One positive but familiar problems - the story of Boro's friendly draw at Celtic
In what is the first of just two public-facing friendlies for Boro this summer, over 5,000 fans travelled to Glasgow and saw Strelec add his third goal of the summer. He put Boro ahead midway through the first half.
But quickly pegged back by a goal from Camilo Duran, a depleted Boro side found much the same problems as last season in being unable to leave the Scottish champions with a win. Despite plenty of control of the game and some promising openings created, they ultimately lacked a killer edge in the final third.
The friendly was one of only two public-facing matches Boro will play this summer ahead of the new season. With that in mind, this was a rare opportunity to get an idea for what Hellberg might be planning for the season ahead.
Five players (Aidan Morris, Sontje Hansen, Finley Munroe, Alex Bangura and George Edmundson) missed out through illness. Riley McGree, Tommy Conway and summer signing Kyle Joseph are still recovering from injuries picked up at the end of last term.
It was still a strong Boro starting XI, however, with six of them also starting the play-off final two months ago. Myles Peart-Harris also started after his arrival earlier in the summer, as did the returning Neto Borges and teenage defender Jack Daley.
It was a low-key start in Glasgow, with Boro trying to dictate the tempo but getting themselves caught in possession in their own half.
They eventually started to work their way through, however, in what became a decent first half for them. As Morgan Whittaker started to float more inside, he began to help Boro progress through the lines better, and it was from that means they took the lead.
Starting off a break, they eventually won a corner when Whittaker’s effort from the edge was deflected just wide. The corner was headed clear only as far as Daley. He headed it back into the danger area where Strelec out-muscled his marker before firing home on the turn. The goal added to the double he scored in Portugal last weekend.
Daley’s assist complemented what was a really strong and assured performance from the teenage defender. He protected his box well with some good clearances from crosses, and grew ever more confident on the ball as the half wore on too.
While Boro were starting to dominate the action, their lead didn’t last long. On 31 minutes, just six minutes after Strelec’s opener, the lively Luke McGowan threaded it through for Duran. The new Celtic striker produced a good finish into the roof of Sol Brynn’s net.
But Boro would dominate the rest of the first half. Leo Castledine and Jeremy Sarmiento were lively in the final third, albeit lacking any end-product. Myles Peart-Harris from midfield always showed for the ball, but couldn’t quite influence things as he may have liked from his deeper midfield role.
Hellberg had suggested this one would be far more like a real game after handing 22 players 45 minutes each in the behind-closed-doors friendly in Portugal last weekend. True to his word, there was just one Boro change at the interval, with Seny Dieng replacing Brynn in goal.
Boro started the second half much like they ended the first - in control and probing for a way through the Celtic defence. Whittaker went close after receiving a short free-kick. His trademark cut inside onto his left almost worked a treat as his curling low effort to the far post was just about saved by Vijami Sinisalo.
The first raft of changes came just before the hour mark for Boro. Delano Burgzorg, Law McCabe and Abdoulaye Kante were on, replacing Daley, Peart-Harris and Sarmiento.
It said a lot about Boro’s general control of the game that Dieng wasn’t called into action until the 64th minute. A break down the left resulted in a corner for the hosts. Centre-back Liam Scales won the header just beyond the near-post, but it was straight at Dieng, who reacted well enough to push it back over his bar.
The Boro subs saw them start to lose their grip of the game as their momentum was halted by the now-regular changes. Celtic were very unfortunate not to take the lead on 68 minutes.
Luke Ayling couldn’t reach a cross on the stretch, leaving Callum Osmand with the goal at his mercy. His effort came back off the post but he managed, from the ground, to head to rebound back goalwards. It came off the other post though, before Boro frantically cleared.
More Boro changes immediately followed. Fin Cartwright, Kaly Sene and Cruz Iben were introduced for the final 20 minutes, with Castledine, Whittaker and Strelec replaced.
In the end, the game played out as these friendlies often do - with the regular substitutions taking any real zip out of the game.
Archie Baptiste, George McCormick and Josh Dede all got on for the final 14 minutes, but there was to be no more major chances or talking points for either side.
A useful draw for Boro then. It was a solid run out against the Scottish champions, with the most important thing the minutes into the legs. Strelec adding another goal will help him too.
But, in general, his performance was quiet. Boro, largely, looked much the same as the side they were last season. They controlled the game for the most part and didn’t concede an awful lot of chances.
But as for creating them, and looking a major threat in the final third, that was still lacking. Their side was depleted, of course, but clearly, there is still much work to be done on the transfer front too.
Middlesbrough are preparing for a big summer as they look to rebuild from the heartarche of missing out on promotion to the Premier League.
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