The battle between two title contenders in the Championship was evenly split on Tuesday night as Derby County and Middlesbrough played out to a 1-1 draw. Kike's early opener was eventually cancelled out by substitute Johnny Russell's late goal to save a point for the home side.
Derby got things underway and started well, keeping plenty of possession in the early part of the first half. The first real chance fell to Jeff Hendrick but his tame shot was saved quite comfortably by the Middlesbrough goalkeeper.
Boro score against the run of play
Despite the early effort from Hendrick and Derby having the majority of the ball, the away side would take the lead after 15 minutes. George Friend's pacey run allowed him to cut in from the left wing before his shot eventually deflected into the path of Kike, who made no mistake to make it 1-0 to Middlesbrough with his third goal in four days.
Just four minutes later, Middlesbrough almost made it 2-0 but Kike's header flew just wide of the post after more work down the left, this time from Steward Downing. Derby's efforts for an equaliser were almost rewarded when Stephen Warnock's cross found Chris Martin, who headed over the bar.
After the goal, the game went fairly quiet regarding chances. The home side had to make two first half changes with Jamie Hanson and Hendrick both coming off injured.
Derby dominate, but few real chances
As the second half began, Middlesbrough again had a chance to double their lead; this time it opened up for Albert Adomah, but the midfielder put his shot wide of the post.
Derby's domination of possession couldn't be turned into clear cut chances. After a couple of first half-chances, they'd have to wait until the 81st minute to test Dimi Konstantopoulos again but the 'keeper held on to Martin's close-range header.
Paul Clement's side would eventually find an equaliser with just three minutes to play. Ryan Shotton's long ball into the area was smashed home by the first-half substitute Johnny Russell to make it 1-1. Late drama at the iPro Stadium sees both sides take a point in the early stages of the campaign, though Clement is still looking for his first win as the Rams' head coach.
A satisfactory result for both managers
Given the potentially crucial nature of the match in terms of the league season, both managers will likely be satisfied, if not overly happy, with a point. Aitor Karanka will be disappointed to see a lapse in concentration cost his side a hard-earned three points, with Clement's Rams reign to reach its fifth match on Friday with no wins under his belt.