“A good point”, “Stop moaning”: Some Middlesbrough fans react to 1-1 draw vs Preston + Match report

Preston 1-1 Middlesbrough: Boro held away from home as they slip to 3rd place

Middlesbrough had to come from behind to pick up a 1-1 draw against Preston at the Deepdale stadium. Alan Browne opened the scoring for the home side before first half substitute Marcus Tavernier found the back of the net to level the matters.

Tony Pulis will be disappointed his side failed to make the most of their chances. Boro extended their unbeaten run in the Championship to eight games against an improving Preston side. The decision to switch to a 3-5-2 didn’t work initially as planned which saw the home side dominate the opening quarter of the half.

A first-half injury to Rudy Gestede saw Pulis make a tactical switch, which changed the shape of the squad into a 4-1-4-1. Although that didn’t stop Preston from taking the lead, Boro looked a lot better after the change.

The visitors equalised less than a minute into the second half but were unable to score the winning goal, which may have left Pulis wondering as to whether his tactical gamble failed to pay off. Goalscorer Marcus Tavernier was certainly Boro’s best player on the night, despite starting the game on the bench.

His equalizer was his second goal in as many games and his third of the season. He came close on many other occasions as well but failed to make his chances count then. The only disappointing aspect of Tavernier’s display was probably the yellow card he picked up for diving in the box.

The draw sees Middlesbrough fall to third place on the table with Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds moving up to second after picking up a win against Reading. Pulis will definitely have plenty to reflect on and will aim to make amends swiftly.

Here’s how some Boro fans reacted to their draw against Preston.