The majority of Spain’s World Cup-winning squad have agreed to end their boycott after “profound changes” to the Spanish football federation were promised, according to National Sports Council president Victor Francos.

A decision was reached in the early hours of Wednesday morning following a lengthy meeting between the players, RFEF officials and CSD in a hotel in Oliva.

Fifteen players of the group from this summer’s tournament were on Monday named in new head coach Montse Tome’s squad for the Nations League encounters with Sweden and Switzerland.

But 21 of the 23-player contingent had already stated they would not play for their country again until major changes had occurred within the RFEF, in the wake of former president Luis Rubiales kissing Spain forward Jenni Hermoso on the lips during the medal ceremony in Australia.

The threat of sanctions to the squad for potentially refusing to play for their country had been raised, but an agreement was finally reached with Francos confirming the news after the meeting.

“We’ve had several meetings that were conducted in an extremely cordial atmosphere in which people were able to speak freely,” Francos said, according to Spanish sports newspaper AS.

“We covered all issues. In terms of conclusions: firstly, we’ve reached a series of agreements that will be signed tomorrow by the RFEF and the CSD.

“Furthermore, a mixed commission will be created involving three parties – the federation, the CSD and the players – to monitor the (implementation) of those agreements, which are related to the development of Spain’s sports law in terms of gender policies, pay equality and furthering the infrastructure of women’s sport.

“The players also conveyed to us the need to make profound changes (in personnel at the RFEF). These changes are to happen immediately, and will be announced by the RFEF.”

Amanda Gutierrez, president of players’ union FUTPRO, was also present at the meeting, and was quoted by AS as saying: “It is considered a rapprochement of positions. It is the beginning of a long road that lies ahead of us.

“(The players), once again, have shown themselves to be coherent and the vast majority have decided to make the decision to stay for the sake of this agreement.”

The players had reluctantly turned up for duty on Tuesday amid talk of fines or suspension under Spanish sports law for “unjustified lack of attendance”, with Hermoso accusing RFEF of intimidation in her own statement on Tuesday.

Goalkeeper Misa Rodriguez also answered “no” when asked by reporters if she was happy to be part of Tome’s squad when a group of Madrid-based players met at a hotel in the Spanish capital before they travelled to their nation’s training base near Valencia.

However, lengthy talks between the players, RFEF and CSD officials resulted in the boycott ending, although two players will leave the camp ahead of Friday’s match in Sweden.

Francos added: “Two players have said they aren’t in the right frame of mind and have asked to leave the squad. Twenty-one players have expressed their desire to stay.”

Celtic goalkeeper Joe Hart will take confidence from their display with 11 men against Feyenoord as he and his team-mates seek to change their Champions League narrative.

The Dutch champions triumphed 2-0 in Rotterdam but Celtic’s hopes of a second-half comeback were dashed by red cards for Gustaf Lagerbielke and Odin Thiago Holm.

Hart saved a penalty in the five minutes between the red cards before being beaten again in the 76th minute.

The former England goalkeeper let in the opener from Calvin Stengs’ 30-yard free-kick in first-half stoppage-time after Celtic had more than held their own during the opening 45 minutes.

Celtic have now won just once in 22 Champions League group games and fans came away with similar frustrations to much of last season’s campaign, when their team’s two-point total was scant reward for some of their play.

When asked if it felt like the same old story, Hart said: “At the moment it feels like that but we are at the start of a new adventure. That’s the great thing about football, it always gives you a chance. This is a brand new season, whatever has been, has been.

“It’s a tournament of six games for us and we believe we put ourselves in a good position to play Feyenoord at home.

“Obviously we have got four other games that we need to take care of compete in. Now we know one of our rivals in this tournament, we feel like we can definitely compete with them.

“We had plenty of character, desire and buying into the messages that we are being given.

“We were in a good game, a close, close game and obviously a few things went against us, some of them self-inflicted, and you fall on the wrong side in this competition.

“But overall, 11 v 11, I felt like we could have given it a right good go.

“An avoidable goal just before half-time and two red cards makes it difficult.”

Hart described the opening goal as a “perfect storm” after the wall failed to do its job and then the ball curled just out of his grasp after skidding off the wet surface in Rotterdam.

“The guy running across Kyogo, causing Kyogo to move,” Hart said.

“”I have obviously got to hold my ground. As a goalkeeper you have got to hold your ground, especially when it’s very close to people’s shoulders, you’ve got to wait ’til it goes past them because you can’t over-commit.

“Once it went past Kyogo, I couldn’t get across quickly enough with the skip and the curl on the ball.

“It’s disappointing, obviously disappointing on my behalf, I’ve got high standards.

“But that doesn’t define the game, there was plenty more to come, and we were going toe to toe with a good team and it felt like we could have achieved something.”

Rangers take on Real Betis in their Europa League opener on Thursday night.

The Light Blues have had a difficult start to the season and are under pressure to turn in a positive performances at Ibrox.

Here is the lowdown on the Gers’ opponents ahead of the Group C encounter.

Form

The Spanish side have started the season in patchy form with just two wins in five La Liga matches to leave them 10th in the table, eight points behind leaders Real Madrid. Real Betis have beaten Villarreal and Rayo Vallecano, drawn against Atletico Madrid and lost to Athletic Bilbao and Barcelona. The 5-0 loss to Barca at the weekend could mean confidence has taken a dent but their fans will hope their side can exploit any anxiety at Ibrox. Betis finished sixth last season, 28 points behind Barcelona.

Manager

Manuel Pellegrini is one of the most experienced managers in the game. The 70-year-old Chilean has been a boss since 1988 when he took over at Universidad de Chile in his homeland. A globetrotting career has followed and he has been in the  hot seat at clubs like River Plate, Real Madrid, Manchester City and West Ham, among others.  Pellegrini joined Manchester City in 2013 and won the Premier League and League Cup double in his first season, winning the League Cup again in 2015/16. Most recently, he won the Copa del Rey in 2022 with Los Verdiblancos, who he joined in 2020.

Players

There has been a lot of recent speculation around which players Pellegrini will have at his disposal for the trip to Glasgow, with reports suggesting four key players will be back in contention. Former Manchester City and Barcelona keeper Claudio Bravo – aged 40 – is recovering from a calf injury and could make his first start of the season after Portugal goalkeeper Rui Silva had to come off against Barcelona with a thigh injury to be replaced by debutant Fran Vieites, who usually plays for Betis B. Captain and Mexico international Andres Guardado had been missing with an ankle injury but could return along with William Carvalho, who has won 80 caps for Portugal, and right-back Aitor Ruibal. Brazilian striker Willian Jose has scored four of Betis’s five goals this season. Spain internationals Hector Bellerin and Borja Iglesias are also in the Betis squad.

European pedigree

Real Betis have never won a European trophy and have taken part in the Champions League on only one occasion, in 2005/06. Betis finished third behind Liverpool and Chelsea and above Anderlecht in Group G with seven points, dropping down to the UEFA Cup where they were knocked out in the last 16 by Steaua Bucharest. In the 2021/22 season they were drawn in the same group as Celtic in the Europa League, winning 4-3 at home and losing 3-2 at Celtic Park. Last season they were knocked out of the Europa League at the last-16 stage by Manchester United 5-1 on aggregate.

Eddie Howe is confident there is more to come from Newcastle after they took a point from their Champions League baptism of fire in Milan.

The Magpies found themselves under the cosh at the San Siro on Tuesday evening as they opened their Group F campaign with a tough trip to AC Milan and ultimately emerged with a creditable 0-0 draw.

Howe’s team will have to be significantly more progressive than they were in Italy if they are to bank the points they will need to progress, with Paris St Germain and Borussia Dortmund waiting in the wings, but the 45-year-old believes they will be.

Asked after the game if the overriding emotion in the dressing room on the final whistle had been exhaustion, disappointment or pride, he said: “It was a mixture of all of those things, definitely pride in the result and the performance, the mentality shown.

“Not internally in the squad, the result wasn’t overestimated. They are very honest payers and they acknowledge we can perform better. Yes, a bit of fatigue as well, but we’re now looking forward to our next match.

“For us to stand up strong and come back fighting in that second half – because I thought that was a good second half display from us – bodes well for the future. All we can try and do is try and win every game.”

But for goalkeeper Nick Pope and a glaring miss from Milan’s Portugal star Rafael Leao, Newcastle could have been in deep trouble by half-time, although having got there on level terms they produced a fine defensive display after the break to plug the gaps through which the Rossoneri had poured during the opening 45 minutes.

Indeed, they might even have picked the Serie A club’s pocket in stoppage-time when Sean Longstaff forced a fingertip save from substitute goalkeeper Marco Sportiello.

Howe said: “There were a few things we changed at half-time. We were looking to tweak a few things.

“The mindset was the most important thing. The blocking of the shots, recovery sprints when we are caught out of position was all out of the top drawer, especially when it needed to be in that second half.

“We had our moments in transitions going the other way and that’s where the quality was missing, and I’m a little bit frustrated with that. As I say, we will look to improve.”

Howe will now turn his attention to Sunday’s Premier League trip to Sheffield United, with opposite number Stefano Pioli, whose side lost 5-1 to derby rivals Inter last weekend, also able to take positives from a display which promised much but did not deliver the outcome he craved.

Pioli, who also lost goalkeeper Mike Maignan and midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek to injury, said: “I liked the performance, I liked the attitude. We attacked very well, we defended well, we showed that we were full of energy through the whole 90 minutes.

“We were as intense as they were – actually, we were more intense than they were – but we couldn’t win, and that’s a pity.

“Now we have to move on. There are very important games in Serie A and then we will have to play against Borussia Dortmund.”

Ronald Acuna Jr. hit a pair of home runs to reach 39 and stole his 67th base as the Atlanta Braves ended a four-game losing streak with a 9-3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday.

Acuna is one home run shy of becoming the first player with 40 homers and 60 steals in a season, much less 40 home runs and 70 stolen bases.

The Braves' superstar is batting .386 with 11 home runs, 26 RBIs, 23 runs and eight steals in his last 20 games.

Acuna’s first home run was his seventh leadoff blast this season and 33rd of his career. Of his 205 hits this season, 51 have come in the first inning.

His performance overshadowed Spencer Strider’s major league-leading 18th win.

The right-hander allowed three runs and four hits over seven innings with 11 strikeouts to raise his MLB-best total to 270.

Marcell Ozuna drove in three runs with three hits, including a two-run double in the fifth, as Atlanta avoided its first five-game skid since September 2017.

Bryce Harper hit a three-run home run for the Phillies, who hold the top wild-card spot in the NL.

Padres lose combined no-hitter in 9th, walk-off Rockies

Blake Snell threw seven no-hit innings, and the San Diego Padres lost a combined no-hitter in the 9th before Xander Bogaerts hit a walk-off two-run homer in a 2-0 win over the Colorado Rockies.

Snell struck out 10 with four walks over the first seven innings and threw 104 pitches but was replaced by Robert Suarez, who worked a perfect eighth.

Closer Josh Hader gave up a leadoff single to Brendan Rodgers in the ninth before getting three outs.

Bogaerts homered off Tyler Kinley with two outs in the ninth to give San Diego its season-high sixth straight win.

Hays hits 2 homers as Orioles defeat Astros

Austin Hays went deep twice and Ryan O’Hearn added a two-run shot to lift the Baltimore Orioles to their fourth straight win, 9-5 over the slumping Houston Astros.

Hays hit a three-run shot off starter Hunter Brown in the third inning to snap a 2-2 tie and put Baltimore ahead for good.

O’Hearn’s two-run homer in the first opened the scoring and rookie Heston Kjerstad connected for his second career home run in the seventh, one batter after Hays’ second of the game gave the Orioles an 8-5 lead.

Baltimore maintained a 2 ½-game lead over Tampa in the race for the AL East title, while Houston’s lead in the West was trimmed to one-half game over Texas and Seattle.

Celtic captain Neil Lennon was given a three-match ban by the Scottish Football Association on this day in 2005 for barging into referee Stuart Dougal at the end of his side’s 3-1 defeat to Rangers.

Lennon had been shown a red card for arguing with the match officials after the final whistle following Celtic’s loss at Ibrox in August, before he pushed aside the assistant referee and then barged into Dougal.

A Scottish FA disciplinary committee decided on the length of Lennon’s ban after a three-hour hearing, which the Northern Ireland midfielder attended with Celtic boss Gordon Strachan.

Lennon received an automatic one-game ban for his initial red card and another two-game suspension was added “for misconduct of a significantly serious nature”.

Celtic said in a statement after the hearing: “We are satisfied with the process, today’s outcome and pleased that common sense has prevailed.”

Strachan had said after the incident that Celtic “wouldn’t be stupid enough to make a fool of ourselves by trying to defend things that are indefensible”, while Lennon publicly apologised for his behaviour.

Scottish Professional Footballers’ Association assistant secretary Fraser Wishart said Lennon’s previous good behaviour had worked in his favour.

Wishart said: “Neil wants to put this incident behind him and one of the stressing facts is that he has never been sent off in an SPL fixture or been over the top of the threshold for yellow cards.

“His previous record has been taken into consideration.”

Caelan Doris admits to initially being shocked by the sheer size of the South Africa team but insists facing the fearsome might of the so-called ‘Bomb Squad’ will not significantly alter Ireland’s game plan.

Back-rower Doris will take on the Springboks for only the second time in his career in Saturday evening’s crunch Rugby World Cup showdown in Paris.

The 25-year-old helped Ireland register a 19-16 win over the reigning world champions in November following a bruising Dublin encounter in which he was taken aback by the hefty bulk of the opposition.

The Springboks will again look to impose brute strength on Andy Farrell’s men after naming a six-two split of forwards and backs on their bench for this weekend’s pivotal Pool B clash at Stade de France.

Asked what distinguishes South Africa from other sides, Doris replied: “Physicality is the word that comes to mind.

“I remember being shocked at just the sheer size of them, playing them in November.

“They kind of do a six-two or even seven-one sometimes off the bench and have massive reinforcements coming off the bench as well.

“But it’s definitely not the only string to their bow. They’ve got a lot of pace in their backs and their forwards are capable of keeping the ball alive and offloading.

“Obviously the physicality is tied into their set-piece, they’ve got a great maul, great lineout options as well, a very strong lineout and scrum as well, so getting those areas right is going to be big.”

Springboks director of rugby Rassie Erasmus, who was then head coach, adopted the stacked bench tactic during his side’s run to lifting the Webb Ellis Cup in 2019.

Doris insists Ireland will not be deviating from the approach which has brought 15 successive Test wins.

“It doesn’t actually change too much,” he said.

“We talk about delivering an 80-minute performance regardless of who we are playing and knowing that some teams target the last 20 minutes.

“We also speak of our bench coming on and not just fitting in but actually taking it up a level. That will be important for us this weekend.”

Ireland, who have topped the Test rankings for more than a year, can seal progression to the World Cup quarter-finals with success in the French capital.

Doris feels better equipped to deal with the pressures of performing in front of a capacity Stade de France crowd than during last year’s Six Nations when Farrell’s men suffered a 30-24 loss to France.

“There’s so much belief amongst this group and there’s belief that we can still get a lot better,” he said.

“Delivering that in such a big game in Paris in front of 80,000 people – hopefully there will be a lot of Irish there – is just about constantly getting better as a group and believing that we can improve quite a bit.

“We are always striving for the perfect performance.”

Referring to the 2022 defeat to Les Bleus, he continued: “From the warm-up there was a palpable intensity in the atmosphere from the French in particular, drums banging and stuff like that.

“Having experienced it once, it is an easier thing to visualise and be aware of. It will be a little bit less of a shock for me.”

Brendan Rodgers felt his Celtic team showed they can compete at Champions League level before inexperience played its part in their Group E opener against Feyenoord running away from them following two red cards inside five minutes.

Both Gustaf Lagerbielke and substitute Odin Thiago Holm were sent off on their Champions League debuts with Celtic trailing to Calvin Stengs’ 30-yard free-kick in first-half stoppage-time.

Joe Hart saved a penalty in between the red cards before Feyenoord went on to win 2-0 in Rotterdam.

Rodgers said: “We showed in the game that for this tournament we are going to be competitive.

“We started really, really well, for the first 60 minutes the game was very close. I thought we looked a threat and progressed the ball well into the final third. Maybe with better decision-making and releasing the pass we would have given ourselves the opportunity to get in front.

“I’m disappointed with the first goal, we should never be conceding that, especially at that moment.

“But it was even for 60 minutes and unfortunately we got two players sent off. It’s really difficult at this level with 11 against 11, but with 11 v nine, it’s difficult.

“But I have to applaud the players for their spirit and mentality, they kept going. It was harsh on them.”

Hart was left exposed by his wall for the opener, with Kyogo Furuhashi inadvertently jumping out of the way of the ball, and the curl on the shot took the ball away from the goalkeeper after it bounced on the wet turf, although he got a hand to it.

Rodgers said: “We talked about it inside. I like the players to make decisions and there was a decision within the game to change the wall. But you have to make sure the wall is correct or else you get done.

“It’s a very, very small detail but if you don’t look after it, you end up beaten. It was bitterly disappointing because we played well up to then.”

Rodgers felt both red cards should have been avoided. Lagerbielke received a second yellow after catching Igor Paixao in the throat with his arm as he tried to jockey the forward. Holm was shown a straight red card for lunging in to a high tackle.

Rodgers said: “With Gustaf, there was no drama. The ball was running through to the goalkeeper. I think it’s inexperience, just let the ball run through. I still thought it was a bit harsh but I can maybe see why the referee gave it. But we can avoid that situation for sure.

“The second one, he is young and committed but at this level you can’t go to ground. When I saw it back, his foot is up. At this level you get punished for that.

“Obviously they are bitterly disappointed afterwards, their first experiences of games at this level. They will learn from it.

“Gustaf had done well up to that point, two inexperienced centre-backs – I thought Liam Scales was outstanding and Gustaf had been coping well.”

Sheffield Wednesday manager Xisco Munoz said his focus is on the future despite his side remaining without a victory this campaign following a 1-1 draw with Middlesbrough.

Darragh Lenihan’s second-half goal for Boro cancelled out Anthony Musaba’s opener.

It was 23rd against 24th in South Yorkshire and that is where the draw sees the sides remain; both are now without a win in their first seven matches in the Sky Bet Championship this season.

Munoz said: “One of the problems we had in the last game was not finding solutions, but we did that today. We gave a good performance in the first half.

“We tried to change things in the second half and build on the positives. We can’t change everything in only a few days. For me, it’s important to try and give better things like in the first half.

“We’re trying to find the balance. The first half was at a good level but in the Championship you can’t have control for 90 minutes. It became a totally different game in the second half.

“I think the fans enjoyed the first half. You could hear it and this is what I want. We need to enjoy when we play at home. I understand if some people don’t like my style.

“My focus is on the future. I know what I can improve in this team and most importantly I believe in these guys.”

Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick said he was proud of the way his players got back into the game after half-time.

Carrick said: “It was a game of two halves. I think in the first half we were second guessing things and we lacked that belief and confidence.

“We wanted three points but sometimes that can turn to desperation and that can be dangerous. It can make things tense and I think we tensed up a bit in the first half, we were almost over trying.

“We showed what we were capable of in the second half and it was really encouraging for the players, I’m proud of them. Being behind at half-time is a difficult place to be.

“Going behind kick-started us; it gave us the freedom of expression to chase the game down. In terms of reaction, character and personality I never doubted them.

“We had some good spells of play in the second half. We were doing lots of good things, especially down the sides, we just didn’t quite get the end part right.

“Of course, we expected to pick up more points than we have but I really enjoy working with this group of players. The boys are frustrated, we wanted to come here and win but it wasn’t to be.”

Pep Guardiola felt his team were given a useful test after coming from behind to begin their Champions League defence with a 3-1 win over Red Star Belgrade.

The holders were stunned when the Serbian champions claimed a shock lead on the stroke of half-time through Osman Bukari in Tuesday’s Group G clash at the Etihad Stadium.

Yet as they did in the Premier League at West Ham last weekend, they hit back to win after the break, this time with two goals from Julian Alvarez and one from Rodri.

City manager Guardiola said: “At the end, going in at half-time 1-0, after what we’ve done that’s nice – after winning the treble we need to be the type of champions who prove to ourselves that we are able to make a comeback.

“In this situation it’s nice to prove it. In both games we played incredible and immediately at the start of the second half.

“We have things to improve in general but that’s really, really good.”

Guardiola was particularly impressed with the performance of his goalscorers.

Alvarez has benefited from a run in the side this season while Rodri, match-winner in last season’s final, continues to excel.

Guardiola said of Alvarez: “His movement was so quick and he’s so young. What a signing the club have done.

“He has everything – fighting, goals, assists. Incredible. And he’s a lovely guy. Playing behind Erling (Haaland) he is an incredible threat.”

Rodri has developed into one of the best midfielders in the game during his time at City and Guardiola is in no doubt he is now at the top.

He said: “Yes, he’s the best – but hopefully he can be better. He has a good mentality and good things to improve.

“But we were lucky again that the club has signed these type of players.”

The downside for City was the loss of Bernardo Silva shortly before half-time with an unspecified injury.

Guardiola said: “I didn’t speak with the doctors but apparently for the next games he will not be able to play.”

The Portuguese joins an injury list that includes Kevin De Bruyne, Jack Grealish, John Stones and Mateo Kovacic.

Guardiola said: “When we have five important players – really, really important players – injured, to sustain that for a long time will be difficult. But it is what it is.

“We cannot have the salaries and budgets for transfers to have 55 players. It would be chaos for the clubs and they would be bankrupt. Sometimes it happens.”

Red Star coach Barak Bachar admitted City were the better side.

He said: “We tried, we fought, but we conceded an early goal in the second half. They should have scored more.

“They are a great team, they have exceptional players. After we conceded it was difficult to maintain the pace, because we never play at this pace in our league. We learned a lot from this match.”

Preston boss Ryan Lowe insists he is not getting carried away after he saw his side come from behind to earn a sixth win in a row with a 2-1 victory over Birmingham at Deepdale.

A cautious first 45 minutes from both teams was in complete contrast to the second when Jay Stansfield smashed the Blues in front less than a minute after the half-time interval.

Preston have yet to taste defeat in their opening seven matches and were on level terms when Krystian Bielik headed into his own net, and Lowe’s side claimed all three points when Milutin Osmajic rifled under the legs of visiting keeper John Ruddy to get his first goal in English football to keep Preston top.

Lowe insists the dressing room are keeping their feet firmly on the floor despite their breathtaking start.

He said: “We are not going to get too carried away.

“In football, things can change very quickly, we know that. Everyone would love for us to do what Luton and that have done and get to the Premier League, of course, but we are not sitting here and saying that is going to be the case. It’s a hard-fought season, we’ve got to keep battling it out and winning games of football.

“It’s exciting at the moment but of course we can’t get carried away. You only have to look at the teams that have been in and around last season and the teams at the bottom end up at the top, the league is that crazy.”

Lowe hailed striker Osmajic who scored his first goal for the club in just his second appearance after signing from LaLiga side Cadiz.

He continued: “Milly can finish, which we knew.

“He was wrapping the side of the nets and he has a lot of power, it was a fantastic finish.

“When you come to a new football club, you want to run around and impress but I said to him ‘impress doing the right things, by making the right runs’, and he made them runs.”

Birmingham suffered their second straight defeat after going unbeaten in their opening five games of the season, and have slipped to seventh in the table.

John Eustace was disappointed in the way his side conceded the equaliser but believes the dressing room will take heart from their performance. He said: “We are a team that pride ourselves on defending set plays and collectively as a group.

“I think conditions were very tough, very windy and a mistake from both the lads so disappointing to concede in that manner but I think the way we got hold of the game again was positive.

“It’s about going through the process, every day in training, every game we play there are lots of positive signs. Tonight we came and played some good football, we are going to get better as a group but loads of positives.”

Darragh Lenihan’s second-half goal cancelled out Anthony Musaba’s opener as Sheffield Wednesday drew 1-1 with Middlesbrough at Hillsborough on Tuesday night.

It was 23rd against 24th in South Yorkshire and both sides were without a win in any of their first six matches in the Championship this season.

Sheffield Wednesday boss Xisco Munoz made six changes to the team that lost 1-0 at home to Ipswich, with Bambo Diaby, Di’Shon Bernard, Pol Valentin, Barry Bannan, John Buckley and Ashley Fletcher joining the starting XI.

Middlesbrough manager Michael Carrick made four switches from the 2-1 defeat away to Blackburn, with Lukas Engel, Riley McGree, Samuel Silvera and Josh Coburn coming in.

Wednesday had the first chance early on when Valentin shot from distance but Fletcher could only deflect it wide.

Play was stopped after 15 minutes when tennis balls were thrown on to the pitch by a handful of home fans protesting chairman Dejphon Chansiri’s running of the club.

Middlesbrough’s first opening came when Coburn cut back for Silvera, who would have put the visitors ahead if not for Akin Famewo’s block.

Josh Windass was forced off with an injury half an hour in and it was his replacement who gave the Owls the advantage in the 38th minute.

Bernard made a bursting run from the back, played a one-two with Valentin and squared the ball to Musaba who put the ball through the legs of keeper Seny Dieng.

Valentin was proving to be the biggest threat on Wednesday’s right and Fletcher nearly converted his low cross from the last chance of the half.

It was a completely different story in the second half which was dominated by Middlesbrough. Silvera had a shot from range saved by Devis Vasquez but it wasn’t long before his side got the equaliser.

Lenihan met Lewis O’Brien’s corner and the ball cannoned off the bar and just sneaked over the line to give Boro the leveller after 53 minutes.

Matt Crooks thought he had given the away side the lead moments later but his header was flagged for offside. Coburn then powered an effort inches wide after he shrugged off defender Diaby.

Middlesbrough continued to have the bulk of possession but could not make it count and nearly lived to regret it. The ball fell to George Byers on the edge of the box but the Owls substitute curled his effort wide of the mark.

The draw was of little benefit to either of the sides, with Boro remaining rooted to the foot of the table and the Owls still just one place above them.