Middlesbrough loan stars get off the mark in Sheffield Wednesday and Tranmere Rovers wins as Peterborough United chairman has his say on Jonson Clarke-Harris suspension

Boro face a crucial home double-header when the Championship resumes against fellow strugglers Peterborough United and Barnsely.

But here we round-up some of the things you might have missed today.

Loan stars off the mark

Two of Middlesbrough’s loan stars got off the mark in the Papa John’s Trophy with their new clubs on Tuesday.

Midfielder Lewis Wing gave Sheffield Wednesday the lead midway through the second half as Darren Moore’s Owls sealed victory over Mansfield Town.

Wing has endured an indifferent time at Hillsborough so far this season despite featuring 13 times across all competitions.

Elsewhere there was a first goal for Tranmere Rovers for striker Stephen Walker as the Merseysiders saw off League Two rivals Salford City.

Walker came on as a second half substitute in just his second appearance for Micky Mellon’s side a grabbed the decisive second goal as last season’s runners up hit the top of Group B.

Boro miss Assombalonga

Once a record signing at the Riverside when he arrived from Nottingham Forest in 2017, Britt Assombalonga was unable to fire Boro back to the Premier League before being released from the club this summer.

But despite scoring just five times in 32 appearances last season, Sky Sports EFL pundit Lee Hendrie believes Warnock’s side miss the Congo international.

“[Middlesbrough] haven’t really had a prolific goalscorer when you look at it,” said Hendrie.

“Assombalonga when he first came in, that was when he had his great season where he scored all of them goals, and then all of a sudden, that’s an area that really stands out for me for Boro.

“I can see the frustration from Warnock and I think he’s tried to mix it up more in that forward area with obviously Assombalonga not being there but I just feel that that’s an area that’s a stand-out position for me, where I think that if they can get someone in who can be a bit more prolific they can certainly start moving up the table.”

Peterborough chairman hits out at Clarke-Harris ban

Darragh MacAnthony has criticised the FA for the length of the ban issued to striker Jonson Clarke-Harris.

The Posh striker is set to miss the next three games including Peterborough’s trip to the Riverside a week on Saturday for a derogatory tweet posted as an 18-year-old.

And chairman MacAnthony believes Clarke-Harris is being punished excessively.

Speaking on the Hard Truth podcast MacAnthony said: “I was furious when I discovered the length of the ban. Should we really be punishing players for stupid things they said a decade ago when they were teenagers? That doesn’t sit well with me. There is no condoning what was said. It was a derogatory word he used and he shouldn’t have said it, but the punishment doesn’t fit the crime.

“I was expecting a one-game ban with perhaps three matches suspended, but four games and a big fine? That doesn’t seem right.”

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