MIDDLESBROUGH’S wait for a win goes on. And if Michael Carrick’s side serve up any more 45-minute showings like the first half at Hillsborough on Tuesday night, the first success of the season won’t come any time soon.

The second half was better, though it couldn’t have been much worse, and Boro salvaged a draw thanks to Darragh Lenihan’s close-range volley that cancelled out Antony Musaba’s  38th minute opener.

But a point against a Sheffield Wednesday side who are also winless and had scored only one goal on home turf prior to Boro’s visit this season is nothing to celebrate. Carrick’s side remain bottom of the Championship.

As he did at Blackburn on Saturday, Carrick will no doubt at least take encouragement from the manner in which his side battled to recover after a dreadful opening period. But there’s much more to concern than please Boro’s head coach as things stand.

Carrick continues to try and find a winning formula and made four changes at Hillsborough, bringing Lukas Engel, Sammy Silvera, Riley McGree and Josh Coburn into the side.

But Boro played like strangers in the first half. There was no understanding between the front four and the fit again Engel looked lost at left-back and was replaced after just 45 minutes. The introduction of Isaiah Jones at half-time helped to turn the tide. But one of several issues Carrick needs to address is his side’s shockingly slow starts. They need to stop giving teams a head start.

Wednesday, like several Boro opponents before them, were given a leg up and a first half that started with the home fans ironically cheering a shot on target ended with the away supporters doing the same when Boro managed to string together a few passes.

Boro boos greeted the half-time whistle after a grim opening 45 minutes in which Boro didn’t manage a single shot on target. That was the story of Sheffield Wednesday’s home defeat to Ipswich at the weekend, but the Owls quickly sensed their opportunity against Boro, who looked bereft of belief.

Even against the backdrop of fury in the home stands, with Wednesday locals protesting against owner Dejphon Chansiri by throwing tennis balls onto the pitch after 15 minutes, Boro were second best.

Ex-Boro striker Ashley Fletcher could have opened the scoring with the first clear cut opportunity of the game, steering wide from close range when he should at the very least have hit the target.

Boro’s first effort on goal didn’t come until the 26th minute, Coburn squaring for Silvera whose shot was blocked from close range. That was as good as it got in a dreadful opening period for the visitors, who fell behind seven minutes before the break. The goal came down Boro’s left, where Engel was given the runaround by Pol Valentin.

There was nothing complex about Valentin’s play, he was simply pushing the ball beyond Engel and outpacing Boro’s left-back, who repeatedly failed to block the cross.

Engel wasn’t alone in his struggles, though. For the goal, Musaba, who had only been on the pitch four minutes after replacing the injured Josh Windass, was inexplicably unmarked in the box to fire home from eight yards after a cut-back from the right.

Engel was hooked at half-time, with Van den Berg moving to left-back and Jones introduced on the right. The tweak and whatever Carrick said at half-time had an immediate impact, for Boro were better and drew level just nine minutes after the restart, Lenihan meeting an O’Brien corner and crashing a close-range volley in off the bar.

Boro looked like a different team. There was suddenly pace, urgency and intensity. Crooks thought he’d scored but the assistant’s flag was up before Coburn out-muscled his marker and lashed a fierce strike just wide of the far post.

But Boro appeared to run out of steam and ideas. The chances dried up and when opportunities presented themselves, Boro were wasteful. It was Wednesday who came closest to a winner in stoppage time when substitute George Byers curled just wide.