Goals:

1-0: Bamford (83, his powerfully struck shot from 12 yards deflected beyond goalkeeper Eastwood)

1-1: Gestede (90, blasted home the finish after Konstantopoulos appeared to have been shoved by Brown as he tried to claim a cross)

Bookings: Evans (55, foul); Tomlin (56, foul)

Referee: Mark Clattenburg (Chester-le-Street) – should never have allowed the equaliser from Gestede. 3

Attendance: 18, 152

Entertainment: ***

MIDDLESBROUGH (4-2-3-1):

6 Konstantopoulos: Made a couple of strong saves but unfortunate to see Gestede’s goal count after he was clearly pushed;

6 Fredericks: Looked really strong before he was forced off seconds before half-time through injury

7 Ayala: Strong in the air defensively and had a couple of good efforts on goal himself

7 Omeruo: Returned to the starting line-up and turned in an effective defensive display

7 Friend: Turned in his usually reliable defensive display with the occasional bursting run in to the box;

8 Leadbitter: Went close with a couple of rasping drives and always looked to get involved

7 Whitehead: Played really well in the middle as a replacement for the suspended Clayton;

8 BAMFORD: Four goals in five games is the sort of return which shows what he is capable of and keeps improving

7 Tomlin: Faded after a fantastic start but still caused the visitors problems

7 Adomah: Put the work in even if he was not as dangerous as he would have liked;

6 Vossen: The whole stadium thought his wait for a goal was over but he was denied by Eastwood

Subs:

Nsue (for Fredericks 45): Looked full of confidence after signing his contract this week. 7

Kike (for Vossen 73)

Gibson (for Ayala 83)

(not used): Mejias (gk), Reach, Wildshcut, Veljkovic.

BLACKBURN (4-4-2): EASTWOOD 9; Baptiste 5, Hanley 5 (Henley 41, 6), Duffy 6, Olsson 5; Tunnicliffe 4, Williamson 6, Evans 4 (Brown 85), Marshall 6; Gestede 7, Rhodes 4 (Conway 67, 5). Subs (not used): Kean (gk), Dunn, Varney, Taylor.

MAN OF THE MATCH: Simon Eastwood – a stunning save from Vossen capped a memorable afternoon for the stand-in keeper.