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Morgan Whittaker's goal for Middlesbrough was his third of the season Morgan Whittaker's second-half strike grabbed a point for managerless Middlesbrough at Oxford United as his side stay second in the Championship. The former Plymouth Argyle winger stroked home 10 minutes after the break to cancel out Luke Harris' first goal for the U's. Boro dominated possession but were unable to find a winner as they lost further ground on table-toppers Coventry City, who came from behind to beat West Bromwich Albion at lunchtime, yet move a point further clear of third-placed Stoke City. Oxford's point means they move four points of Sheffield United in the relegation places ahead of Sunday's Steel City derby. With Swede Kim Hellberg waiting in the wings to take over Middlesbrough following the departure of Rob Edwards to Wolves, interim boss Adi Viveash took charge of his second match following the 2-1 victory over Birmingham City before the international break. And it was Boro who started the match the brighter when Delano Burgzorg, returning to the side, sent a cross over which was headed wide by Whittaker. Full-back Callum Brittain then cut inside on his left foot but scuffed his effort from close range following a slip from an Oxford defender. Despite conceding most of the ball, Oxford looked dangerous and just before he was withdrawn because of injury, captain Cameron Brannagan fired over from outside the box. The home side then opened the scoring when Jack Currie's pinpoint centre was swept home with his left foot by Fulham loanee Harris. Luke Harris' first-half strike was his first goal for Oxford United Seconds after the half-time interval, Brittain forced a good save from Oxford keeper Jamie Cumming, who extended himself to tip the ball away from the top corner. Brittain then turned provided when his low ball into the box was neatly finished by Whittaker on the move with his left foot, beating Cumming at his near post. Whittaker was a whisker away from turning the match on its head when his thunderous strike from 20 yards went wide. In the final moments, Oxford substitute Filip Krastev had the opportunity to grab all three points but his effort was well gathered by Boro keeper Sol Brynn. Oxford United boss Gary Rowett told BBC Radio Oxford: "In some ways, I'm really proud of the team again, I'm proud of the effort, I'm proud of the way we've gone about the game. "I thought the goal that we conceded was incredibly frustrating, the way they've played through us from a throw-in. "We've allowed them to play through us rather than them doing anything amazing to get there and it's been a little bit of a hallmark of the moments where we need to be better. "At the end, it kind of looked like neither team quite had enough to go and win the game. "It's funny in the Championship, if you had said before the season we would be going toe-to-toe with a team like Middlesbrough, who are second in the league, and be disappointed that we haven't won the game, you would feel that would be a lofty statement to make but in reality that's where we are. "It's another game where a point feels like you're frustrated. " This video can not be played Viveash 'disappointed' with Boro's draw at Oxford United After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users. Comments can not be loaded To load Comments you need to enable Java Script in your browser Last Updated 22nd November 2025 at 18: 41 Please Note: All times UK. Tables are subject to change. The BBC is not responsible for any changes that may be made. Manager: Gary Rowett Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Adi Viveash Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Gary Rowett Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Adi Viveash Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Championship All competitions All competitions All competitions Oxford United have failed to win any of their last 10 league games against Middlesbrough (D2 L8), losing the last five in a row. Middlesbrough have won four of their last five away league games against Oxford (D1), scoring 18 goals across those five games, including a 6-2 win last season. Oxford manager Gary Rowett has won four of his 15 Championship meetings with Middlesbrough (D6 L5) with all four wins coming against a different manager – Garry Monk (3-0 with Derby in November 2017), Neil Warnock (1-0 with Millwall in March 2021), Leo Percovich (2-0 with Millwall in October 2022) and Michael Carrick (1-0 with Millwall in August 2023). Middlesbrough have won 29 points in 15 Championship games this season (W8 D5 L2), their best tally at this stage since 2015-16 when they had 30 points and later finished 2nd under Aitor Karanka. Only Wrexham’s George Dobson (43) has made more tackles in the Championship this season than Middlesbrough’s Aidan Morris (39) – he has also won the most fouls of any player in 2025-26 (39). Tommy Conway (Middlesbrough) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Michal Helik (Oxford United). Attempt blocked. Stanley Mills (Oxford United) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Filip Krastev. Substitution, Oxford United. Ole Romenij replaces Will Lankshear. Morgan Whittaker (Middlesbrough) wins a free kick on the left wing. Foul by Stanley Mills (Oxford United). Attempt blocked. Hayden Hackney (Middlesbrough) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Alan Browne. Luke Ayling (Middlesbrough) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Foul by Mark Harris (Oxford United). Corner, Middlesbrough. Conceded by Jack Currie. Callum Brittain (Middlesbrough) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Will Lankshear (Oxford United). Attempt blocked. Filip Krastev (Oxford United) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Will Lankshear. Attempt missed. Alan Browne (Middlesbrough) left footed shot from outside the box is too high. Foul by Morgan Whittaker (Middlesbrough). Ciaron Brown (Oxford United) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Callum Brittain (Middlesbrough). Mark Harris (Oxford United) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Attempt missed. Filip Krastev (Oxford United) right footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Stanley Mills with a cross. Substitution, Oxford United. Stanley Mills replaces Przemyslaw Placheta. Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.