Why Middlesbrough supporters should be optimistic despite Leeds United defeat: View | OneFootball

Middlesbrough suffered a narrow 3-2 loss against Leeds United on Saturday - a result that won't satisfy Boro in their quest to continue climbing up the Championship table.

However, it was always going to be a difficult task for them to take anything away from Elland Road.

Not only are Leeds a strong team on paper, but they secured a 3-1 win against Swansea City in midweek and that will have only boosted their confidence coming into this clash.

Following an underwhelming start to the campaign, the Whites have been excellent since the end of the first international break and thoroughly deserve to be in third place at this point, if not higher.

Boro also made a poor start to the campaign, going winless in their first seven league fixtures, but have responded very well since then and are now in a much better position.

What happened during the Leeds United v Middlesbrough game?

It could have been an excellent afternoon for them at Elland Road with Emmanuel Latte Lath putting the visitors ahead, but goals from Dan James, Crysencio Summerville and Joel Piroe made it 3-1.

Latte Lath grabbed his second just before the interval and that could have given them a springboard to go on and win the game, but Anfernee Dijksteel's dismissal just after the hour mark didn't help them.

In the end, they suffered a 3-2 defeat - and couldn't take any points back to Teesside.

Why should Middlesbrough be optimistic despite their loss against Leeds United?

The fact they managed to keep the score at 3-2 with 10 men is a good achievement - and they can take heart from that even if they didn't win any points.

Their trip to Elland Road will probably be one of the hardest games of the season - and the fact they were competitive in the game with 10 men just goes to show that they have the potential to be in the promotion mix at the end of the season.

It's also good to see Latte Lath get himself on the scoresheet twice. With Chuba Akpom and Cameron Archer now gone, they need a regular scorer to step up to the plate and fill the void that they have created.

He won't be able to replace the goals that both scored last season - but the Ivorian will take confidence from his brace at Elland Road after going a while without scoring in the league.

And the calmness of manager Michael Carrick never fails to impress.

Before the game, he told the Hartlepool Mail: "I wouldn’t really use it (the Leeds match) as a measuring stick. It’s another game for us.

"It’s one of the tougher games, on paper, that you’ll face. We’re well aware of the challenge.

"It’s not going to make or break our season but it's a great game for us to go there and try and win."

That composure should play a part in guiding the Teesside outfit to success in the future. There's plenty to be optimistic about at the Riverside, even though they aren't in the best league position at this stage.