PRIOR to Saturday, Isaiah Jones’ only senior goal had seen him open the scoring in a 2-1 defeat at the Indodrill Stadium as Queen of the South lost 2-1 to an Alloa Athletic side that were sitting at the foot of the Scottish Championship. Suffice to say, his second successful strike will prove rather more memorable than his first.

Saturday’s slotted finish past Swansea goalkeeper Ben Hamer not only provided Jones with his first goal in Middlesbrough colours, it also ensured Chris Wilder was able to celebrate his first home success since taking over on Teesside.

Just as importantly for Jones, it also represented another important staging post on a journey that few saw coming at the start of the summer, but which currently shows no sign of slowing down.

Promoted to the first-team ranks during pre-season, as much because of a lack of alternative options as anything else, Jones quickly proved himself to Neil Warnock. An opening-day assist at Fulham cemented his credentials, and while Warnock is no longer in charge at the Riverside, his successor is equally enthused with the 22-year-old’s talents.

Wilder sees Jones as a wing-back in the making, and last week cited Chelsea star Reece James as the template for how he wants his wide defenders to play. Clearly, Jones has some way to go to be anything like James. Nevertheless, goals like Saturday’s are a decent start.

“I had a long time to think about it,” said Jones, who raced onto Sol Bamba’s exquisitely-weighted through ball before stroking a low finish past Hamer’s left hand. “I was running with the ball, I kept on driving, and the keeper wasn’t coming off his line. I was stuck in two minds, but I just thought, ‘I’ll go for the safe option and put it to the side of him’. Luckily, I did, and it went in.

“If I hadn’t have scored, the other lads that were up there would have killed me. I’m just grateful to have got my first goal, and especially with all of my family watching. It’s a proud moment for me, and for them.”

Born in Lambeth, and raised in the junior football scene around London, Jones’s career has already followed a somewhat unorthodox track.

A couple of unsuccessful trial spells in his late teenage years saw him sign on for Tooting & Mitcham in the Isthmian South Central Division. He helped the non-league side finish sixth in their respective division before, in the summer of 2019, he was recruited by Boro’s development arm along with former Tooting team-mate Sam Folarin.

He made his Middlesbrough debut as a substitute in January’s FA Cup defeat at Brentford, but spent the second half of last season in Dumfries on loan at Queen of the South. He might only have scored one goal in the Scottish second tier, but the opportunity to play four months of regular football was clearly an important part of his development.

“Dumfries is a bit further north than I’m used to, but it was just part of my development, getting more game time and showing your parent club what you can do when you go on loan,” said Jones. “Luckily, I did that. I’ve come back this year and I’ve proved I’m good enough to play in the Championship.

“It’s not been an easy road. Before I came to Boro, I had a couple of different trials, and things didn’t work the way I wanted it to. When I came to Boro, they made me feel welcome, and since I’ve come from Tooting & Mitcham in non-league, I’ve just tried to develop game by game, every year. This year has been my lucky chance, and I’ve taken it.”

Wilder has been impressed with Jones’ performances and attitude in the last month, and the new Boro boss is happy to have inherited a squad with a number of youngsters who are still at a relatively early stage of their footballing development.

“We’ve got some talented boys at this club,” he said. “The club has always produced some talented players. Jones has a lot to learn, and we’ve also got to realise that (Anfernee) Dijksteel is a young boy, (Marcus) Tavernier is a young boy, Jones is a young boy.

“They’re playing a different way to what they’ve been used to, and there’s still loads to work on.

"I’m not getting carried away at all, but we’ve got some talented boys who have a good attitude and who want to learn. If you have that desire to learn, then you’re going to get better.”

Jones’ goal was sufficient to settle things on Saturday, with Boro spurning a couple of good late opportunities to extend their lead, most notably when Duncan Watmore took an age to get a shot away after being released through the middle, enabling Olivier Ntcham to make an excellent covering tackle.

The Teessiders were not at their best, ceding possession on a disappointingly regular basis, but they displayed an impressive level of collective resolve to ensure Swansea were unable to claim an equaliser, with Bamba once again outstanding at the back alongside the equally reliable Paddy McNair.

McNair cleared a goal-bound effort from Joel Piroe off the line in the second half and Swansea wing-back Ryan Manning clipped the top of the crossbar with an early cross from the left-hand side, but the game’s key incident came in first-half stoppage time as Jamie Paterson went down as Boro goalkeeper Luke Daniels slid towards him in the penalty area.

Swansea’s players were screaming for a spot-kick, and even Wilder admitted he had his heart in his mouth as referee Andy Davies strode towards the incident. However, rather than pointing to the spot, Davies booked Paterson for diving and Boro remained unscathed.