U21s Report: Middlesbrough 4 Leicester City 0

- Harry Panayiotou, Simonas Stankevicius and Michael Cain all went close for the Foxes 

- City next take on Sunderland in the Barclays U21 Premier League at King Power Stadium on Monday 2 November (7pm kick-off) 

Leicester City’s Development Squad were beaten for the first time in three games after Middlesbrough recorded a Barclays U21 Premier League victory in Hartlepool on Monday evening. 

Steve Beaglehole’s outfit headed into the fixture on the back of two impressive victories after winning 3-1 at Manchester City in their last league game, before a 2-1 triumph in the Premier League International Cup at King Power Stadium over Norwich City last week. 

The Foxes took on newly-promoted Middlesbrough hoping for their third consecutive victory and despite having several opportunities in the first half, it was the hosts who would go on to earn all three points. 

Jonny Maddison was called into action early on after saving from Bradley Fewster, but the City shot-stopper was beaten shortly after when Harry Chapman converted from 20 yards to open the scoring with seven minutes gone. 

Chapman turned provider for Middlesbrough’s second goal as he delivered a corner into Robbie Tinkler, who nodded in on 19 minutes to make it 2-0. 

City captain Harry Panayiotou then curled just wide of the mark, before Simonas Stankevicius and Michael Cain nearly found the back of the net, only to be denied by Boro goalkeeper Joe Fryer. 

Cain went closest for the visitors in the first period, hammering Fryer’s post with a well-struck volley from the edge of the box just before the break. 

But City were undone again by a corner 10 minutes into the second half as Chapman’s pin-point set play was fired in by Andre Bennett from inside the box. 

Middlesbrough then added a fourth goal on 66 minutes as Fewster converted from close range from Chapman’s pass. 

Panayiotou went close late on with header, but the Foxes couldn’t break down a defiant Boro defence in Hartlepool. 

City return to King Power Stadium on Monday 2 November (7pm kick-off) when they continue their U21 Premier League campaign against Sunderland. 

MIDDLESBROUGH: Fryer, Bennett, Elsdon, Jackson (c), Kitching, Tinkler, Chapman, Johnson, Fewster, Jones, Mondal (Cooke 79) 

SUBS NOT USED: Coddington, McGinley, Morelli, Wheatley 

GOALS: Chapman 7, Tinkler 19, Bennett 56, Fewster 66 

CITY: Maddison, Johnson, Fox, McCourt (Choudhury 66), Moore, Kipre, Miles, Cain (Rowe 76), Stankevicius, Ndukwu (King 66), Panayiotou (c) 

SUBS NOT USED: Smith-Varnham, Olukanmi 

REFEREE: Marc Edwards