IT wasn’t quite the victorious pick-me-up that Aitor Karanka would have wanted, but after a tempestuous 24 hours on Teesside, at least the embattled Middlesbrough head coach could extract some satisfaction from a job reasonably well done.

True, with other defeats going against them, Boro have dropped to within two points of the relegation zone. And with transfer-deadline day having failed to produce a surprise stellar signing - £4m arrival Adlene Guedioura will hardly get too many pulses racing – Karanka’s simmering discontent is unlikely to have dissipated completely.

But having fallen behind to James Morrison’s sixth-minute opener, the Boro boss was at least able to take some solace from the spirited manner in which his players set about rectifying things.

Alvaro Negredo’s first-half penalty hauled them level – the hosts should have had a second spot-kick for a foul on Cristhian Stuani – and Ben Foster was forced to make two excellent saves to keep the scores level as the Teessiders produced one of their most accomplished attacking displays for quite a while.

There were scares at the other end, most notably when Matt Phillips and Salomon Rondon both hit the post in the same passage of play, but this was a performance that proved all is not broken despite the events of the last few days.

With Karanka’s name ringing around the Riverside in the closing few minutes – Steve Gibson was also serenaded lustily – this felt like an important reaffirmation of collective cohesion.

Rarely, however, can a match have taken place against such a chaotic backdrop. Karanka’s press conference meltdown hinted at tensions that are far more entrenched that many had realised, with a clear divide now existing between the head coach and those directly above him in the club’s executive structure. Whether that gulf can be bridged remains to be seen.

The imminent closure of the transfer window provided a further distraction, with a delegation of Middlesbrough’s medical staff having been withdrawn from match-day duties in order to push through the signing of Guedioura. While the absence of Jordan Rhodes from the match-day squad was hardly unusual, the fact he was conducting a medical at Sheffield Wednesday exposed another fault line that has been apparent for a number of months.

Amid such a volatile atmosphere, Boro would have been desperate for a steady start. Instead, they fell behind in the sixth minute to the first meaningful attack of the night.

Morrison was just 21 when he left Boro in 2007, with Gareth Southgate feeling his path to the first team would always be blocked by more seasoned midfield alternatives. Since then, the Darlington-born Scotland international has carved out a hugely successful Premier League career, but prior to last night, one of the few things missing from his CV had been a goal against his boyhood club.

Not anymore. Morrison’s eyes must have lit up when Darren Fletcher laid the ball into his path on the edge of the area, after Middlesbrough’s defenders failed to deal with Chris Brunt’s in-swinging free-kick. With no one closing him down, he drilled a crisp, low finish beyond Victor Valdes’ outstretched left hand.

Brunt’s surges down the left-hand side helped West Brom dominate the opening stages, and the Northern Irishman almost added a goal of his own when he controlled Adam Forshaw’s clearance on his chest before firing a dipping half-volley narrowly over the crossbar.

Had that gone in, Boro could have been in all kinds of trouble, but as it was, the hosts were able to steady themselves with an equaliser from the spot.

Marten de Roon flicked Forshaw’s pass into the feet of Negredo, and as the Spaniard powered towards goal, he was felled by a reckless sliding tackle from Gareth McAuley. As cool as you like, Negredo rolled home the spot-kick to claim his seventh goal of the season.

Referee Stuart Attwell was left with an easy decision as McAuley went to ground, but erred badly seven minutes later as he failed to award what should have been a second Boro penalty.

If anything, West Brom’s second infringement was even more clear-cut than their first, with a panicked Allan Nyom tripping Stuani as the Boro forward turned neatly in the box. With a clear view of what was going on, Attwell’s refusal to award another penalty was hard to fathom.

At least Boro had turned the tide of the match in their favour, and with de Roon and Forshaw passing slickly in midfield, it was the hosts who began to do most of the pressing.

Adama Traore, who was the subject of interest from Chelsea at the start of the transfer window, was another player exerting a considerable influence, dropping into his own area to block a dangerous run from Rondon one moment, and then tearing down the flank a few minutes later to deliver a wonderful cross that Nyom would have turned into his own net had it not been for Ben Foster’s agile goalkeeping.

Traore was dropping deeper than usual to get on the ball, with his pace enabling him to put West Brom’s defenders on the back foot. Crucially, there are also finally signs that the quality of his end product is improving.

It wasn’t just Traore delivering dangerous crosses, however, at the other end Nacer Chadli was proving equally threatening and the Baggies midfielder was involved in a remarkable passage of play 11 minutes after the interval.

Phillips did well to produce an angled header from Chadli’s right-wing cross, but the ball rebounded off the right-hand post with Valdes beaten. Rondon latched on to the rebound, but proceeded to curl a shot against the other upright.

Boro’s goal was leading a charmed life, but the hosts continued to threaten at the other end, and Foster was forced to produce his second excellent save as he tipped de Roon’s first-time effort over the bar.

With Negredo, Traore and Ben Gibson all seeing shots charged down in a particularly frenetic spell, the game was a complete contrast to so many of the staid encounters that have been staged at the Riverside this season.

That said, however, West Brom remained dangerous, and Phillips should have done much better when he turned substitute James McClean’s shot over the top with 19 minutes left. Brunt found the target with a searing long-range effort shortly after, but Valdes tipped the ball to safety.