Middlesbrough boss Chris Wilder was left bewildered by his side’s 2-2 draw with Stoke after City substitute D’Margio Wright-Phillips spared the blushes of veteran team-mate Phil Jagielka.
Wright-Phillips, 20 years the junior of 40-year-old Jagielka, headed a stoppage-time equaliser after Boro came from behind thanks to Duncan Watmore and Jagielka’s generosity.
Watmore cancelled out Jacob Brown’s 19th-minute opener, stealing in front of the ex-England defender to make it 1-1. Under pressure from the same player Jagielka put through his own net after 63 minutes before Wright-Phillips, son of former Manchester City and Chelsea winger Shaun Wright-Phillips, popped up with a perfect present. “We all back our teams and sometimes look through rose-tinted glasses,” said Wilder. “I am a balanced guy in terms of stats and how I see things.
But I never felt one bit of pressure all night. “You expect it in the Championship, you expect it when you come away to a big club in the Championship like Stoke City are. “But even the most ardent and passionate Stoke supporter, when they put their head on the pillow, will wonder how their side hasn’t got beaten and beaten comfortably. “We can look at ourselves and say we haven’t put them to bed.