Middlesbrough have issue we saw v Leicester City - Rob Edwards has player to change that | OneFootball

Boro continue to misfire in attack, but a star who is returning from injury can fix that.

Middlesbrough's misfiring forward line was bailed out by a dramatic Luke Ayling 96th-minute equaliser vs Leicester City, as Rob Edwards continues to search for a winning formula in attack.

Indeed, it was yet another highly frustrating display from Boro's frontline, in what was perhaps another big opportunity missed to further strengthen their position towards the top of the Championship.

Middlesbrough fired 17 shots at the Leicester City goal on Tuesday evening compared to the Foxes' six, and dominated the possession stats with 63 percent, but as Callum Brittain flung one final cross into the box in the sixth minute of added time at the end of the game, Marti Cifuentes' men had a vital three points in their back pocket.

Luckily for the Teessiders, it was the best cross of the entire game, and it was met by the soaring and powerful header from Ayling that it deserved: cue pandemonium in the King Power away end.

Middlesbrough spurned big chance to take victory vs Leicester City - Rob Edwards can't find attacking solution

But after the elation of what must've felt like a win in the Middlesbrough camp subsided, the disappointing reality will have set in that it was a result that marked a third-straight game without three points.

At the start of the season, it's safe to assume that everyone connected with Boro would've circled the trip to Leicester City as being a game in which you absolutely take anything you can get from, given the fact they are a newly relegated Premier League side with some very good players in that squad for Championship level.

However, when it came time to take on the Foxes, the fear factor once associated with this test had largely evaporated, with a Leicester fanbase that are far from content with what they've seen from their team so far this season, with the club loitering in mid-table.

Therefore, it was a night full of optimism and potential for Middlesbrough, as it was a King Power crowd primed to turn on their side if Boro could score the first goal, and from there, it may well have been a fairly routine task for Edwards' side to press home their advantage.

So, after a first half that Boro enjoyed a lion's share of control in, a moment of madness from Hayden Hackney - whether he handled the ball inside the box or not is another matter - saw referee Adam Herczeg pointing to the spot, before Jordan Ayew rolled the ball past Sol Brynn to take a 1-0 lead right before half-time.

Middlesbrough created a host of chances prior to that to take the lead, with David Strelec unable to slot home from inside the six-yard box after Jakub Stolarczyk spilled a shot from Matt Targett, Hackney saw multiple long-ranged efforts either dragged wide or blocked, whilst Morgan Whittaker also saw a chance or two fall his way.

In the second half, Boro once again dominated, but a combination of poor execution, a lack of effective link-up play between the midfield and the forwards and a tendency to play a safer pass rather than looking for a killer ball, meant that those in red and white didn't really test substitute goalkeeper Asmir Begovic.

As such, it's now 10 games without a goal for Middlesbrough's number nine Tommy Conway - who spurned another gilt-edged one-on-one chance, eight for David Strelec, and seven for Kaly Sene respectively, which simply isn't good enough from Boro's trio of strikers.

Thankfully, it was yet another non-striker that bailed them out vs Leicester in the shape of Ayling's first ever Middlesbrough goal, with the last time one of Boro's recognised centre-forwards hit the back of the net being when Sene equalised vs Southampton on 27 September.

Riley McGree's return could be the catalyst to getting Middlesbrough's forwards firing again

So, it's safe to say that Edwards is yet to solve the puzzle that is Middlesbrough's forward line, and most importantly, how best to use the options at his disposal.

It's crucial that the 42-year-old changes that quickly, however, as should he find a way to get his attack purring, marrying that up with Boro's excellent rearguard performances could be a recipe for Premier League promotion.

Indeed, Boro have conceded just 12 goals in 14 games this season, with three of those coming in an outlying 3-0 defeat to Watford last weekend.

But, in the midst of the second half frustration vs Leicester City, one Middlesbrough player came off the bench just after the hour mark for only his second appearance of the season, and quietly started to make Boro's attack tick: Riley McGree.

The 27-year-old Australian international has endured a nightmare two years of injury problems on Teesside, having missed 39 games last season, and 17 in 2023/24.

However, after getting his first 20 minutes of football away at Watford, Edwards handed him a slightly lengthier cameo vs Leicester, and he showed exactly why Boro fans have always remained extremely patient with the versatile attacking midfielder.

McGree almost found the net with a curling left-footed strike from just outside the box, after the ball found its way to him after Conway's one-on-one shot was repelled.

He also played a cute through ball into the box for Sverre Nypan, who in turn fired a low and driven ball towards the near post that was almost turned into his own net by Leicester defender Ben Nelson.

McGree, as per FotMob, completed 90 percent of his passes after entering the fray, had two shots on goal, took five touches in the opposition box, and was dispossessed only once.

So, whether it be for either one of Delano Burgzorg or Whittaker on the flanks, for Conway or Strelec who have both struggled when asked to operate in a deeper attacking midfield role this season, or perhaps to replace the underperforming Hackney in a traditional central midfield role, having McGree in the starting XI will give Edwards a much better chance of solving Boro's attacking conundrum.

He's one of, if not the most technically gifted players in the squad, and has the ability to create that bit of individual creative brilliance at any given moment, which when Boro are perhaps getting into a tendency to try and score the perfect goal every time, would be a much-needed trait to help this forward line unlock more stubborn, low-block sides.