TWO players made a big difference in helping Middlesbrough get off the mark for the season against Huddersfield - one who was something of an unknown quantity beforehand, the other who was absolutely nothing of the sort.

Despite his side having to settle for one point rather than picking up the three that their much-improved display merited, head coach Michael Carrick was extremely upbeat afterwards and had no trouble in finding positives from what he described as a "really encouraging" showing.

That was true of Boro on the whole and also of the bright, sharp debut of new striker Emmanuel Latte Lath. There was no goal from Boro's No.9 but there was plenty of promise, his movement and speed causing problems for the visiting defence throughout.

After a couple of weeks of trying to make-do with a makeshift frontline, it made such a difference to Boro's play to have a natural line-leading striker to build their attack around. They had as many shots on target in the first half against the Terriers as they'd managed in their first two games combined.

If Latte Lath's showing was hopefully a promising sign of things to come, slightly further back on the pitch on Saturday was a reminder of just what Boro missed at the business end of last season and in the first fortnight of the current campaign.

Making his first start of the season, Jonny Howson once again proved that Boro are quite simply a much better team when the captain is patrolling the middle of the park. The 35-year-old set the tempo early on and helped settle things down after Huddersfield's opener immediately after the restart. And, as it did last season, Howson's presence helped to get the best out of Hayden Hackney, the Redcar-born midfielder whose stunning hit just after the hour mark rescued a draw when Boro were staring down the barrel of a third successive defeat to start the season, something that hasn't occurred on Teesside since Steve McClaren was in charge in 2001.

McClaren's Boro went on to enjoy the greatest period in the club's history, evidence of the benefits of remaining calm in the midst of a slow start. Carrick certainly isn't panicking despite the fact his side are now winless in three. And it wasn't difficult to see why he was encouraged by Saturday's showing. Boro, though, still need to find the missing ingredient - the killer touch that would have ensured their 17 attempts on Lee Nicholls' net on Saturday resulted in more than one goal.

That will come in a number of ways. Boro are still working to bolster their attack between now and the transfer deadline, while the players currently occupying the attacking areas will improve, says Carrick, who described Boro as a "new team". Three of Boro's front four on Saturday were summer recruits. With a couple more weeks to adapt to the Championship, Latte Lath would have done better with a one-on-one that he failed to take advantage of immediately after the equaliser, and a bit more experience would have helped Sammy Silvera stay calm when he had a glorious stoppage time opportunity to win it.

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Boro remain a work in progress. That Carrick opted to put both Latth Lath and Lukas Engel straight into his side shows how desperate Boro were to strengthen up-front and at left-back. While Latte Lath was bright, Engel had a solid enough debut. He didn't get forward too much, but that, revealed Carrick afterwards, was by design.

"I thought they both did very well in different ways," said the head coach of his new recruits.

"I was keen to get them involved and sample the stadium and the atmosphere and get them up and running straight away. Manu looked dangerous, you can see what he is, he's sharp and dangerous and is a threat on the last man, he's a threat in and around the box. It just didn't quite drop for him and a couple of opportunities he might have scored on another day.

"He's trained twice with us, we threw him in and he did very well.

"And Lukas, it's a tough game to come into up against a really good winger and I thought he dealt with it ever so well and stuck at it. Really encouraging signs. The way we asked him to play, Lukas, was a bit deeper because of their man to man. We tried to isolate or give Sammy a bit more space so we didn't want too many players high too early, but he can progress, he can attack a lot more and I'm sure he will in the games coming up."

Having played Huddersfield late last season in the league and early this season in the cup, Boro knew what to expect from Warnock's well-drilled side. The Terriers had brilliant keeper Nicholls to thank but didn't simply come to spoil, and had their moments before their opener, Brahima Diarra hitting the post in the first half.

Boro suffered a nightmare start to the second period when Dael Fry deflected a Sorba Thomas corner into his own net, and a shaky spell followed for the home side. But Hackney's stunning hit - his fourth league goal since his brilliant breakthrough last season - ensured Boro got their first point on the board.