Boro fire blanks on opening night

MIDDLESBROUGH’s bid to make an instant return to the Premier League got off to an inauspicious start as they were held to a goalless draw by Sheffield United in the opening game of the new season.

Gareth Southgate’s revamped side were unable to find their way past last season’s play-off final losers in front of a healthy crowd of close to 24,000 at the Riverside, as the north-east club kicked off their first season outside the top flight for 11 years.

Short of a handful of efforts from the edge of the area, neither side were able to trouble the other too much as the game eventually petered out into something that resembled another pre-season friendly.