Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
Socceroo Riley McGree has lived up to his promise to make an immediate bounce-back as he put the double heartbreak of a playoff final defeat and a World Cup-ending injury behind him to open the new Championship season in inspirational style.
Middlesbrough’s popular and versatile attacking midfielder provided a dazzling late match-winning assist as they launched their latest quest to make it back to the Premier League with a come-from-behind 2-1 victory over second-tier newcomers Lincoln.
Last season had ended calamitously for the South Australian as McGree suffered a hamstring injury during Boro’s playoff final defeat at Wembley by Hull City.
A couple of days later, the 27-year-old learned to his misery that he would miss the World Cup in North America, but ever the professional, McGree vowed to get back into shape and lead their drive to return to the top-flight after a decade away.
It hadn’t begun well, though, for the home side on Saturday (Sunday AEST) when newly-promoted Lincoln went ahead at the Riverside after 12 minutes through former Boro man Adam Reach and outplayed the hosts in the first half.
Yet Boro’s much-hyped new signing from Spurs, Will Lankshear, then popped up to score twice in the last half-hour to secure the victory.
While Lankshear, who’s already proved a League Cup star for Boro thanks to his winner against Wrexham last week, may again have been the hero, the winning goal in stoppage time was all about substitute McGree’s brilliance.
Tight on the right touchline, McGree, who’d been brought off the bench with half an hour left, managed to twist and bamboozle the Imps’ defender Ivan Varfolomeev before darting a superb low left-foot cross in for Lankshear to apply the decisive touch.
“In the second half, I just have to say thank you to the players because I think they did it together with the crowd, so that’s what it was about,” beamed Boro boss Kim Hellberg after his side ended League One champions Lincoln’s 29-game, eight-month undefeated run.
Mohamed Toure, back after his debut World Cup, was at the centre of a frustrating afternoon for Norwich as they succumbed 2-1 at home to West Brom, despite having the lion’s share of chances including the second-half wriggling run-and-strike from the young Socceroo that hit the post.
Promising Australian fullback Kealey Adamson was called off the bench midway through the first-half after a teammate got injured and proceeded to play a big part in QPR’s impressive 3-1 win at Portsmouth, their first win at Pompey’s Fratton Park fortress for 26 years.
