"I couldn't ask for any more" says Karanka after West Brom draw

Middlesbrough manager Aitor Karanka said he couldn’t ask any more from his players after his side’s 1-1 draw with West Bromwich Albion at the Riverside.

Boro fell behind after just five minutes following James Morrison’s early strike, however Alvaro Negredo’s penalty earned the Teessiders a point.

The hosts dominated possession in the first half but couldn’t make it count, meaning Karanka’s side have now gone six league games without a win.

Even so the Boro boss was pleased with his sides performance, and the way that his players reacted after falling behind.

Karanka pleased with his side's performance

“I think we played really well,” he said. “We knew that it was going to be a really tough game against a really tough side.

“They are experienced, they have quality and it was always going to be difficult after we conceded a goal from a set piece at the beginning of the game, but the reaction was really good from everybody.”

After missing out on a number of transfer targets, Karanka seemed very despondent figure in Monday’s press conference, however he was far more upbeat after this performance.

"We had chances"

“In the first half we had the possession, we created chances, we were moving the ball from one side to the other side,” said Karanka.

“But today is another example that it is difficult to compete against teams like West Brom because even at our best they had chances to score.”

Boro equalised from the penalty spot after Negredo was fouled by Gareth McAuley, before the Spanish striker calmly converted.

The hosts had another appeal turned down when Cristhian Stuani was brought down in the area by Allan Nyom but Karanka said he didn’t see either incident.

Boro boss is a fan of the new signing

Karanka was also asked about Boro’s deadline signing Adlene Guedioura, who completed a move from Watford in the final few hours of the window.

“I liked him a lot,” said the Spaniard. “The last three years even when he was in the Championship at Watford he looked like a man. He has personality, quality and experience in the Premier League.”