Coventry v Middlesbrough: Michael Carrick’s profligate forwards let Sky Blues off the hook

It is a case of honours even at the half-way point of this finely poised Sky Bet Championship play-off semi-final after 90 minutes that neither Mark Robins nor Michael Carrick will have taken great satisfaction from.

In Carrick’s case, his Middlesbrough side were in firm control for an hour yet were unable to make their dominance count in the all-important currency of goals. For Robins, his Coventry side never really hit their stride and must now win at the Riverside on Wednesday if they are to reach the final at Wembley on May 27.

Chuba Akpom, Middlesbrough’s menacing No 10 and Championship player of the year, went closest for the visitors, while Isiah Jones found a way past Coventry’s rearguard five minutes before half-time, only