BORO looked on course for a comfortable victory as Tom Craddock bagged a brace but two late goals saw Hull City grab a 2-2 draw in the second game of the season, writes SAM LOUGHRAN at the Riverside.

Boro's second consecutive home reserve game saw the return of Julio Arca as he continued his comeback from an ankle injury picked up at Hibernian during pre-season.

Seb Hines and Joe Bennett both made their returns from knee and foot injuries respectively.

Boro were slick in their passing during the opening exchanges as the home side applied early pressure to Hull.

Tom Craddock was handed a superb chance with a little under seven minutes gone.

A long ball forward saw Matt Plummer miscue his header back to Matt Duke in the Hull goal, leaving Craddock to take his time in shooting from 16 yards, but his effort whizzed by the post.

Soon after, a diagonal ball from Hines saw quick thinking from Jonathan Franks as he awaited a weak headed clearance from Plummer. The winger hit a stinging drive across goal, forcing Duke into a palmed save.

Hines was the next to go close for Boro inside 15 minutes as a low delivery found the 20-year-old defender unmarked inside the six-yard box, but a flicked effort was eventually cleared by a labouring Hull backline.

A midfield battle ensued as the half-hour approached, although Boro looked comfortable in possession with Hull creating little.

With 32 minutes played, a surging run down the left from Graeme Owens saw a ball delivered to the backpost, where Nathan Doyle made a hash of his clearance and allowed Nathan Porritt to shoot at goal from eight yards.

Porritt's shot was blocked on the line by the arm of Plummer and the referee, after consulting with his linesman, awarded a penalty, which Tom Craddock drilled down the centre of goal to give Boro a deserved lead.

As Martin Scott's men continued to press in the closing stages of the half, a Boro corner saw a deflected clearance which set Hull on the break.

Nicky Featherstone reached the edge of the area and as he shaped to shoot, Arca, who had run the length of the pitch to get there, made a superb stabbing tackle and promptly made a smart clearance that set Boro on their own charge.

However, Craddock's pull-back into the Hull area resulted in the visitors clearing to safety.

Half-time: Middlesbrough 1 Hull City 0

A Boro change at the interval saw Arca replaced by Richard Smallwood.

Within a minute of the restart Boro doubled their advantage as Craddock turned in from close range after good work from Porritt.

Scott's side were starting to turn on the style, with Josh Walker pulling the strings in the midfield and Bennett looking confident at left-back. The latter produced a delightful piece of skill to leave Jamie Devitt flat on his backside as Boro began another attack.

Hull began to show some desire in their quest to get back into the game and a decisive last-ditch challenge from John Johnson prevented a shot on Jason Steele's goal in the 49th minute.

The central defensive pairing of Hines and Johnson were commanding in their work as Hull struggled to break down a stubborn Boro backline.

Midway through the second half, a double Boro substitution saw returnees Bennett and Hines, who were both impressive during the game, replaced by Ashley Corker and James Cronesberry.

The change saw Franks move to right-back and the effective Shaun Saiko switched inside to partner Johnson at the heart of the defence, as Cronesberry filled in on the right-wing and Corker at left-back.

Cronesberry burst onto the scene as he cut in from the right-hand side, weaving through two Hull players to drive a left-footed shot goalwards, only for Duke to palm away at full-stretch.

Hull came close to grabbing a goal in the 86th minute as Will Atkinson hit a low drive from the edge of the area that deflected on its way through, Steele still managing to push round for a corner.

The resultant corner was headed home by John Welsh to give Hull hope going into the final three minutes.

Astonishingly, Hull levelled as the game entered into stoppage time as Welsh again scored with his head after a looping effort bounced back off Steele's bar.

Boro: Steele; Saiko, Hines(Cronesberry 67), Johnson J, Bennett (Corker 67), Franks, Walker, Arca (Capt) (Smallwood 46), Owens, Porritt, Craddock (Capt from 46). Subs: Filler (gk).

Hull: Duke; Doyle, Gardner, Welsh (Capt), Plummer, Brown, Devitt (McNamara 64), Hughes, Law (Hanley 81), Featherstone, Atkinson. Subs: Woodhead, Kendall, Bennett.

Referee: Scott Duncan

Conditions: Cool with light rain