Boro's Under-23s were beaten late on by Nottingham Forest in the Premier League Cup.
Centre-back Grant Hall made his first appearance in a Boro shirt since our senior side's draw with West Brom back in November, and was joined in defence by Nathan Wood.
Joe Gibson, who made his first team debut in the FA Cup at Mansfield last month, captained the side, while Stephen Walker and Sol Brynn both featured having recently returned from loan spells.
Mark Tinkler's side made the perfect start to the evening, grabbing the lead inside the first two minutes. It came from a Sam Collins corner, and Jeremy Sivi found space to meet it - though the final touch may well have come from a home shirt.
But Forest tied things up with a little over 20 on the clock, as Fin Back worked his way into the Boro area and played across goal for Will Swan to provide a close-range finish.
And with minutes to play, Swan scored his second of the evening to complete the turnaround at Alfreton’s Impact Stadium.
Despite defeat, Boro's youngsters are set to progress to the last 16 of the Premier League Cup competition, the Teessiders currently second in Group B with only one of group leaders Blackburn Rovers or their opponents QPR able to finish higher after their meeting on Monday.
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