Seven key games which won Middlesbrough promotion back to the Premier League

After agonisingly missing out in the play-off final at the end of last season, the way they regrouped and used the heart-breaking experience was impressive and the mark of a team who were determined by the prospect of Premier League football.

By the middle of January, Aitor Karanka’s side looked almost nailed on to gain promotion when they were six points clear at the top of the table with a game in hand.

Yet a subsequent drop off in form led to an unravelling situation, in which Karanka ended up missing the game away at Charlton in March.

In the end it all came down to the eight minutes of added time during the final game of the season, in a winner takes all clash against Brighton at the Riverside.

A 1-1 draw was enough to get the Teessiders over the line and end a seven year absence from the top flight.

Here are seven games which were decisive in Boro’s march back to the Premier League.

Nottingham Forest 1 Middlesbrough 2

Boro hadn’t won at the City Ground since 1999, but lay down a marker in this lunch-time kick-off back in September.

Last season the Teessiders’ away form let them down as they missed out on a place in the top two, and Forest was just one of the grounds where they came unstuck.

However, on this occasion Boro conquered their recent hoodoo in dramatic fashion.