Will Lankshear marked his Middlesbrough debut with the decisive goal in a 1-0 Carabao Cup first-round win over Wrexham. The £10m signing from Tottenham scored a first-time volley in the 61st minute, giving new manager Kim Hellberg a positive start to the season and securing Boro’s progress.

Middlesbrough had earlier been denied by Danny Ward’s close-range save, while Wrexham created several openings through Danny Imray and Sam Smith but lacked a clinical finish. Morgan Whittaker later hit the post for Boro, and Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson said his side had shown encouraging signs despite returning from a US pre-season tour only four days earlier.