Middlesbrough were once again wasteful when they took on Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.
Boro have dropped down to 12th in the Championship table after the weekend’s action.
It was a frustrating display from the Teessiders, who once again dominated but did not take their chances.
Isaiah Jones was dubbed ‘wasteful’ after the defeat to Sunderland but he was not the only Middlesbrough player who has been poor in the final third this season.
Finn Azaz is being stifled by Michael Carrick, with the Irishman’s impact greatly lessened now he is being used on the wing and Tommy Conway is occupying the number 10 role.
After the success of Chuba Akpom and Cameron Archer’s partnership in 2022/23, Carrick is aiming to recreate that in the current campaign with the former Bristol City man and Emmanuel Latte Lath.
Conway came in for praise when Middlesbrough drew with Preston North End on September 14th but was far from his best against Sunderland.
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Tommy Conway defended for Sunderland vs Middlesbrough display
As has become the norm this season, Middlesbrough started the meeting with the Black Cats on the front foot.
The Teessiders looked set to open the scoring inside three minutes when Jones broke on the counter and had three players open to his left.
The winger failed to beat the first defender with his cross though, with that the first of several major chances that went begging for Boro.
The second and perhaps most costly miss of the tie came shortly before Chris Rigg’s goal, with Conway smashing a free header against the bar.
The striker came in for criticism from the commentary team covering the match live on Sky Sports but journalist George Smith has now defended Conway when speaking on the The Championship Chat podcast.
He said: “It was pretty 50/50 to be fair. Tommy Conway had that headed chance quite early on which to be fair, I thought a lot of people were overly critical of that miss.
“It was a harder chance to convert than what it first looked.”
Why Emmanuel Latte Lath may fear Tommy Conway
Despite his massive miss against Regis Le Bris’ side, Conway has looked bright in his few appearances for Boro so far.
The ex-City star is a consistent goalscorer in the Championship, reaching double figures in the previous two campaigns for the Robins.
Conway also has two goals already for Middlesbrough this term, making him their joint-top scorer in the league along with Matt Clarke.
The arrival of Conway should boost Boro’s attacking threat but it may be bad news for Latte Lath.
The Ivorian was previously unchallenged as Carrick’s starting number nine but after his slow start to 2024/25, he may be fearful of losing his place up front.