MIDDLESBROUGH avoided a third successive Championship defeat as they came roaring back to snatch a point at Bristol City.

The turnaround was almost complete in stoppage time when Cameron Archer found the net with a brilliant finish, but the offside flag was raised.

The draw and results elsewhere leaves Boro fourth, eight points adrift of second place and six ahead of seventh ahead of Friday's visit of Norwich City.

Boro's new Jordan Rhodes

When you think back to Middlesbrough's promotion winning 2015/16 season and the key moments in the run-in, Jordan Rhodes inevitably comes to mind.

There was the late equaliser at MK Dons, crucial goals against QPR, Birmingham and Burnley and of course that dramatic brace at Bolton. Huge moments.

Rhodes 2015/16, Matt Crooks 2022/23.

If Boro go on to secure promotion this season, it will be impossible to ignore Crooks' contribution. He isn't a regular starter - indeed, he was in from the off at Bristol City for the first time in more than two-and-a-half months - but his late strikes against Norwich and Luton, his double against Birmingham and his leveller at Ashton Gate have been massive moments in Boro's campaign and promotion push.

Humble Crooks continues to talk himself down as a natural centre-forward but his finish against the Robins was more evidence as to why Carrick is so keen to have him in and around the box. He could have panicked when the ball landed at his feet but clinically found the bottom corner.

“I think he’s better in and around the box than he actually realises himself sometimes," said Carrick.

"Balls fall to him in the penalty area, as we’ve seen before. But that’s because he has a sense of where to move to and where to be in the box. Timing, he has a real knack for it, and he’s a really good finisher as well. Some players have just got that, and over a period of time, he’s provided that for us."

There's no getting away from the fact Boro look a better team when Cameron Archer is leading the line but, as Carrick says, it's no coincidence that Crooks so often finds himself in the right place at the right time in key moments. You wouldn't rule out him adding another crucial goal or two between now and the end of May.

Defensive concern and interesting Fry question

Conceding eight goals in two and a half games since half-time at Huddersfield will be a concern to Carrick.

Boro went into the international break having conceded just two goals in four games and had only once in 10 outings leaked more than a single goal in a game.

But since the break they've been their own worst enemy at the back.

"It’s just the finer details and moments in games that we need to nip in the bud and learn from because it’s costing us at the minute," said Carrick.

Both goals at Ashton Gate were avoidable. Sam Bell had the freedom of the left side of the pitch to pick his spot for the first goal and Tommy Smith, Ryan Giles and Hayden Hackney all made mistakes in the build-up to the second.

Dael Fry's injury is a blow, though he'd been on the bench for three of the previous four games in any case. That has been a surprise. Fry hasn't done much wrong under Carrick and was a nailed on starter in the early months of the head coach's tenure but since his sending off at Sunderland he's spent more time on the bench than he on the pitch.

It'll be interesting to see if he returns to the team when he's fully fit again. On the evidence of the games at Huddersfield and Bristol City, it would be a surprise if he didn't.

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Boro's comeback confidence

As is often the case at this stage of the season, the true value of a result doesn't become clear until further down the line.

Going into the game, there might not have been too many Boro fans who'd have settled for a point. Ashton Gate is a tough place to go and Bristol City are now unbeaten in eight at home but after successive defeats, a win felt important for Boro.

And yet in the circumstances, it was undoubtedly a point gained. Boro will need to be better in the run-in than they were on Monday evening, particularly defensively, but the manner of the fightback can act as a springboard.

Carrick knows the power of being in a team that never knows when they're beaten. That was key to Sir Alex Ferguson's success at Manchester United. And the head coach believes Boro will be able to draw on the Ashton Gate comeback in the run-in. That was the main takeaway for the boss.

He said: "We’ve had plenty of experience of that so far this season and it means that we know, no matter what the scenario in a game of football, we are capable of rescuing something from a game.

"Whether that’s this week, next week or whenever, we might have to draw on that sometimes."