Middlesbrough’s frustrating inconsistency cost them another two points in a ponderous 1-1 draw in their first home game of the season of 2025.

Emmanuel Latte Lath gave Boro an early lead, only for former loan man Calum Chambers to cancel it out just ten minutes later. In a game that lacked much quality thereafter, Boro failed to make possessional dominance count for much in a performance where they were frustrated as much by their own lack of attacking zip, as much as Cardiff’s solidity.

Michael Carrick made three changes after the New Year’s Day victory at Hull City. Neto Borges was back in for Lukas Engel at left-back after the Dane’s first start in four months. Rewarded for their impact from the bench, Ben Doak and Delano Burgzorg were back in for Isaiah Jones and Riley McGree - with Doak’s inclusion coming amid speculation surrounding his future after two Premier League offers on Friday.

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Also the subject of plenty of speculation this month already is Latte Lath. As if the pair’s importance to Boro’s promotion chances wasn’t obvious enough, they combined in just the 12th minute to put Boro ahead. Doak skinned Callum O’Dowda down the right before pinging a low cross to the front post. Latte Lath did his job, getting ahead of Dimitrios Goutas at the front post to flick home first time.

Boro were looking lively early and an ambitious Cardiff side as a result looked wide open. Doak was having plenty of fun down the right and he quickly left O’Dowda walking a tightrope when another dart down the right brought a foul and clear booking.

As Cardiff settled and started to tighten up at the back, they were given a bit of a gift from Boro. A tantalising cross to the back post saw Anfernee Dijksteel just about recover to get the right side of Ollie Tanner and stop him firing home. As the ball fell at their feet, they both ended up on the ground. In a sloppy goal to concede, Dael Fry rushed in to clear, only for a late touch away from him forcing a bit of panic that saw him try to flick it away instead. Not nearly enough on it, it fell to former Boro loan man Chambers who clinically fired into the far top corner beyond a helpless Tom Glover.

While Boro remained largely in control of the game, they lost their momentum somewhat after the equaliser in the 22nd minute. In an uneventful run to half-time, Boro struggled to do much with their possession by way of breaking down the Cardiff defence and creating chances. They too often found their avenues blocked as things were just a little slow in working it up to the final third, while numerous offsides on their left flank hardly helped either.

Patience was the name of the game for Boro, albeit with a bit of zip needed in their play with the ball. But, in a game that didn’t flow well thanks a baffling refereeing performance, there were no signs of early improvement from Boro after the break and the Bluebirds continued to frustrate them.

Boro were struggling for any kind of momentum in a flat performance from their goal, while buoyed by home supporters. With 20 minutes remaining, Carrick tried something different as he brought Isaiah Jones on and switched Doak over the left.

It worked to inspire some life into Boro’s attack, with Jones immediately lively from the right and Doak, having struggled to have the same impact since the break suddenly back to life with a new full-back to attack.

Moments after Doak came close to pulling back for Latte Lath after a good drive to the byline, Hayden Hackney slipped Jones in behind on the wing. His cross was hung up well for Latte Lath, but made it difficult for the Ivorian to get any power behind his header. It was close-range but Jak Alnwick watched it well to make the save.

After his heroics at Hull City, Gilbert was next on for Boro and with 15 minutes to try and influence matters this time around. But shortly after coming on it was the visitors who nearly took the lead with their first sight at goal since their 22nd-minute equaliser. Ruben Colwill peeled off the defence at the back post and got on the end of a cross, but couldn’t get his header on target. It was a big let off for Boro.

In a disappointing end for Boro, there were to be no more chances for either side, as Gilbert or any of his Boro team-mates this time able to come up with some late magic. Against a poor Cardiff side, it’s two more dropped points to add to the growing list of frustrating ones dropped this season. After an awful home record in 2024, this wasn’t the ideal start to 2025. Referee Tom Nield left Teesside an unpopular man after a poor refereeing performance, but the reality is, Boro have to do so much more to win this kind of games.

The good news is, it didn’t hurt Boro too much in the promotion picture. Early dropped points for Blackburn Rovers and West Brom, and a defeat to Sheffield United for Watford meant Carrick’s side stayed fifth. It was just another missed opportunity as far as strengthening their promotion credentials is concerned.