Rudy Gestede made his first start of the season as Championship pacesetters Boro welcomed Preston North End to the Riverside in the EFL Cup.
For the second time already in this season’s EFL Cup, Middlesbrough were forced to endure the lottery of a penalty shoot-out in order to progress to the next round.
As against Notts County in August, Tony Pulis’s side kept their nerve to see off Preston and seal their place in the fourth round. And there were plenty of positives for the North East outfit to take away from Deepdale on Tuesday.
Boro twice came from behind to draw 2-2 over 90 minutes, Ashley Fletcher and a stunning strike from Marcus Tavernier cancelling out two Preston finishes. Danny Batth was decent in defence on his first start for the club, while youngsters Nathan Wood-Gordon and Lewis Wing stood out, too.
But there is one player the Middlesbrough fans were less than impressed by: Rudy Gestede.
A £6 million signing from Aston Villa in January 2017, the 29-year-old centre forward made his first appearance of the season against Alex Neil’s side after missing the first few weeks of the campaign with injury.
And, while Gestede won the majority of his aerial duels and converted in the shoot-out with ease, it seems Boro fans feel he simply is not good enough. Missing a glorious chance didn’t help.
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