BOLTON 0 MIDDLESBROUGH 3 Assombalonga (13, 71), Johnson (78)
BRITT ASSOMBALONGA scored twice as Middlesbrough ended a 13-month away day drought with a win at Bolton.
Boro’s last win away from the Riverside Stadium came in the Premier League at neighbouring Sunderland in August 2016, but three points on the road were hardly ever in doubt in a one-sided contest at Macron Stadium.
Assombalonga, the £15million recruit from Nottingham Forest, had outstanding team-mate Adama Traore to thank for his 13th and 71st minute strikes and the victory was capped off with a goal on debut for Marvin Johnson.
Bolton, without a league win since gaining promotion from League One, went close after only four minutes when Darren Randolph beat away Gary Madine’s stinging volley.
It proved to be their clearest chance of the game, however, as Garry Monk’s side assumed control and hardly looked back from there.
Boro seized the lead when Madine’s loose pass was picked up by Adama Traore and the former Aston Villa man embarked on a mazy run down Bolton’s left, beating two men to pull a cross back for Britt Assombalonga to head home unmarked from six yards out.
The visitors dominated possession for the remainder of the half but created little of substance, Lewis Baker’s shot from the edge of the box as close as they came to registering a second.
Bolton relied heavily on set pieces for a goal threat and had a header from Madine deflected narrowly wide of the post just before half time.
Boro had won the previous four encounters between the two sides but the home side briefly threatened to make it a contest after the restart,
when Randolph beat away a shot from Filipe Morais and Craig Noone, making his debut for the home side, failed to latch on to the rebound.
The inspirational Traore continued his endless work down the right and produced another marvellous run and a fine cross for Assombalonga’s second, bundled in from close range, taking his tally for the season to four.
Boro then got a helping hand from Wanderers keeper Ben Alnwick for their third as Johnson’s shot squirmed through his grasp just 10 minutes after the deadline day signing from Oxford United had arrived off the bench.
Assombalonga could have wrapped up a hattrick in stoppage time after going clean through on Alnwick’s goal, but pulled his shot wide.