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In two weeks’ time, Boro fans will be reflecting on the first fixture of the season at Millwall.

Will they be wallowing in the glow of an opening day victory, a respectable draw or a disappointing defeat?

Time will tell but in the run up to that fixture there will be a great deal of debate about the make-up of the starting XI.

Perhaps we’ve already had a strong indicator of Tony Pulis’s plans for the curtain raiser with his selection at the Wham Stadium?

There was certainly a look about the team he selected for the match against Accrington that suggested he’s closing in on his preferred XI, even if the result and performance was what was required.

Darren Randolph started in goal behind a back four of Ryan Shotton, Aden Flint, skipper Ben Gibson and George Friend.

The midfield five lined up with Adam Clayton holding and Paddy McNair and Jonny Howson operating either side of him in slightly advanced roles.

Providing width was Adama Troare, who sat out Wednesday’s Augsburg match, on the right and Stewart Downing on the left.

Returning up front was Rudy Gestede.

Here’s how they got on.

(Image: Focus Images)

Early injury blow

The game started at a ferocious pace with Accrington determined to put on a good show in front of their fans and they certainly did themselves credit.

Stanley won a couple of early corners but were unable to take advantage.

Then, in the eighth minute Rudy Gestede jumped to head the ball on the edge of the home penalty area and landed awkwardly.

He immediately grabbed his ankle and fell to the turf.

Following treatment, he carried on but he didn’t look 100% fit when he tried to run and it was no surprise when he made way for Britt Assombalonga in the 24th minute.

Boro breakthrough

The visitors had struggled to create goalscoring opportunities but, in the 16th minute, they managed to open the scoring.

The chance came from a Stewart Downing ‘up-and-under’ which dropped into the path of the advancing Paddy McNair who had evaded the Stanley defenders to finish smartly inside the box.

In fact, the Northern Irishman’s penetrating runs from midfield looked Boro’s most likely source of chances in the first half.

McNair had a decent shot saved two minutes after he scored but then Stanley took charge.

(Image: Focus Images Limited)

The hosts fightback

Accrington served warning of their attacking threat in the 21st minute when Teessider Callum Johnson crossed from the right and Sean McConville glanced a header narrowly wide of Darren Randolph’s goal.

Seconds later, Ryan Shotton challenged Kayden Jackson inside the penalty area and the referee immediately pointed to the spot.

Billy Kee took the spot-kick but pulled his 23rd minute shot wide of Randolph’s right-hand post.

It was a poor attempted conversion and a warning for Boro they failed to heed.

Britt Assombalonga offered a ray of hope for Tony Pulis’s team when he had a 26th minute shot saved.

Accrington in the ascendancy

The equaliser came in the 34th minute when Sean McConville floated a teasing left-wing corner to the far post where Mark Hughes leapt above the Boro defence to power a downward header home.

Then, a minute later, the hosts took the lead from the spot.

The penalty resulted from George Friend’s foul on Jordan Clark and Kee once again took the responsibility.

This time he went for power over placement and drilled an unstoppable shot into the net to make it 2-1.

Boro had a little bit of a flurry with Stewart Downing cutting inside right-back Callum Johnson but he pulled his shot narrowly wide of the near post.

Soon after, Adama Traore lashed a shot over the bar following a trademark run down the right and Paddy MacNair hit a half-volley into the William Dyer Electrical Stand.

Accrington’s third goal came on the stroke of half-time and saw Kayden Jackson exploit Boro’s poor defending to turn and shoot on the edge of the box.

The effort evaded Darren Randolph’s dive to give Stanley a surprise – and deserved – 3-1 lead.

Second-half fightback

You’d have to assume Tony Pulis has some strong advice for his players in the changing room at the interval.

And, while there wasn’t a huge noticeable improvement in the early stages of the second period, Boro did slowly start to show their class.

It took a moment of magic to kick-start the recovery with Jonny Howson picking up possession midway inside the Stanley half, running a few yards from left-to-right then hammering a stunning long-range shot that crashed into the net.

The equaliser came in the 62nd minute. Paddy McNair fed Adama Traore with a short range pass and the Spaniard drove down the inside right channel into the box before hitting a powerful low shot that the keeper could only help into the goal.

Paddy McNair couldn’t convert a chance to give Boro the lead, however, volleying over in the 67th minute from a decent position.

(Image: Focus Images)

Minimal changes for Boro

As the new season closes in, Tony Pulis opted against making the wholesale changes that typically spoil friendlies as a spectacle.

His first unforced substitutions came in the 72nd minute with Patrick Bamford and Grant Leadbitter replacing Stewart Downing and Jonny Howson.

Boro finished the match with what was virtually a front three of Britt Assombalonga on the left, Bamford in the middle and Adama Traore on the right.

But there was little to choose between the sides in the closing stages with neither keeper exactly over-worked.

Stanley’s sting in the tail

Just when it looked like ending all-square, Accrington mounted an 88th minute attack that climaxed with a floating header from the left side of the penalty area by Mark Hughes that evaded Randolph and, at the far post, sub Ross Sykes bundles the ball into the net.

Given their energetic first half performance, Stanley were worth their win.

Boro, meanwhile, will have to improve on this display when they return to Lancashire for the friendly against Rochdale on Tuesday.

Accrington (4-4-2: Maxted; Johnson, Hughes, Richards-Everton, Donacien; Conneely, Clark, Brown, McConville; Kee, Jackson,

Subs: Savin, Nolan, Sousa, Wood, Mingoia, Sykes, Williams, Trialist

Boro (4-5-1): Randolph; Shotton, Flint, Gibson, Friend; Traore, McNair, Clayton, Howson (Leadbitter 72), Downing (Bamford 72); Gestede (Assombalonga 24)

Subs: Konstantopoulos, Fry, Wood, De Sart, Wing, Johnson, Chapman, Fletcher