Two goals from Danny Graham ended Middlesbrough’s goal drought and have given his side a 2-0 lead over Town at half-time at the Riverside.
Mick McCarthy named an unchanged side with Paul Taylor again starting in a three-man attack. Luke Hyam and Jonny Williams returned from hamstring injuries to take places on the bench.
Academy second-year scholar Teddy Bishop travelled with the senior squad for the first time — Anthony Wordsworth having suffered a back problem in Thursday training - but was not included in the 18.
Frazer Richardson was unavailable against his parent club, while skipper Carlos Edwards also didn’t make the trip.
Boro made six changes from the side which lost 1-0 at Sheffield Wednesday last week with former Blue Grant Leadbitter returning and skippering the side.
After the home side had won a corner within the first 30 seconds, Taylor carved out the game’s first opportunity, getting behind one-time Town target George Friend on the right and cutting the ball back to Frank Nouble, who returned the ball to the former Peterborough man in an offside position when he might have looked goalwards himself.
The Teessiders, without a goal in their last seven games, went closer in the fourth minute when Graham laid the ball back to Taylor’s former Posh team-mate Lee Tomlin, who shot just wide from the 18-yard line.
Boro probably should have gone in front in the 12th minute when Emmanuel Ledesma’s freekick from the right fell to Friend, who blazed over from 10 yards when he ought to have done better. Four minutes later the former Doncaster left-back cut in and crossed but Graham headed well over.
Friend was proving to be the home side’s biggest danger and on 20 he again cut in from the left between Luke Chambers and Christophe Berra but smashed his shot high and wide.
Mustapha Carayol, a scorer in last year’s corresponding fixture, hit a low strike which Dean Gerken tipped wide in the 21st minute, although the ball appeared to be going past the post in any case.
The Teessiders continued present the greater threat and in the 26th minute Berra did well to get back to stab the ball away from Graham with the on-loan Sunderland man through behind the Blues’ backline.
Taylor almost put Town in front in the 28th minute after a speculative Daryl Murphy shot had deflected to him on the right of the area. The Liverpudlian curled a shot just over with the outside of his right boot and clearly thought he should have been celebrating his second goal of the season.
Two minutes later, the home side went ahead via their first goal in 12 hours and 14 minutes of football. Gerken couldn’t hold on to Carayol’s low shot to his right and Graham was quickest to react to stab home from six yards.
The impetus was very much with the home side after the goal, Carayol making a couple of strong runs down the left, Cresswell first turning the ball to Gerken from close range ahead of Nathaniel Chalobah, before the Blues keeper challenged the winger as he looked to cut the ball back from a tight angle on the left.
As half-time approached, Boro continued to look the more threatening side, Ledesma seeing a 30-yard volley deflect wide after a corner had been cleared to him.
Soon after the fourth official had raised his board, the Teessiders increased their lead. Ex-Blue Leadbitter sent over a corner from the left and Graham got in front of Berra at the near post and flicked a header across Gerken and into the net.
Boro were well worth their lead at the break, having controlled the game for the most part, creating the vast majority of the chances.
However, the half may well have panned out very differently had Taylor taken his chance shortly before Graham ended his side’s long wait for a goal.
Middlesbrough: Konstantopolous, Gibson, Chalobah, Varga, Carayol, Leadbitter (c), Friend, Tomlin, Graham, Omeruo, Ledesma. Subs: Steele, Kamara, Butterfield, Williams L, Main, Atkinson, Morris.
Town: Gerken, Chambers (c), Cresswell, Berra, Smith, Skuse, Tabb, Green, Taylor, Murphy, Nouble. Subs: Loach, Anderson, Hunt, Mings, Hyam, Williams, Ebanks-Blake. Referee: Iain Williamson (Berkshire). Att: 13,965 (Town: 450).