Sheffield Wednesday roared back after going 3-0 down by half-time to earn an unlikely 3-3 Championship draw at 10-man Middlesbrough.
Boro – who finished the game with 10 men after Rav Van Den Berg was sent off – dominated the first half and were 3-0 up at the interval after an opener from Liverpool loanee Ben Doak and a Finn Azaz double.
But Wednesday battled back and wiped out Boro’s three-goal lead within 16 minutes of the restart.
Substitute Svante Ingelsson gave Danny Rohl’s side hope before Josh Windass scored a second soon after.
Van Den Berg was then sent off after picking up his second yellow card, before Yan Valery completed the comeback, just after the hour mark.
Faltering Boro have now won just one of their last five and dropped down a spot to seventh, while Wednesday have lost just one in eight and remain ninth, three points further back.
Boro got off to the perfect start when they took the lead after just five minutes. Hayden Hackney set Tommy Conway away and although the striker’s route to goal was blocked, he touched the ball into the path of Azaz, who crossed for Doak to head home from close range.
Boro were dealt an injury blow moments later when Conway was forced off and replaced by Emmanuel Latte Lath.
But the change did not knock the hosts out of their stride and Wednesday were 2-0 down after just 15 minutes. Neto Borges picked out unmarked Azaz, who found the bottom corner from the edge of the box.
Azaz scored his second and Boro’s third after half-an-hour. Hackney met a Doak cross and after his initial effort was blocked, Azaz was on hand to scoop home from close range.
Wednesday missed a glorious chance to get one back when Windass headed wide from close range after Valery’s flick-on from a corner. Former Boro winger Marvin Johnson then fired wide of the target.
Rohl turned to his bench at the break and his changes worked a treat. Ingelsson started the comeback when his shot from Shea Charles’ cross went in off Boro defender Anfernee Dijksteel.
Ingelsson then had a hand in the second – seven minutes later – as he won back possession inside the Boro box before Windass bundled home from close range.
The hosts’ nightmare start to the second half then got even worse just two minutes later when Van Den Berg picked up his second yellow card, before boss Michael Carrick was then forced to change goalkeepers after Sol Brynn suffered an injury making a save.
Tom Glover was brought on and within a minute was picking the ball out of the net when he was beaten by Valery’s glancing header from a Barry Bannan corner as the spoils were shared.
