Middlesbrough got their new league campaign underway with a thrilling 3-3 draw with Luton Town at Kenilworth Road on Friday night. 

Boro took an early lead through Ashely Fletcher, before Luton's Sonny Bradley netted a stunning equaliser from distance.

It was the Hatters that took control of the game after that, with summer signing, Martin Cranie giving them a surprise lead against play-off chasing Middlesbrough.

Britt Assombalonga equalised soon after though, to see the two teams head into the half-time interval level.

Lewis Wing fired home from distance to give Boro the lead for the second time in the contest, before Assombalonga missed a penalty late on.

Jonathan Woodgate's side were made to pay for that costly miss as well, as James Collins netted the equaliser shortly after to give the Hatters a deserved point.

But what did we learn about Woodgate's side on the night?

Find out below.....

There's going to be no easy game in the Championship this season

Many would have predicted that Middlesbrough would come away from this game with three points to send them to the top of the Championship table.

But Luton certainly gave a good account of themselves on the night, and caused Middlesbrough some problems in defence, which is something that Woodgate will be keen to address as soon as possible.

Luton were one of the pre-season contenders to be relegated from the Championship, so it's clear to see that there isn't going to be any easy games at this level.

Ryan Shotton struggled for much of the game 

Shotton didn't cover himself in glory throughout the game, it's safe to say.

There were high-hopes for the defender coming into this one, and alongside Daniel Ayala, Middlesbrough would have been expected to keep a clean sheet against a newly-promoted side.

But that wasn't the case, and there was a large amount of criticism for Shotton after the game, and he'll be hoping to silence his doubters at the earliest of opportunities.

Their performance was much better than what we saw during last season 

Middlesbrough fans voiced their displeasure at their tactics under Tony Pulis' management last season, but they would have been pleased with what they had seen from their side in the draw.

It was an entertaining game from start to finish, and Middlesbrough looked a real threat going forward, which will be pleasing to see for the club's supporters, who didn't see enough of that in last year's league campaign under Pulis.

It's a promising start to life in charge of Middlesbrough for Jonathan Woodgate, and they'll only get better as the season goes on it seems.