FULL TIME: Wigan 1 Middlesbrough 1

MIDDLESBROUGH spurned another opportunity to reach the top of the Championship after Malky Mackay led Wigan Athletic to his first point as Latics manager.

Boro had hoped to nip under the radar and come away from the DW Stadium with the points amid the furore surrounding Mackay’s appointment and Wigan owner Dave Whelan’s alleged racist comments made in a newspaper this week, but Aitor Karanka’s side came up against a steely Latics side who belied their position in the bottom three of the Championship to record a well-earned point.

Shaun Maloney’s free-kick gave the Latics the lead in the first half, with Patrick Bamford drawing Boro level with his second touch of the game moments after his introduction in the second half.

Boro were denied a penalty in stoppage time when Albert Adomah was ajudged to have been felled on the edge of the box, while Lee Tomlin had a shout for a spot-kick when he was brought down when clear on goal, but referee David Webb was unmoved and the game ended in stalemate.

Around 5,000 Middlesbrough fans made the trip down to Wigan from Teesside, the second-largest away following of the afternoon after Leeds United took 7,000 to Blackburn earlier today.

WIGAN ATHLETIC (4-5-1): Carson; Boyce (Perch 82), Ramis, Barnett, Taylor; McManaman, McCann, Espinoza (McClean 70), Forshaw (Watson 82), Maloney; Fortune. Subs: Nicholls, Riera, Huws, Figueroa.

MIDDLESBROUGH (4-4-1-1): Konstantopoulos; Nsue (Fredericks 71), Ayala, Gibson, Friend; Reach (Bamford 56), Clayton, Leadbitter, Adomah; Tomlin; Kike (Wildschut 82). Subs: Mejias, Whitehead, Husband, Vossen.