THERE was an exciting glimpse of Middlesbrough’s attacking future for the travelling supporters who turned up at Boundary Park to witness a comfortable passage in to the second round of the Capital One Cup.

See a gallery of photos from tonight's victory here

More than 1,200 away fans were rewarded for making the trip to Greater Manchester by seeing summer signings Diego Fabbrini and Cristhian Stuani power Boro beyond Oldham Athletic.

Defeating a League Two team in the first tie of the League Cup might not sound the most appealing way to spend a warm evening, but try telling that to the Teesside contingent who got to see Fabbrini run the show in the first half and Stuani score his first goals for the club.

After forgotten man Yanic Wildschut put Middlesbrough ahead with a decent finish in the 24th minute, Fabbrini showed why Aitor Karanka was so keen to sign him on loan from Watford by teeing up Stuani for his first four minutes before the break.

Then the Uruguayan striker, who scored goals for fun in Spain before his £3.6m move from Espanyol, added a second just after the hour to complete the win and provide Karanka with plenty of food for thought in his attempts to make Middlesbrough more potent in and around the penalty box.

Oldham did pull one back in stoppage time through Daniel Philliskirk but Middlesbrough had already done enough to progress.

Fabbrini, who was eventually replaced shortly after he needed treatment for a knock late in the second half, caused problems for the Oldham rearguard and it is hoped he can reproduce that on the Championship stage in the months ahead.

And for Stuani, starting a game for the first time since the Copa America, there is every chance that there is more to come when he gets match fit and in full flow.

Even though Sunday’s opening goalless draw at Preston was by no means the worst display in the world, Middlesbrough still needed a goalscoring boost during a second outing and got one.

The fact it was against lower league opposition should have helped too, even if there were eight changes. Those included full competitive debuts for summer signings Stuani, Fabbrini and defender Jack Stephens.

And after impressing against Oldham there is every chance they will start when Bolton head for the Riverside Stadium this weekend, which was what Karanka hoped for before he lands another new striker in the transfer market.

The Northern Echo:

AT THE DOUBLE: Stuani scores for Boro

David Nugent, the Leicester man, is the closest to heading to Teesside, but Stuani’s appearance at the top of the Middlesbrough system provided an early chance to see what he could do in the more advanced role rather than operating slightly behind.

And after a few early touches which smacked of lack of recent football, the South American made some nice moves and showed signs that he will link well with those around him even before his well taken goal.

Oldham, who made their intentions clear when Lee Croft shot narrowly over inside ten seconds, could easily have taken the lead before Middlesbrough did.

Philliskirk and Jonathan Forte saw on-target efforts deflect wide when goalkeeper Tomas Mejias, who also had to save an effort from Jake Cassidy, looked beaten.

Before and after those Middlesbrough created the clearer cut openings and the first of those was a penalty which Adam Clayton failed to convert inside just seven minutes.

It came about by the invention and drive of Fabbrini, which was a regular fillip during the encounter. He was always a willing mover to receive a pass and keen to run beyond the striker.

And the first time he did so he earned the spot-kick. He played a neat wall pass off Stuani before attempting to round the keeper only for David Cornell to bring him down. There were blue shirts around, but he was fortunate to stay on the pitch.

Cornell got up and dived to his right to get strong hands to Clayton’s dead ball from 12 yards which was drilled at a nice height for the man between the posts. The midfielder is still waiting for his first Middlesbrough goal in 51 appearances.

After Oldham had threatened to find the net at the other end only to fail, Middlesbrough found an extra gear when they moved forward. Stuani was denied by Cornell after running behind the defence to latch on to a cleverly threaded pass from Southampton loan signing Stephens.

But the first goal did arrive shortly after. Albert Adomah, standing in as captain, played a lovely pass for Wildschut to run on to down the left. The Dutch winger, without a goal since November, charged towards goal before slipping a neat finish underneath the keeper.

Oldham, under the management of former Sunderland academy coach Darren Kelly, still showed some nice ideas and a desire to cause problems, but the crucial second followed with half-time approaching.

The adventurous Fabbrini made his way to the byline with a delightful run at the end of twists and turns to beat his marker before teasing over an inviting cross for Stuani to rise unmarked ten yards out and head in to the far corner.

After the restart it was very much the same again. Middlesbrough rarely looked in any trouble and Stuani added his second just after the hour when he was nicely placed at the back post to convert James Husband’s deep cross that was poorly dealt with by the Oldham defence.

Oldham still pressed to try to find a goal themselves, with Mejias doing well to get down and deny Philliskirk after a nice pass from former Blackburn midfielder David Dunn.

After that Middlesbrough dealt with what Oldham threw at them until Philliskirk curled in a consolation deep in to stoppage time from 18 yards.

But Middlesbrough’s fans, and crucially Karanka, got to see what the Spanish head coach had hoped for when he named the team beforehand - attacking improvement.