Middlesbrough were unable to maintain their winning record as they were held to a 0-0 away draw at Stoke City, but still came away with a respectable point against a fellow promotion rival.

In a game where both sides had chances to win all three points, Duncan Watmore's sitter proved to be the visitors' best opportunity yesterday afternoon, being supplied with the perfect cross from the right-hand side but failing to get a clean contact on the ball.

This will be a major regret for the forward who scored an impressive brace at Huddersfield Town in the latter stages of last month, but failed to capitalise on this golden chance at the bet365 Stadium.

 

 

However, the Potters wasted their own gilt-edged opportunity to take a home win, with Tyrese Campbell unable to slot the ball home after being played through. This was a similar chance to the one he scored against Queens Park Rangers, so he would have been disappointed not to score on this occasion.

A victory for Boro in this tie would have been a real statement of intent considering Michael O'Neill's side's current league position and recent victory against QPR - but they will be glad to take a positive and well-earned point back to Teesside.

What did we learn about Chris Wilder's men after this tie though? We take a look below.

The goalkeeping spot is well and truly up for grabs

Despite summer signing Joe Lumley starting the season between the sticks, he was dropped in favour of Luke Daniels and didn't play during a six-game period that spanned from the start of last month to last weekend.

However, he was included in the starting lineup yesterday afternoon and put in a solid performance between the sticks, potentially earning the right to retain his place for the Teesside club's next match against AFC Bournemouth.

With Daniels on the bench, Wilder confirmed after the match this wasn't an enforced change for Boro, but one that was 'best for the football club', making this department one to keep an eye on.

The starting spot is up for grabs, so it will be interesting to see whether one of the Lumley or Daniels can establish themselves as one of the first names on the teamsheet for the remainder of the season and beyond.

Their defence could guide them to the top six

Although they will be hoping the likes of Watmore and Andraz Sporar can step up to fire them to a promotion place, the fact they have managed to keep a clean sheet against two good sides in their previous couple of matches is a promising sign of things to come defensively.

The fact Sol Bamba was on the bench just shows the quality they have at the back, with Dael Fry making a good impact against Stoke and the likes of Paddy McNair and Anfernee Dijksteel slotting in nicely alongside him.

Playing a back three doesn't always result in a solid defence, but Boro were reasonably compact yesterday despite Campbell's opportunity, limiting the home side's chances and giving themselves a real chance to nick it.

Unfortunately they were unable to do so, but to have the West Ham-linked centre-back in action once again will be a big boost and provide some much-needed quality and depth at the heart of defence.

Jones will be one of the first names on the teamsheet under Wilder

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With Fry returning to the starting lineup and Bamba performing extremely well, it would have been no surprise to see Jones come out of the lineup to allow Dijksteel to play at right wing-back.

Considering he's only 22 and hadn't made a single league appearance for Boro before this season, potentially seeing him drop to the bench on the odd occasion under his new boss wouldn't have been a shock, but he's continued to thrive at right wing-back.

He arguably deserved to retain his starting spot after calmly slotting home the winner against Swansea last weekend, but the fact he has started every game under Wilder and only been substituted in one thus far is an impressive achievement for him.

And as a real attacking threat, it seems as though he will keep his place in the starting lineup for the long term, even with previously absent players returning.