Middlesbrough boss claims his side are being treated 'differently' to their rivals

Boro’s 2-2 draw at St Andrew’s means they have moved a point clear of promotion rivals Burnley and Brighton, who both play on Monday.

Provided they beat Brighton on the final day of the season, they will be guaranteed a place in the Premier League, but their position would have been even more comfortable had Ayala not had a second-half strike wrongly chalked off.

The centre-half swept home after Jordan Rhodes had prodded Stewart Downing’s free-kick into his path, but assistant referee Tom Nield raised his flag even though Ayala was at least half-a-yard onside.

It was an extremely poor decision, and Karanka does not regard it as an isolated incident. Instead, the Boro head coach views it as merely the latest in a lengthening list of questionable decisions that have gone against his side.

“I have to be pleased with the performance because once again the team showed they are mature, they are a really good team,” said the Boro boss. “But normally in football when you score one more goal than the opponent you win the games.

“But today that didn’t happen. It didn’t happen because Dani’s goal was disallowed and I can’t understand why.

“I prefer to think that it was a mistake, but the thing that makes me a little bit concerned is that there have been a few mistakes against us at the end of the season and I feel we are not playing under the same conditions as the other teams.

“So we have to keep going. I don’t want to say anything else because I do not like excuses, especially when we have the team we have.”

When pressed on the matter, Karanka cited Cristhian Stuani’s three-match suspension for an elbow on Preston defender Greg Cunningham as another example of Boro being treated differently to their promotion rivals.

Stuani’s offence was flagged up on Channel Five’s highlights show, and the Football Association opted to issue a retrospective punishment.

“Are we being harshly treated? Yes, a lot,” said Karanka. “But it’s not the day today to say anything. Today it was a goal, three weeks ago it was a player (Cristhian Stuani) suspended for three games. For that reason, it is my concern – not just that mistake today.

“I know the explanation and the explanation will be that they (the officials) saw the offside. For that reason, I don’t need an explanation from them and I don’t think they are going to say anything. The only thing is I want to play with the same conditions, like the other teams.”

The Ayala incident overshadowed the rest of an enthralling game that saw Boro concede the opener to Stephen Gleeson, claim the lead through goals from Rhodes and Gaston Ramirez, and ship a second-half leveller to David Davis.

Rhodes and Grant Leadbitter also hit the woodwork, and while Boro have now failed to win their last three matches, their performance level against Burnley, Ipswich and Birmingham has been generally impressive.

Monday’s games see Brighton entertain Derby and Burnley play host to QPR, but whatever happens in two days’ time, Boro will head into their final game knowing a win will guarantee a top-two finish.

“We've got an unbelievable opportunity now which we're very excited about,” said centre-half Ben Gibson. “You can look at tonight either optimistically or pessimistically - and for me the glass is half full.

“We've got a chance to win promotion in front of a sell-out Riverside crowd - it's what dreams are made of. So let's go and do it - what an opportunity. It's exciting and I fancy us.”

Karanka echoed his defender’s sentiments, claiming he would have gladly accepted next weekend’s scenario had he been offered it prior to the start of the campaign.

“We have four days at Rockliffe to prepare for our final,” he said. “If somebody had asked me in Marbella at the start of the season if we would have taken this situation, we would have signed for this. To get promotion at home, with your crowd, we are in a really good position.”