Conway helps Boro get back in the game

TOMMY Conway's wait for a goal stretched into an eighth game as Middlesbrough had to settle for a draw against Wrexham.

- By CRAIG JOHNS

Sol Brynn had a solid game in goal

The lack of goals and performances in general had led to some question marks over the security of his place in the Boro team ahead of Wrexham. For the first time this season, he dropped to the bench for the game. But it’s safe to say it was a matter of freshening things up, as opposed to any concerns with form for Rob Edwards.

They say you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone, and in this sense, Conway might be the big winner of Boro’s dreadful first half on Saturday - and the much improved second half after Edwards’ brutal four-man culling at the interval.

Conway was one of the four players on for Boro at the break. And it’s fair to say, of the four players introduced - soon after, five, when David Strelec also joined the action - Conway was the most influential in helping Boro get back into the game.

Luke Ayling, Alan Browne and Sammy Silvera were all positive in the way they performed to lift Boro’s levels. But Conway had the most direct impact on correcting what had been so wrong about Boro in the first half, as they went in 1-0 behind at the break.

As well as providing his usual energy and nuisance in the final third, it was his nous and protection of the ball that allowed Boro to actually have sustained pressure in the final third, and provided such a dramatic improvement on the first 45.