Middlesbrough secured a late 2-2 draw against Birmingham City at St Andrew’s Stadium on Saturday, with defender Adilson Malanda scoring a crucial equalizer in the final moments of the match. The game saw both sides battling hard, with Birmingham initially taking the lead before Middlesbrough fought back to claim a share of the points.
Birmingham started strongly, creating several early chances, but it was Middlesbrough’s Amario Cozier-Duberry who began to make a significant impact, particularly down the right flank. The Brighton loanee almost opened the scoring before halftime when Myles Peart-Harris set him up with a pull-back, but Cozier-Duberry's attempt went over the bar.
On the stroke of halftime, Malanda delivered a precise diagonal ball to Cozier-Duberry, who skillfully navigated into the penalty area and assisted Max Arfsten for the opening goal. Arfsten, an American forward, finished sharply into the top corner to send Middlesbrough into the break ahead.
The second half saw a quick response from Birmingham. Ten minutes after the restart, Malanda lost possession to Tomoki Iwata, who found Jhon Solis making a move into the box. As Solis appeared to run out of space, Liam Millar emerged to score his first goal for Birmingham, leveling the score.
Birmingham took the lead shortly after when Millar delivered a deep corner from the right. Jay Stansfield headed the ball into the six-yard box, causing a scramble that ended with Riley McGree inadvertently scoring an own goal.
Middlesbrough pressed to find an equalizer, making several attacking substitutions including Tommy Conway, Kyle Joseph, and Jeremy Sarmiento. They applied sustained pressure on Birmingham’s defense, with Iwata coming close on several occasions.
The deadlock was broken in the 88th minute when Sebastian Berhalter curled an inswinging free-kick into the Birmingham penalty area. Although the ball appeared to be under control, goalkeeper James Beadle misjudged his reception, fumbling the ball just yards from goal. Kyle Joseph and Malanda both tried to capitalize on the error, with Malanda ultimately managing to turn the ball home to salvage a point for Middlesbrough.
Birmingham manager Chris Davies expressed his disappointment after the match, calling the draw “sickening” given how close his team was to securing victory. However, he urged his players to maintain a positive outlook despite the setback.
Middlesbrough head coach Kim Hellberg acknowledged defensive shortcomings but highlighted positives in his side’s performance. “Everyone can see we need to concede fewer,” he said. “How we defend better, how we do better on the ball—there’s a lot of things that need to improve, but there are a lot of things that are very good.”
The result leaves both teams with a point each as they continue their campaigns in the league.