Neil Warnock made the perfect start in charge of Middlesbrough on Saturday with a 2-0 win against fellow strugglers Stoke City at the bet365 Stadium.
Goals from Ashley Fletcher and Marcus Tavernier secured three points for the visitors with Nick Powell being sent off for the Potters late on.
Story of the match
Fletcher flicks Boro in front
Warnock made six changes to the side that lost 3-0 at home to Swansea City last weekend as he named his first starting eleven since being appointed Boro boss on June 23.
Forward Fletcher returned in a front three alongside Patrick Roberts and Britt Assombalonga and made the perfect first impression in front of his new manager by connecting with the former’s free-kick and heading past Jack Butland into the far corner on 29 minutes.
Instant impact
Similar to that of their draw against Reading last weekend, the Potters appeared to improve after the break as they again found themselves chasing an equalising goal.
They should have been level just five minutes into the half when the ball was worked to McClean at the back post but the winger fired straight at goalkeeper Dejan Stojanovic.
That miss proved to be costly, as the visitors doubled their lead through Tavernier on 62 minutes.
Just seconds after coming on, the midfielder turned his man on the edge of the box and curled his shot into the bottom corner for his third goal of the season.
Powell shows his frustration
Stoke’s frustrating afternoon was then summed up in a single moment late on as last weekend’s saviour Powell was sent off for two late challenges in less than a minute.
The midfielder will now miss Tuesday’s trip to former club Wigan Athletic.
Man of the match - Djed Spence
The young right-back was instrumental to much of Middlesbrough’s attacking play throughout and provided an excellent crossing threat as the visitors targeted Stoke’s weak left-hand side.
Match Stats
Stoke 0-2 Middlesbrough
Butland, Smith, Batth, Chester, Martins Indi (Vokes 58’), Sorensen (Ince 40’), Thompson (Cousins, 58’), Powell (RED 89’), McClean, Clucas, Campbell (Gregory 79’)
Unused subs: Davies, Ward, Tymon, Collins, Oakley-Boothe
Stojanovic, Spence, Howson, Fry, Friend, McNair (Wing 67’), Johnson, Saville (Shotton 81’), Roberts (Tavernier 60’), Fletcher, Assombalonga
Unused subs: Pears, Wood, Moukoudi, Clayton, Morrison, Nmecha
Takeaways
Boro boost
This was exactly the reaction that Warnock would have been looking for from his new side, who looked destined to struggle after their defeat to Swansea last weekend.
However, this result sees Middlesbrough climb above their opponents into 19th in the Championship table with a trip to fellow Championship strugglers on July 2.
Important week ahead
This was certainly not the result O'Neill would have expected before kick-off.
The defeat sees the Potters slip to 21st in the table, just one point above the relegation zone, and now face an all-important week with games against Wigan (June 30) and bottom-of-the-table Barnsley on July 4.