Goals from Daryl Murphy and Jay Tabb have given the Blues a 2-0 half-time lead over Middlesbrough at Portman Road.
Jonny Parr replaced Tyrone Mings at left-back in an otherwise unchanged Town side. Mings missed out with an infected toe, along with Noel Hunt who took a knock in training. Former Blues skipper Grant Leadbitter started for the visitors.
Tommy Smith headed an early Paul Anderson freekick not far wide as the Blues started the stronger.
Anderson went close to opening the scoring in the 12th minute when he latched onto Daryl Murphy’s header on the right, lobbed a defender as he cut in but looped his left-foot shot over.
The Teessiders first threatened in the 14th minute but Daniel Ayala’s header flew well wide of Bartosz Bialkowski’s goal.
On 21 Boro striker Jelle Vossen was booked for blocking an Anderson freekick with his hands at a distance of only around six yards. The subsequent freekick was laid short to McGoldrick, who lashed well over.
The Blues went ahead in the 25th minute with Murphy once again the man on the scoresheet. Teddy Bishop played a clever pass down the left to Jay Tabb, who cut the ball back to McGoldrick 10 yards out.
Boro keeper Dimitrios Konstantopoulos stopped his low shot with his toe, but Murphy slammed home his 14th goal of the season from the edge of the six-yard box.
Three minutes after the goal Boro defender Ken Omeruo was booked for tripping Anderson and then McGoldrick as the Blues broke.
Boro were exceptionally fortunate to avoid conceding a penalty in the 38th minute when McGoldrick cut inside Omeruo, who tripped to the Town striker.
It looked the most blatant of blatant spotkicks but incredibly referee James Linington gave a freekick against McGoldrick and booked him for diving, much to the frontman’s amazement.
Had Omeruo been penalised the on-loan Chelsea man would almost certainly have been shown a second yellow card.
Boro, who had been somewhat underwhelming throughout the opening period, weren’t too far from an equaliser when Albert Adomah glanced Adam Reach’s left-wing cross wide.
Deep in injury time, moments before the referee’s whistle, the Blues increased their lead.
After an exchange of passes also involving skipper Luke Chambers and McGoldrick, Bishop, who had been outstanding throughout the half, whipped over a cross from the right and smallest-man-on-the-pitch Tabb threw himself between the Boro centre-halves to power home a superb header.
The two-goal lead was the least the Blues deserved after a half which they had dominated.
The third goal which might have come had referee Linington awarded what was a clear penalty when McGoldrick - who along with Murphy had given the Boro backline a very difficult 45 minutes - was fouled.
At the other end, Boro, who could well have been down to 10 men after that incident, had rarely threatened Bialkowski’s goal.
Town: Bialkowski, Chambers (c), Parr, Smith, Berra, Skuse, Bishop, Tabb, Anderson, Murphy, McGoldrick. Subs: Gerken, Clarke, S Hunt, Bru, Ambrose, Bajner, Sammon.
Middlesbrough: Konstantopoulos, Nsue, Ayala, Omeruo, Friend, Reach, Clayton, Leadbitter, Adomah, Vossen, Bamford. Subs: Mejias, Gibson, Kike, Tomlin, Whitehead, Veljkovic, Wildschut. Referee: James Linington (Newport, IoW).