NOT for the first time this season, the stats said one thing and the scoreline another.

And not for the first time this season, the overriding Middlesbrough emotion was frustration.

This wasn't as bewildering as the defeat at Derby or quite as infuriating as the draw at home to Portsmouth but Boro still left the Riverside on Saturday night thinking one point should have three against Preston.

It would have been had Michael Carrick's side made their dominance count in the immediate aftermath of Tommy Conway's opener. They didn't, Mads Frokjaer-Jensen drilled in a leveller on the stroke of half-time and North End, like Derby and Pompey before, suddenly had something to defend.

And, as the early weeks of the season have proven, Boro still have some work to do when it comes to picking the lock against teams whose sole ambition is to defend their own goal rather than trouble the other.

The fact that two of the three visiting goalkeepers in the league so far this season have been booked for time-wasting tells its own story.

Hopefully that list won't get too much longer, for it would indicate that Boro's Riverside frustrations have lingered and sides have continued to be successful in their pursuit to stifle.

The key, as Carrick admitted after Saturday's draw, is making dominance count and "killing teams off".

Eight points out of 15 is a slightly below-par start when you consider the fixtures but Carrick's judgement at this stage is based on performances rather than points. And, he says: "You just need that little extra edge. I think we will find that and we will be fine."

On paper, the fixtures coming up are more testing, with three of the top five to face in the next four games, but that should potentially play in Boro's favour, for those sides are more likely to be willing to go toe-to-toe rather than sit off.

But finding a way against sides that sit off is going to be crucial if Boro are to be successful this season. As is patience and not letting frustrations show in those encounters, says Carrick.

“I think every game we’ve played, we’ve been the better team in terms of shots on goal, chances created and again, not giving much away," said the head coach.

"You ultimately try and build your performance and put things in place to enable you to win.

“Part of it is not getting frustrated because that can the lead into your performance. From me, it’s a bit different because I don’t have to actually get on the pitch and do something about it. But, for the players, it’s part of the challenge.

"Teams will come here to stop us, and it’s a good sign. We’ve got good players and potentially a good team. You take that as a compliment and it’s something you’ve got to get used to and not let it affect you. Just play whatever game is in front of you.

"That’s part of the learning and improvement we’re going through. We’ve got to learn and adapt but I certainly think we’ve got the tools in there and the boys are good enough to do that."

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As we learnt in the uncomfortable early weeks of last season, Carrick isn't one to panic.

“We believe it will come," he said.

"We’ve got to keep pushing, keep trying to do the right things.

"There is success within the games for us, we’re just not getting the benefits at the moment.

"I believe we will, over a period of time. It’s been a funny few weeks at the start of the season, with the transfer window and then the international break. It feels a bit stop-start. Things will start to settle down now over a period of time and over the next six to eight weeks it’ll start to take shape."

With training ground time and return from injuries, Carrick's strongest XI will start to take shape as well - but Conway already looks to have nailed down a place.

His performance was the big plus point on Saturday, the Scotland international continuing his hugely encouraging start to life on Teesside. There's so much urgency about his play and there's an edge that's hard to dislike as well.

He didn't sign as a No.10 but looks comfortable in that position and the first proper glimpse of Conway and Latte Lath as a pair was promising. It's still early days for Conway but it's telling that of the four starting attackers, the 22-year-old was the only one to play the full 90 minutes as Carrick turned to his bench in the second half.

He never looked like missing when he was set away by Luke Ayling for the 16th minute opener and Boro should have put the game out of sight in the dominant spell that followed.

Latte Lath went close, Matt Clarke too and Jack Whatmough was lucky not to score an own-goal. If not scoring more than a single goal was frustrating, so too was the manner of the equaliser, again avoidable. Boro gave away possession in their own half and Frokjaer-Jensen was unmarked and allowed to fire home inside the box.

There was still 45 minutes and more for Boro to get themselves back in front but although Latte Lath had a goal disallowed after Neto Borges had strayed offside, they were flat after the break and ran out of ideas.

Ben Doak's cameo was promising and the Liverpool loanee looked lively from the bench but he couldn't force the winner.

Come full-time, Boro had managed more than three times as many shots as Preston and more than three times as many touches in the opposition box. But the stat that mattered was what sparked that familiar feeling of frustration.