Middlesbrough 0-0 Preston North End
- Published
Darren Randolph joined Middlesbrough from West Ham in the summer
Preston North End earned a point at Middlesbrough despite failing to score for the third time in four games.
Tom Barkhuizen had the best effort of the first half as his shot was pushed onto the post by Boro keeper Darren Randolph, who also saved well from Paul Huntington just before the break.
Randolph was forced into another fine save from Sean Maguire after an hour.
Stewart Downing was denied for Boro late on having come on for his first league appearance of the season.
Preston fans have seen just three goals in their side's first five league games of the season, in 1-0 wins over Sheffield Wednesday and Reading and a 1-0 defeat at Derby.
And their stubborn defence again came to the fore as Boro's £15m striker Britt Assombalonga was held to one early chance while Rudy Gestede had a first-half shot blocked.
Preston North End manager Alex Neil:
"If any team deserved to win it was us. We had the best chances in the game and we deserved a goal.
"It is really frustrating not to get a goal. It was a lack of decision-making in the final side, and Darren Randolph has made a few good saves.
"We actually had more possession and dominated. I thought we had enough in the game to win it."
Middlesbrough manager Garry Monk:
"That was not the performance we wanted. We are trying to set a high standard for the players and the club - and we feel disappointment.
"We need to take a lesson from today and we never came out on top of them in any instance. They were first to every header, every tackle.
"The positive is that we still take a point and got a clean sheet. The point could be valuable, but we wanted three. But I think we were probably lucky to get the result we did."