Leeds United 1 Middlesbrough 1

Jan 2 2011 by Mark Douglas, Sunday Sun

NEW year, same old Boro. Seconds away from smuggling a deserved three points out of this intimidating little corner of West Yorkshire, Tony Mowbray's men reverted to type and prodded that well-worn self-destruct button to leave them still searching for a semblance of consistency.

How frustrating, how unjust . . . yet how typical of a team that have tossed away points like New Year’s Eve empties over the last 12 months.

When Lucciano Becchio swung his boot at a 93rd-minute loose ball you could add it to all the other misfortune that has befallen the Boro recently. Mowbray reckons they’ve forgotten how to win.

They had been good up until then as well. Top flight target David Wheater set the tone with the kind of brave heart display that means he is likely to be plying his trade away from Teesside by the time the transfer window snaps shut in 29 days.

But there were others who deserve a pat on the back too – not least the inventive Julio Arca, providing cut and thrust in midfield, and the robust Nicky Bailey who posted his best display yet in a red jersey.

Against a team gunning for promotion it was good, solid stuff. And as the minutes ticked by it seemed that after the compendium of catastrophes that made up 2010 for the Teessiders, they would open up 2011 with the kind of solid away victory that has been missing at Middlesbrough.

But 92 minutes of flawless work was blown apart by a minute of madness as first Justin Hoyte stumbled over the kind of gilt-edged chance that comes once a season and then Boro – pushed back onto their own goal-line by a swift Leeds counter-attack – failed to cope with a hopeful ball into the box.

It was a cruel way to bring the curtain down on a fine defensive performance but that suicidal streak is why a talented squad will spend the new year battling to avoid the drop rather than scrapping for a return to the Premier League.

And it is also why they look likely to lose Wheater, being watched by scouts from Everton, Villa, Sunderland and Stoke at Elland Road.

Presumably, they liked what they saw. Mowbray reckons his Teesside DNA has inserted the “right stuff” in the 22-year-old and he certainly didn’t play like someone with the Premier League on his mind.

His 21st minute goal – apparently getting the faintest of touches on a Julio Arca in-swinger – earned him the headlines but it was his diligent work elsewhere that was the real story.