I made some Middlesbrough selection mistakes but Will Lankshear was not one – Kim Hellberg

Middlesbrough manager Kim Hellberg defended his decision to bench striker Will Lankshear despite falling 2-0 behind at the Riverside. Lankshear was introduced at halftime, after which Tommy Conway scored and Lankshear netted his 11th goal of the season to secure a 2-2 draw. While Hellberg conceded he made other selection mistakes regarding player rotation, he insisted benching Lankshear was the right call to manage the forward's workload.

Hellberg explained that Middlesbrough needed fresh legs and pressing energy against a possession-heavy opponent. He highlighted the importance of squad rotation and protecting players who arrived late without a full pre-season. Despite expressing disappointment over conceding two poor first-half goals, Hellberg praised the team's resilience to recover a point and extend their unbeaten streak to nine games.