’s son plunging the knife into his former club.

The Lions had also let in 11 goals in their previous four Championship matches. Boro had hit four last weekend. What could go wrong?

For seasoned followers, their ‘Typical Boro’ instincts might just have kicked in. The number of times when Boro have fluffed their lines from a position of strength over many years is copious.

It certainly looked that way in a rough first period which saw them trail 2-0, thanks to goals from Tairyk Arconte and Lyndon Dykes. Hellberg might just have uttered a fair swear words at the break, before earning his money and repairing things.

And then the transformation. Given Saturday's evidence in a seven-goal thriller with the Canaries and given this rousing second-half which saw Boro restore parity courtesy of goals from the excellent Amario Cozier-Duberry - who already looks a serious signing - and top gun Will Lanskhear, up to eight for the campaign now, excitement won’t be far away at the Riverside this season.

From some jeers at the interval, there were cheers by the end.

Boro don’t find themselves at the summit, maybe but they’d have surely taken a point at half-time, with Hellberg’s substitutes helping to change the narrative.

Boro’s first-half performance was a rewind to some big Riverside issues of the spring.

Going forward, they ran into cul-de-sacs and were overly intricate and slow.

Aside from one or two bursts down the right from Cozier-Duberry, there was no dynamism, incision and conviction despite boasting 83 per cent possession, posting 11 shots and mustering seven corners.

It was compounded by the fact that they looked susceptible at the back, particularly down their right-hand side where the returning Luke Ayling and Callum Brittain were targeted by canny Millwall manager Alex Neil.

His side possessed the brains, power and game plan and were smart in picking their times to get a full press on and counter at pace.

That yielded an early opening when a punt forward from Camiel Neghli caught out the hosts, with Arconte cutting inside and having too much physicality for Ayling. His low finish clipped the near post before nestling in the net.

It was a stunner for Boro and it got worse on 36 minutes.

Derek Mazou-Sacko, strong in the middle ground, got the first contact to a Lions’ corner. As Boro prevaricated, Caleb Taylor helped the ball across goal and Dykes couldn’t believe his luck at the back stick. It was a dreadful concession.

At the other end, top-scorer Lankshear was kept relatively quiet. He had one chance at the far post from Cozier-Duberry’s searching cross, but keeper Max Crocombe blocked. He did not have too much else to do.

Lankshear almost got on the end of Sebastian Berhalter’s pass, with defender Taylor getting a key touch. Despite some home pressure, Millwall arguably looked the more dangerous.

Hellbeg did not mess about at the break with a triple change seeing Kyle Joseph, Jeremy Sarmiento and Max Arfsten all enter the fray as the Swede utilised his squad strength.

It did the trick and Boro soon had a lifeline when the Millwall defence failed to clear and Cozier-Duberry’s low shot flew in after taking a faint touch off Mazou-Sacko.

Boro intensity levels had gone up markedly and Crocombe soon showed his agility to keep out Joseph’s header following Arfsten’s free-kick before McGree’s fiendish cross flew across goal when it only needed a touch.

Referee Robert Madley was unmoved when Cozier-Duberry went down under pressure from Zak Sturge.

Neil brought on defensive ballast in his bid to weather a gathering storm. It wasn’t enough.

At fault for the first goal, Ayling provided atonement. His hanging far-post cross gravitated towards Lankshear, whose headed finish was in keeping with his predatory efforts since heading to Teesside.

Boro were firmly on top, but still had to keep their heads at the other end. A reminder arrived when Lions substitute Elkan Baggott was left unmarked in the box following Sturge’s juicy centre. Fortunately; Radek Vitak kept out his header.

Entertainment was on the Riverside menu again, although Hellberg might not have been necessarily amused.

Back came Boro, with Cozier-Duberry seeing his deflected effort fly just over before Phillips went agonisingly close to reprising his goal feats of the weekend.

Sarmiento missed a chance to potentially win it and then another. A draw it was; the right result in the end.

Middlesbrough: Vitek; Brittain, Ayling, Phillips, Borges (Artsten HT); Morris, Berhalter (Arfsten HT); Cozier-Duberry (Strelec 85), McGree (Peart-Harris 78), Conway (Sarmiento HT), Lankshear. Substitutes unused: Brynn, Byram, Castledine, Pukstas.

Millwall: Crocombe; Osei-Tutu, Taylor, Cooper, Sturge (Cundle 84); Sykes (Issoufou 84), Metcalfe (Kelly 75), Mazon-Sacko; Sykes, Neghli; Arconte (Lovelace 75), Dykes (Baggott 56). Substitutes unused: Marschall, Batth, Massey, Parkes.

Referee: R Madley (West Yorks).

Attendance: 27,684.