HAVING profited from a number of stoppage-time goals themselves in recent weeks, perhaps it was only inevitable that Middlesbrough would eventually end up on the wrong end of one themselves.

Leading through Jordan Rhodes’ second-half strike, Boro were within two wins of a place in the Premier League as their promotion battle with Burnley ticked past the 90th minute.

They were still heading for what would have been a priceless victory when Ben Gibson threw himself in the way of Ashley Barnes’ goalbound effort and produced what was merely the latest in a long line of crucial defensive interventions.

But after Burnley slung in a corner that bobbled here, there and everywhere, defender Michael Keane swooped at the back post to bundle home an equaliser that muddied the promotion picture once again.

It felt like a hammer blow, but having scored last-gasp winners of their own against Hull, Reading and Bolton recently, Middlesbrough could hardly complain. And while Brighton’s late-season surge might have continued with a resounding win over QPR, Aitor Karanka’s side remain two points clear of both the Seagulls and Burnley. Win their remaining three matches, and they still go up no matter what.

Their fate remains in their own hands, and if they play as they did for the majority of last night’s game in the matches that remain, they should be competing in the top-flight next season. Fiercely committed in defence and offering a potent threat on the break, this was a performance in marked contrast to the limp displays that proved so costly at Bournemouth and Watford last season.

The return of Grant Leadbitter and Gaston Ramirez to the side undoubtedly helped, with Emilio Nsue dropping back to the right-back slot he has filled for the majority of the campaign. For all that Karanka likes to experiment, this will surely be the side that starts the majority of the last three games.

With Stewart Downing playing on the left-hand side and Albert Adomah on the right, there was a balance to Boro’s set-up that is not always discernible when the wingers play on the opposite side of the field. There was also a real sense of commitment to their play, as epitomised by the third-minute challenge that saw Leadbitter pole-axe Joey Barton. It might have earned the returning skipper a caution, but it proved the visitors were not going to be cowed.

Unlike at Bolton on Saturday, Boro were on their mettle from the word go. Adam Clayton was sharp and industrious at the heart of midfield, Ramirez was elusive and inventive in the number ten role, and Rhodes, booed thanks to his past exploits as a Blackburn player, was first to most aerial balls in what was comfortably his best game in a Boro shirt. The only thing missing from an excellent first-half showing, though, was a goal.

It almost arrived after 13 minutes, but while Adomah reacted sharply to latch on to a poor clearance from Downing’s corner, his fierce strike cannoned against the crossbar and rebounded to safety. Having beaten both the goalkeeper and the defender on the goalline, the Ghanaian couldn’t have done much more with his effort.

Ramirez failed to connect with Rhodes’ pull back moments later, and the pair combined for another opportunity as Boro continued to dominate in terms of both possession and territory. This time it was Ramirez crossing dangerously from the left, only for a diving Rhodes to glance a back-post header wide.

Burnley had offered nothing to that point, but after Barton drilled the home side’s first effort wide of the target, Sean Dyche’s side fashioned an opening that should probably have seen them claim the lead.

A period of slick passing involving newly-crowned Championship Player of the Year Andre Gray ended with Scott Arfield in space in the area, but the midfielder sliced his shot wide.

That was the cue for a more balanced passage of play, but while Burnley saw more of the ball as half-time approached, Boro continued to offer a considerable threat on the break. The effectiveness of Nsue in particular in winning the ball back was a major factor in their ability to keep putting their opponents on the back foot.

If there was a criticism of the visitors, it was that their composure tended to desert them when they entered the Burnley box, as evidenced by the shot that Adomah sliced wide at the start of the second half following another slick passing move involving Rhodes and Ramirez. Ten minutes later, and the winger was failing to get a shot away when he edged ahead of his marker to meet Downing’s cross.

Dyche praised Burnley’s “strong jaw” in his programme notes, and to be fair to the hosts, the battling qualities that have long marked them out as serious promotion contenders were in evidence as their threat level increased after the break.

Boro’s cause wasn’t helped by the hamstring injury that forced George Friend to leave the field in the 54th minute, but both Daniel Ayala and Gibson continued to win a succession of headers in order to render Sam Vokes largely impotent.

The Teessiders remained a threat on the break – a factor that has helped them in a number of tight away games this season – and their willingness to commit men forward was rewarded when they broke the deadlock with 20 minutes remaining.

Downing swung a free-kick into the area after Rhodes had been clattered for the umpteenth occasion, and after Ayala flicked the ball on, Boro’s £9m man swooped to pay back another huge chunk of his fee. It was his fifth goal in a Boro shirt, all of which have come in matches away from the Riverside.

It looked like securing another crucial win, but with Burnley throwing as many men forward as they could, Boro’s resistance finally cracked in stoppage time. With the ball bouncing around in the six-yard box, Keane reacted quickest to bundle home.