Will Lankshear scored on his Middlesbrough debut as Boro began the season with a 1-0 Carabao Cup first-round win over Wrexham, the £10m summer signing hooking home a first-time volley in the 61st minute to settle a tie that produced chances at both ends.
Leo Castledine headed Jeremy Sarmiento's cross into Lankshear's path, and the 21-year-old swivelled before finishing into the far corner, having already gone close with an effort that curled just over the bar earlier in the second half.
Middlesbrough should have led inside seven minutes, Adilson Malanda prodding Sebastian Berhalter's cross goalwards from close range only for Danny Ward to produce a superb point-blank save. Wrexham had openings of their own, Danny Imray failing to convert Callum Doyle's cross and Sam Smith shooting into Sol Brynn's legs after being played through by Nathan Broadhead, before Morgan Whittaker struck a post with three minutes left as Boro pushed for a second.
Alongside Lankshear, Middlesbrough handed debuts to the United States midfielder Sebastian Berhalter, who arrived from the Vancouver Whitecaps the week before, and fellow US international Max Arfsten.