IT didn’t take a genius to work out what sort of reception Garry Monk was going to get when he made his first return to Elland Road, it was just a question of whether the Middlesbrough manager and his players could cope.

In the end, despite a rallying performance in latter stages of the second half, Boro and the man leading them had to return to Teesside reflecting on how they didn’t do enough to deal with what Leeds had thrown at them – much to the frustration of the visiting fans and the delight of West Yorkshire.

After a run of seven defeats from nine matches and three home reversals in a row, a different Leeds performance could have been expected. Instead this was a day everyone connected with the Whites clearly wanted to go their way. And it did.

Middlesbrough might have returned up the A1 with a more positive result after battling back to reduce the arrears, but their three-match winning run has come to an end and Leeds have swapped places with their counterparts as occupants of the final play-off place.

Monk had to constantly listen to ‘f**k Garry Monk’, with Leeds fans clearly still angry that he left them at the end of last season having led them the highest place finish in six years (7th).

But Monk – always maintaining that the return was not about him – was left more frustrated by the fact his side had suffered a defeat, and had been guilty of conceding two similar goals to leave them with a mountain to climb.

And it was a player he actually took to Leeds who was instrumental in inflicting the damage. Former Swansea winger Pablo Hernandez powered in a back post finish in the 24th minute and then laid on the second for Macedonian Ezgjan Alioski shortly after half-time.

Middlesbrough, who also had strong shouts for a penalty waved away in the first half, pulled one back when Britt Assombalonga converted a controversial spot-kick with 13 minutes remaining to raise hopes of claiming a point.

But Middlesbrough, finishing the game with four forwards on the pitch, failed to come up with the extra goal to avoid defeat and Middlesbrough are now 12 points shy of the leaders Wolves going into Wednesday’s home date with Birmingham at the Riverside.

Middlesbrough’s players needed to show strength of character and professionalism on a day when Monk’s return was the distracting sideshow. Even before a ball had been kicked, the handshake between him and his successor Thomas Christiansen was greeted with the first blast telling Garry Monk where the home fans wanted him to go.

Those chants continued throughout, and at first it looked like Middlesbrough were shaped up well to cope and they were first to go close with two decent efforts.

Monk has found some consistency in his team selections recently and that was rewarded with three straight wins, but the suspension of Cyrus Christie meant an enforced change and Connor Roberts made his first league start for the club.

The 22-year-old, on loan from Swansea, impressed during his three EFL Cup outings but he found that the pressures of the Championship are different, with Hernandez on top of him every time he had possession. It was certainly a baptism of fire in many respects.

Marcus Tavernier, who scored the winner against Sunderland, was first to go inches away from turning in a dangerous Assombalonga cross. Seconds later Stewart Downing’s 22 yard drive was turned behind by goalkeeper Andy Lonergan.

Had referee Keith Stroud, who made a number of strange decisions, opted to award a penalty to Middlesbrough then things may have developed differently too.

Stroud would have been perfectly entitled to point to the spot because Assombalonga looked to have been man-handled to the floor by defender Gaetano Berardi when it looked like the Leeds man wasn’t even focused on the ball as it floated into the area.

There is always a rivalry between these two sides and that edge was evident throughout. Pontus Jansson made life a misery for Assombalonga and there was bite in many areas of the pitch as well as the stands.

And the tempo of the game, set more by the Leeds players in that opening half, played in to the hands of the home side, with white shirts pressing those in red every time they got on the ball.

Leeds were rewarded with the opener midway through the opening half. While Hernandez was dangerous on one flank, Alioski was just as lively on the opposite wing and the pair combined for the opening goal.

Alioski was given the freedom to curl in a delivery to the back post, helped along by the head of Kalvin Phillips, and Hernandez coasted in front of Roberts to power Leeds into the lead by beating Darren Randolph. Cue more chants for Monk to deal with.

Leeds had the lift they wanted and they looked the better side for the remainder of that half, without testing Randolph again, and the half-time break failed to have the effect that was required because Middlesbrough fell further behind.

Frustratingly for Monk and Middlesbrough, Tavernier could have levelled things up moments beforehand. Downing sent over a teasing centre, Martin Braithwaite flicked it on to the back post where the unmarked teenager’s first touch let him down and his second was a hooked finish over the bar.

That proved costly. Leeds immediately attacked and cleverly worked a second, albeit even if Middlesbrough failed to close the opposition down quickly enough.

Kemar Roofe was the orchestrator. He danced his way into space, rolled a pass out wide for Hernandez and the former Swansea man returned the first half compliment by picking out Alioski at the back post to turn in the second just nine minutes into the second half.

After Samuel Saiz had struck the post and Braithwaite had seen an effort cleared off the line by Jansson, Monk had to gamble and did. On came Adama Traore, for his first league appearance since October 21, and Ashley Fletcher to form a four-pronged attack.

Traore made a difference with his pace and power, but there was still a sense Middlesbrough needed a lifeline and they got one when Stroud pointed to the spot – and Leeds couldn’t believe it.

There was no disputing that Luke Ayling dragged down Daniel Ayala in the area, but controversially Boro’s Spanish defender did have his arms wrapped round his marker when a corner was sent over from a corner.

After the complaints had died down, Assombalonga showed his cool by calmly sending Lonergan the wrong way to set up a frantic final 13 minutes – and Middlesbrough looked like they had levelled things up too.

But once again Braithwaite saw a deflected effort from outside the area, which was destined for the net, cleared from the goal-line with a last-ditch clearance from Jansson. This was Leeds United’s day, not Monk’s and not Middlesbrough’s either.