First look at exciting Middlesbrough strike-partnership while debutants impress despite draw
Middlesbrough let another two points slip on Saturday as they were only able to draw 1-1 with Preston North End at the Riverside.
In another case of not getting the rewards for their dominance, Boro were unable to capitalise on their early lead through Tommy Conway as they once again squandered a number of good chances and promising positions to extend their lead before being punished.
The punishment came in the form of a Mads Frokaer-Jensen equaliser two minutes before the interval as Michael Carrick's side then struggled to match their intensity in the second half in order to regain the lead and take maximum points. Here are some talking points emerging from the game.
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First look at exciting strike-partnership
After briefly playing together at the end of the Cardiff City game, the Preston game was the first time since Conway's summer arrival that Carrick partnered the former Bristol City man up top with Emmanuel Latte Lath in what, in prospect, is a very exciting attacking line up.
Particularly in the first half, as Boro caused Preston all sorts of problems, it looked like a very capable and threatening partnership. It had pace, movement and fluidity in possession, and it was aggressive out of possession as Preston struggled to get to grips.
It was interesting to watch Boro in that first half at the top end of the pitch. At times they were set up with their usual three behind Latte Lath, while other times it was two banks of two, with Finn Azaz and Isaiah Jones off Conway and Latte Lath. The forward pair would often drift wide and look for balls into the channels - as was the case for the Boro goal. It caused confusion for Preston, who at one point before their equaliser allowed frustrations to spill over as their players argued among one another as another Boro attack came.
Preston ultimately worked it out in the second half as Boro allowed the visitors back into the game. It's where Boro need to be a bit more adaptable and continue to try different things to not allow the opposition to work them out. That will hopefully come with more time to connect with one another. But the early signs were positive on a strike partnership that has plenty of potential to yield positive results for Boro.
George Edmundson slots straight in
There were two debuts on Saturday and both offered yet more encouragement to complement what appears to have been a really positive summer transfer window. Edmundson arrived on loan from Ipswich Town and has already been told that he is playing for Boro contract as he'll be a free agent next summer.
When players start returning from injury there will be a lot of competition at the back, but Edmundson looks like he will be a very handy addition to the squad, based on his solid debut. The centre-back is a big unit and barely put a foot wrong as he helped keep one-time Boro target Emil Riis quiet throughout. With the majority of his work in the game on the ball though, as promised, he showed his comfort in that side of his game too - even setting off on one ambitious drive forward with the ball as he tried to force the issue for his side.
Ben Doak's spark
The second debut was that of Doak, as the Liverpool loanee provided a spark from the bench for his side in a frustrating second half. Boro didn't quite match their first-half levels after the break and found Preston a frustrating opponent as they did whatever was necessary to disrupt Boro's flow.
With 20 minutes to make an impact, it didn't quite come off on the day for the 18-year-old wide man as a number of pullbacks from the touchline were ultimately cut out, while he didn't quite connect as he would have liked as he found himself on the end of one while free in the box.
It's worth noting his lack of football in the past six months, however, after recovering from a knee injury suffered last December. Doak will have some match sharpness to build in the games and weeks ahead. But it was encouraging to see his intent and quality as he at least added a spark to try and get Boro back into the lead.
He was one of four Boro subs brought on by Carrick to try and find that winning goal. As well as Aidan Morris who was rested due to his recent international commitments, the Boro boss also turned to Delano Burgzorg and Micah Hamilton, while Riley McGree and Alex Gilbert remained unused. As connections start to form in the weeks ahead, Carrick will have serious game-changing options if his players can stay fit.
Neto Borges' tougher outing highlights area for whole team to improve on
After such an impressive debut for Borges at Cardiff, this was a tougher Riverside debut for Boro's new left-back. Trying to add more of an attacking element to his game in this one, he ultimately didn't quite make an impact in that regard, but then, as a consequence, found himself out of position as the visitors' three best chances in the game - including their equaliser - came from Boro's left.
The goal came as Borges attempted to get on the end of Azaz's ball back into his path. Pipped to the loose ball, Brad Potts then had space to exploit Boro's left as he had time to pick out Frokaer-Jensen to fire home the equaliser.
While it's obvious to look at Borges in that moment, it's also worth highlighting the bigger Boro problem that will have to be solved. Being ambitious and aggressive in attack is part of the task that Carrick will be increasingly asking Borges to do - much like Ryan Giles did when he perfected the role two seasons ago.
At that stage in Carrick's Boro tenure, his side were so adapt to covering for Giles' forays forward and structured themselves well enough to cover Giles' absence if and when they were hit. They didn't quite get that right in this one. Between Matt Clarke and Azaz, they didn't get across to stop the initial cross, and between Edmundson and Luke Ayling, and midfielders Hayden Hackney, Dan Barlaser and Isaiah Jones, too big a gap was left for Preston to exploit.
That ultimately comes down to structural organisation and will be something, if Boro do want Borges to aggressively attack the left, that they will have to work on in the week ahead. Given the lack of attacking output from that side last season, it's perhaps understandable that they didn't quite get it right in the moment against Preston. It's important lessons are learned from it though and it will hopefully be better organised the next time it happens.