DONCASTER 0 MIDDLESBROUGH 0

CHRISTIAN STUANI and Diego Fabbrini were interested observers as Middlesbrough continued their pre-season programme with a dour goalless draw at Doncaster.

The attacking duo joined the Boro squad for their pre-match warm-up at the Keepmoat Stadium, and while they were not involved in the game, their transfers should be officially confirmed at the start of next week.

Stuani, a Uruguayan striker, has moved from Spanish side Espanyol for around £3m, while Fabbrini, an Italian midfielder, is joining on a season-long loan from Watford.

Their presence in South Yorkshire added some interest to an otherwise unremarkable afternoon that saw Stewart Downing make the first domestic start of his second spell with his hometown club.

Downing lined up on the left-hand side of Boro’s attacking-midfield trio, with Lee Tomlin occupying the more central role, but there was precious little excitement on offer two weeks before the real action begins with the opening weekend of the Football League programme.

Downing swapped flanks with Mustapha Carayol, who missed the whole of last season through injury, throughout the first half, but neither player was able to unsettle the Doncaster defence.

Indeed, it was Rovers who carried the greater threat in the early stages, with Harry Forrester drilling in a rising drive that was saved by Dimi Konstantopoulos and James Coppinger testing the Boro goalkeeper with a decent effort from the edge of the penalty area.

The Teessiders’ first effort did not come until midway through the first half, and it saw Adam Forshaw drill narrowly over the crossbar from 25 yards after Grant Leadbitter floated a corner into his path.

There was a moment of controversy a couple of minutes later as Bradley Fewster was booked for a dive when it looked like he had been brought down by Doncaster goalkeeper Thorsten Stuckmann.

An errant back-pass enabled Fewster to bear down on goal, but while Stuckmann appeared to chop him down in the area, the referee Darren England viewed the incident as an act of simulation and issued a yellow card.

Leadbitter curled a free-kick narrowly wide shortly before the interval, but with the tempo of the game rarely straying above the pedestrian, neither side really looked like making a first-half breakthrough.

Aitor Karanka restricted himself to three half-time changes, with James Husband, Adam Reach and Kike entering the fray for the second half, and Downing came close to breaking the deadlock within five minutes of the restart.

Tomas Kalas’ through ball played him into the area, but Downing’s crisp low effort was denied by Stuckmann’s legs.

Aaron Taylor-Sinclair curled a free-kick just past the post at the opposite end, before Doncaster substitute Cedric Evina outpaced James Husband, only to fire into the side netting.

Boro’s next raft of substitutions saw Albert Adomah, Adam Clayton and Emilio Nsue introduced, and the visitors would have claimed the lead in the 66th minute had Kike displayed a modicum of composure when presented with a glorious opportunity.

Stuckmann’s dreadful clearance presented Kike with the ball on the edge of the area, but the Spaniard, who is clearly lacking in confidence, could only slice a poor effort over the crossbar.

Downing, playing in the ‘number ten’ role, was Boro’s most influential player in the second period, but he was denied the first goal of his second spell on Teesside when Stuckmann produced a fine 74th-minute stop after a slick one-two with Kike had threatened to breach the Doncaster defence.

Rovers were fielding Curtis Main as their main striker, and the former Boro forward came close with a 78th-minute chip that drifted narrowly wide after Richie Wellens played a deft through ball into the area.

Doncaster (4-4-2): Stuckmann; McCullough, Mackenzie (Jones 69), Butler, Taylor-Sinclair (Whitehouse 80); Coppinger (Mandeville 80), Wellens (McKay 80), Middleton (Linley 88), Forrester (Carberry 88); Williams (Evina 59), Main.

Subs (not used): Marosi (gk), Lund.

Middlesbrough (4-2-3-1): Konstantopoulos (Ripley 70); Kalas (Jackson 84), Ayala (Nsue 64), Burn (Husband 46), Friend (Fry 84); Leadbitter (Clayton 64), Forshaw (Maloney 84); Carayol (Adomah 64), Tomlin (Reach 46), Downing (Wildschut 84); Fewster (Kike 46).

Sub (not used): Mejias (gk).