Middlesbrough welcomed Sheffield United to the Riverside Stadium for a Championship meeting on Wednesday.
Middlesbrough were well aware defeat to Chris Wilder’s side would have dealt them a major blow in their Premier League promotion hunt.
Boro began the day sat down in 11th in the Championship table after picking up just four wins from their opening 10 fixtures.
Games on Tuesday evening meant the Teessiders were four points adrift of the top-six ahead of kick-off at the Riverside Stadium and eight points adrift of the automatic promotion places.
In a bid to get his side back on track, Middlesbrough manager Michael Carrick opted to drop Emmanuel Latte Lath for the first time since his transfer saga at the end of August.
The Ivorian scored 11 in his last 12 league games of 2023/24 but barring a penalty on the opening day versus Swansea City, had failed to score in 10 appearances this term.
Tommy Conway came into the eleven in his place and while the Scotsman looked sharp in his first start as a nine for Middlesbrough, one player was far from his best.
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Sky Sports commentator slams Seny Dieng during Middlesbrough vs Sheffield United
As has been the case in the Championship all season, Seny Dieng started between the sticks on Wednesday.
The goalkeeper has had a rather mixed start to the season, with Dieng criticised for his display vs Portsmouth earlier in the season.
And the 29-year-old was once again in questionable form against Sheffield United, with some of his decisions seeing Sky Sports commentator Andy Hinchcliffe slamming him live on coms during the match.
Callum O’Hare produced a shot midway through the second half which Dieng opted to parry when he probably should have held it. The chance came to nothing but the Boro shot-stopper was still slammed by Hinchcliffe live on Sky.
He said: “It’s not the greatest piece of goalkeeping. Does he really need to parry this? Is it so powerful that he can’t maybe collect it?
“The goalkeeper should be doing a lot better, should be trying to collect that. Parrying it, could have gone straight to Kiefer Moore. That is not a great piece of goalkeeping at all.”
Sheffield United had another chance a few minutes later with Dieng’s attempted save once again drawing the ire of the Sky Sports commentator.
He added: “Once again, Seny Dieng is very fortunate. He just keeps it alive, doesn’t collect it. Should the goalkeeper be doing better? Yes, he should. He’s lucky it falls to a Boro defender and not a Sheffield United attacker.”
Sol Brynn ready to step up for Middlesbrough
While Dieng’s rather average form this season is a concern, Carrick already has a quality replacement ready to step up.
Sol Brynn returned to the Riverside over the summer after a successful loan spell with Leyton Orient.
The shot-stopper recently put pen to paper on a fresh contract until 2028, with Carrick sending a clear message to Brynn in the process.
The keeper is yet to start a league game this term but his display in the 3-0 Carabo Cup win over Leeds United last month suggests he is already ready to step up if Carrick decides to drop Dieng.