Michael Carrick took plenty of positives from Middlesbrough's friendly win at Hibs, and thanked the away fans for their support at Easter Road.

Boro ran out 2-0 winners in Edinburgh with Chuba Akpom and Sonny Finch scoring second half goals for Carrick's side.

The head coach was obviously thrilled with the victory but also the fact he got the chance to give plenty of his players crucial match minutes. Twenty-one players featured over the course of the 90 minutes, including several Academy youngsters.

Carrick said: "I enjoyed it. It's a chance for the lads to get some minutes who haven't played. It's a great chance for the younger lads.

"I tried to be fair to everyone with balanced teams in both halves to give the young boys a chance and to balance things out. I'm really pleased, I saw some good things.

"There are always things to take from games like this and it's obviously nice to win. It's nice to see the young boys come and express themselves and enjoy themselves and be part of the squad and the senior boys look after them well, so all in all a good day."

Matt Crooks made his first start for Boro since having hernia surgery, while Duncan Watmore returned after a period out of action following the head injury he sustained against Huddersfield Town.

Crooks played in a No.10-type role in the first period, while Watmore drifted in from the left to support first half striker Rodrigo Muniz.

Carrick said: "There are a few of the lads who because the team has been doing so well haven't been able to get as many minutes as they'd like. I understand that. We've spoken about that in the last few weeks and how important they are for us.

"It was good to see them (Watmore and Crooks) back. They both looked good and slotted back into the positions we were after naturally so it was good. The more we can have fit the better."

Carrick also wanted to thank the away fans. Boro sold 1,300 tickets for the game, terrific support for a friendly a month before Christmas and on a day of rail strikes.

“I want to say a special thank you to the fans," said the head coach.

"For a game on a day like this, it is what it is, it’s a friendly. But for them to make that effort to travel up, through the rail strikes too, I hope they’ve had a really nice weekend and I want them to know we really appreciate their support."

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