Brighton boss Chris Hughton indicated the club is likely to appeal against the 58th-minute sending-off of Dale Stephens for a foul on Gaston Ramirez which saw the Uruguayan player carried off.
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A place in English football’s top tier could be worth at least £170million to Boro, and that’s just the broadcasting cash.
So, the question is, what can Boro expect from the Premier League next season and what do they need to do, in order to be successful?
Despite some late pressure, Boro held on and can looking forward to Premier League football next term. “Thank you the chairman for giving me the opportunity here two and a half years ago”.
Drawing does seem to be the problem: Brighton have drawn more games on the road than Middlesbrough have in total, and if a couple of those had been turned into victories, they wouldn’t require this final day nerve-shredder to earn promotion.
The Spaniard took over at Middlesbrough in 2013, with his side missing out on promotion in the playoff final last season after defeat to Norwich City at Wembley.
Aitor Karanka will lead Middlesbrough back into the Premier League next season after dismissing reports linking him with a move away from the Riverside Stadium.
With a draw no use to Brighton, the visitors would have to become the first team to score twice at the Riverside this season if they were to return to the top flight after a 33-year absence.
Despite their disappointing first half, Brighton had no intention of surrendering without a fight and they hauled themselves level 10 minutes after the interval.
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But the home side remained relatively calm through the rising tumult of eight minutes of injury time, a last, sure catch from Konstantopoulos finally signalling the inevitable, wild pitch invasion from home fans, their journey complete.
