'Going to be some player': Fans praise young Middlesbrough side despite FA Cup defeat at Brentford

Neil Warnock was forced to play a weakened team after a Covid-19 outbreak at the club but still named a stronger starting XI than what many were expecting.

Boro drew level in the second half after substitute Sam Folarin canceled out Halil Dervisoglu's first-half opener, yet Saman Ghoddos’ winner saw the Bees progress.

Despite the result, fans were quick to praise the club’s youngsters, including 18-year-old Hayden Hackney who started in midfield to make his senior debut.

The match was overshadowed by a first-half injury to Marcus Browne,though, as the winger left the field on a stretcher.

Here are some of the responses from social media:

@UTB76: Good effort. The young lads Wood and Hackney deserve more game time this year in the league

@Boston1960Lee: Tons of positives coming out of that. Considering it was a scrambled squad with the training ground shut and full of youngsters, players out of position. It's a nothing match at the end of the day. Well played

@THEREALBORO: Performance was decent, definitely didn't deserve to lose. Move onto the league quickly now

@adammloughran1: Not too disheartening, a young squad gave a good showing of themselves. Love the FA Cup but can't argue with the result - the league will have to do now.

@TerryBywater07: Enjoyed that tonight. Switched off for the first goal but we attacked and it was good to watch. Hackney didn't look like it was his first start and Tav is going to be some player. Deserved at least the draw and they can go home heads held high

@tom_mcgarry17: Defeat overshadowed by an extremely worrying injury to Browne. Pleasing performance and a game we certainly did not deserve to lose. Wonderful moment for Folarin and great to see a couple more youngsters come on at the end

@cbstar82: Future bright. Hackney, Wood and Folarin were class!

@MatthewBye13: I thought we played pretty well tbf against a decent team. Good experience for some of the younger players too. Move on to the league now and hopefully Browne’s recovery isn’t a long one!

A message from the Football Clubs Editor

Our aim is to provide you with the best, most up-to-date and most informative Middlesbrough coverage 365 days a year.

This depth of coverage costs, so to help us maintain the high-quality reporting that you are used to, please consider taking out a subscription to our new sports-only package here.

Your support is much appreciated. Richard Mennear, Football Clubs Editor