Folarin Balogun had one of his best games in a Middlesbrough shirt on Tuesday, scoring from outside the box and playing a pivotal role in the result.

Midway through the first half of Middlesbrough’s away game against Birmingham City, Folarin Balogun helped his loan side take the lead.

Picking the ball up just outside the box, Balogun played a clever backheel to Anfernee Dijksteel, who assisted Aaron Connolly with a low cross for the opening goal.

Balogun then briefly believed he had a goal of his own. With Middlesbrough winning possession in midfield, the ball broke to Balogun, who raced away from the defender, holding off an attempt to bring him down before finishing confidently.

Unfortunately, the goal was chalked off by a very late (but ultimately correct) offside flag.

Middlesbrough had a Paddy McNair penalty saved in the 51st minute, but Balogun was on hand to kill the contest 11 minutes later.

Receiving the ball on the edge of the area, Balogun got it out of his feet before curling a finish into the far corner from outside the box. This time, there was no taking the goal away from him.

You can watch the highlights in brief here, or the extended version on the Middlesbrough website here.

The goal was Balogun’s second for Middlesbrough, on top of his two Championship assists so far.

It took a little while for him to get off the mark, but he seems to be growing in confidence with each game now. He’s also hit the woodwork a number of times, so he’s perhaps a little unlucky not to have scored more.

Arsenal fans will certainly hope so, given the striker’s next match is against Chelsea on Saturday.

Middlesbrough face the Gunners’ London rivals in an FA Cup quarter-final clash, having already knocked out Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.