Conditioning only real positive as much-changed Middlesbrough receive harsh lesson in Barnsley loss

Middlesbrough crashed out of the Carabao Cup in the first round as their wait for a first win over the season extended to a third game.

In rather cruel circumstances they lost 1-0 to League One side Barnsley at the Riverside, with substitute Josh Benson capitalising on a Liam Roberts error in the dying minutes to fire his side into the lead.

It was a harsh lesson for a much-changed Boro side who had many young players on the pitch at the end, as they largely controlled the game without creating many clear-cut chances and not taking those they did. Here is the game at a glance.

Middlesbrough ratings as a much-changed side crash out of the Carabao Cup to Barnsley

90+ mins: Barnsley 1-0, Benson - Boro lose it in the final minute. Harsh on Roberts who'd been having a solid debut, but he made a hash of Benson's initial shot, with the Barnsley forward running onto it to fire home the rebound in stoppage time.

While Boro largely controlled the game, they didn't create an awful lot of clear-cut chances. New singing Matthew Hoppe watched on from the stands after being unveiled just before the game.

He would have presumably loved the chance that Duncan Watmore had in just the second minute when he was played in behind but couldn't beat the keeper while one-on-one. It's another costly miss from the hard-working Watmore early in the season.

Boro had plenty of other opportunities, but none quite as clear-cut as this second-minute chance which really ought to have been burried. One up inside two minutes, it might have been a very different night.

There were some positive performances, particularly relating to Boro's right hand side. You could see why Wilder wants Paddy McNair at right centre-back so much as he joined in with attacks