Boxing Day falls flat as Boro fail to break down Blackburn

MIDDLESBROUGH struggled to get going as they had to make do with a Boxing Day draw against Blackburn Rovers.

- By CRAIG JOHNS

Though not threatened too much by their visitors, Boro were unusually tardy in attack after a bright start to the game. Their passing was sloppy and their finishing off, they made life more difficult for themselves in a performance lacking much rhythm and quality.

Meanwhile, Boro were hit with numerous defensive injuries in the game that, in summing up the game as a whole, was perhaps the biggest talking point, with Alfie Jones, George Edmundson and Matt Targett all forced off.

Hellberg made his latest shock selection call for the game as Micah Hamilton came in for his first start since October 2024. That was the only change from the Bristol City defeat last weekend, as he replaced the injured Riley McGree.

This was a fresh test for Boro under the Swede, as they looked to rebound from their first defeat under the new head coach. Their work on improving on Bristol City centred around their rest-defence and being better at stopping the transition.

They enjoyed a positive start in the game too, and for 30 minutes were exclusively the team in attack as they controlled proceedings in a positive manner.

Their only blow was losing the reliable and ever-present Jones to injury after a quarter of an hour.

The chances were coming early on when they played their football, but they just could not find the back of the net.