Boro rise to the occasion to stay on track

On a rainy, gloomy day on Teesside came a gritty show of perseverance from Middlesbrough.

Bruised by a dip in form, the recent surprise change of head coach, and maybe the absence of a key midfield cog in Aiden Morris, they found the going tough at times against Derby County.

The away side began in aggressive fashion in taking their early lead and looked astute for a long time until, as their boss John Eustace admitted after, Derby "ran out of legs".

Middlesbrough took full advantage. Even though Morris wasn't alongside him, Hayden Hackney showed his dynamic qualities, leading his team's fightback, not least with an excellent corner delivery for an equaliser that stunned Derby into submission.

Morgan Whittaker's winner was a piece of optimism in the soggy conditions, greeted by a roar of approval from a Middlesbrough support that will hope more such wins will follow in the heartlands of a fascinating promotion race in this division.

Middlesbrough will, however, have to regularly play better than they did in this game to remain in the top two. It was spirited and industrious, but by no means fluid and laden with creative spark.

And so to Kim Hellberg. "The whole day was crazy," he exclaimed afterwards. "It's a day I'll remember for the rest of my life."

He went on to speak candidly about his tactical approach in his first post-match press conference, and the fact he had no hesitation in giving a professional debut to young defender Archie Baptiste when the lead needed protecting at the end.

It was quite a start in terrible weather conditions. An illustration of how competitive the Championship is; how positive results can come when you have players capable of brilliance even when an all-round performance isn't quite on the button.

And credit, too, to the Middlesbrough fans behind the fabulous tifo display before the game.