Middlesbrough 2 Augsburg 1

Forshaw tapped home Ashley Fletcher’s square ball with virtually the last kick of the game as Boro came from behind to claim a victory in their final outing ahead of next weekend’s Championship opener against Wolves.

Martin Braithwaite’s first-half goal cancelled out an early strike from Augsburg defender Konstantinos Stafylidis, and the Denmark international was the best player on the pitch as he played in a roaming attacking role.

He also hit the post in the second half, and with Forshaw’s strike securing only Boro’s second pre-season victory, Garry Monk will have been pleased with his side’s performance, which was a marked improvement on last weekend’s display at Rochdale.

With Boro’s opening Championship game against Wolves now just seven days away, Monk’s starting selection for his side’s final friendly was a clear pointer to the team that is set to line up at Molineux.

It would be no surprise if the team that kicked off today’s game also started against Wolves, with Ben Gibson having been passed fit to partner Daniel Ayala after recovering from the broken nose he sustained against Rochdale.

Today’s starting line-up featured five summer signings, with Darren Randolph playing in goal, Cyrus Christie starting at right-back, Jonny Howson appearing in midfield, and Britt Assombalonga and Braithwaite featuring in attack.

Interestingly, Braithwaite started as the central striker, with Assombalonga playing on the left-hand side, although the pair swapped around as the game went on.

Pre-season results mean little, but having watched his side lose at Rochdale last weekend, Monk would have been hoping for a marked improvement as he took charge of his first game at the Riverside.

Sixty seconds in, however, and his side were behind again. Having taken a corner from the left-hand side, Augsburg full-back Konstantinos Stafylidis found himself back in possession when the ball was cleared to him on the left-hand edge of the box.

The angle was acute, but the Greek international lashed a superb low strike beyond Randolph and into the far bottom corner of the net.

Augsburg’s slick counter-attacking asked questions of the Boro defence all afternoon, but the hosts posed problems of their own once they settled.

Patrick Bamford headed Christie’s cross wide of the target in the eighth minute, and Assombalonga came close to claiming his first Boro goal when he dispossessed Jan-Inger Callsen Bracker in the area and drilled in a sharp low shot that goalkeeper Andreas Luthe saved.

Monk clearly wants his players to press as high up the field as possible, and it was noticeable that all of Boro’s attacking players were quick to try to close down their opponents.

The hosts looked sharp in the final third, and claimed a deserved equaliser eight minutes before the break. Christie delivered a hanging cross from the right-hand side, and having ghosted into space at the back post, Braithwaite controlled the ball on his chest before lashing home a fierce finish. It was the Danish international’s first goal in a Boro shirt, and quite a way to announce his arrival.

Braithwaite almost added a second 11 minutes after the break, but Luthe produced a superb save to tip the Boro forward’s deflected shot onto the left-hand post.

The second half saw Adam Clayton regularly dropping between Boro’s two centre-halves to form a three-man defence, with the tactical ploy enabling Christie and George Friend to push further up the field in the full-back positions.

Boro’s first change on the hour mark saw Fletcher replace Assomablonga, with the 21-year-old coming on for his maiden appearance just 24 hours after completing his £6.5m switch from West Ham United.

The Teessiders were the better side for the vast majority of the second half, and Luthe was forced into another smart stop with 20 minutes left as he palmed away Daniel Ayala’s header after the centre-half met Clayton’s corner.

Randolph had barely been tested at that point, but the Boro goalkeeper made an excellent save of his own moments later, clawing away Gojko Kacar’s close-range header.

Fletcher shot wide after neat inter-play with Braithwaite as Boro continued to search for a winner, and with the changes continuing, Gaston Ramirez was brought on to a chorus of boos with 12 minutes left. Monk might be willing to forgive the Uruguayan, but the Middlesbrough fans clearly haven’t forgotten his antics in the second half of last season.

The game looked to be ebbing away to a draw, but there was a dramatic final act as Forshaw scored a winner in the 90th minute.

The goal owed much to the persistence of Fletcher, with the substitute robbing Daniel Opare close to the touchline. He found himself clean through, but unselfishly squared to the onrushing Forshaw, who had the simple task of tapping home.

Middlesbrough (4-3-3): Randolph; Christie, Ayala, Gibson (Fry 86), Friend; de Roon (Leadbitter 85), Clayton, Howson (Forshaw 73); Bamford (Gestede 66), Assombalonga (Fletcher 60), Braithwaite (Ramirez 78).

Subs (not used): Konstantopoulos (gk), Roberts, Fabio, Traore, Baptiste.

Augsburg (4-2-3-1): Luthe; Opare, Callsen-Bracker (Danso 46), Kacar, Stafylidis (Max 46); Moravek, Khedira; Ji, Heller, Cordova (Teigl 55); Bobadilla (Richter 81).

Subs (not used): Giefer (gk), Koo, Framberger, Usami.