Britt Assombalonga’s last-minute equaliser at Burton Albion means that Boro still cling onto sixth place in the Championship race but with now a single-point advantage.
The visitors appeared on their way to back-to-back defeats following their recent loss to leaders Wolves, until substitute Assombalonga headed in from underneath the crossbar after fellow replacement Jack Harrison was only denied by the woodwork.
Bottom-of-the-table Burton had led proceedings from six minutes in when Marvin Sordell netted for the first time since November.
Meanwhile, results elsewhere certainly helped Boro’s cause with play-off rivals Preston and Bristol City each losing at home while Millwall and Sheffield United were similarly both held.
But manager Tony Pulis still remained dissatisfied with their latest display despite understandably relieved to gather late reward against opponents battling for an increasingly unlikely survival.
“We started very, very poorly, it took us ages to get going, but the last 20 minutes I thought we ramped up the pressure,” he admitted to BBC Tees. “I’m very pleased we got the equaliser. Am I pleased with the performance? No, they know that, but the point was important.”
Nottingham Forest provide the next opponents at the Riverside on Saturday, before a quartet of key encounters with Sheffield United, Bristol City, Derby and Millwall will ultimately decide their fate.
Take a look at our photo gallery from today’s game 📸➡️ https://t.co/rOsvqbGkcU #UTB pic.twitter.com/qtAFSUW7h1
? Middlesbrough FC (@Boro) April 2, 2018