FOR a short time in the second half on the south coast last night it seemed Middlesbrough might finally get to right a few of the wrongs they had endured against Bournemouth in the recent past.

The Vitality Stadium was the stage in 2015 when automatic promotion hopes effectively ended under Aitor Karanka. Then six months ago it was Steve Agnew’s turn to suffer deflation and depression as head coach when the Cherries cruised to a victory which pushed the men from Teesside closer to Premier League relegation.

This time around it was Garry Monk’s time to suffer disappointment, albeit in the EFL Cup rather than the league, as Bournemouth prevented him from reaching the last eight of the competition in his first season in charge.

How Monk could have done with a lift after seeing Middlesbrough fail to win any of their five Championship matches in between the two League Cup ties. Instead, ahead of this Saturday’s trip to Reading, this little cup run has come to an end.

Defensive lapses proved costly again, even if this was against top-flight opposition and there were promising showings in a number of areas, particularly from wingers Adama Traore and Marcus Tavernier.

Traore laid on 18-year-old Tavernier’s first senior goal in the 56th minute and that cancelled out Jack Simpson’s opener four minutes after half-time.

But young defender Dael Fry pulled down Simpson with 15 minutes remaining and that gifted Callum Wilson with the chance to put Bournemouth ahead again.

Once Wilson had done that, he laid on a third for strike partner Benik Afobe to seal the win with seven minutes to go.

Middlesbrough’s hopes of winning at Bournemouth for the first time since 1991 – in the League Cup – were over and now Monk must come up with a way of beating Reading in the Championship this Saturday.

The previous two games at the Vitality Stadium had seen Middlesbrough ship seven without reply; one was a 3-0 win that led to the Cherries celebrating promotion and the other was the heavy crushing in April as Agnew’s side showed little fight when it mattered to boost the fight for survival.

Bournemouth have shown since the first of those meetings how to successfully adapt to the top-flight, and Eddie Howe’s team on this occasion fielded six of that team which actually beat Middlesbrough in the Championship in 2015.

Admittedly Howe made eight changes to the weekend side which won at Stoke, while his counterpart who made the trip down from Teesside made ten changes in a bid to not only progress but lift spirits after five matches without a win.

Bournemouth settled quickest with the changes and should really have been ahead, having created the best three chances of the half. Wasteful finishing kept Middlesbrough, who had a couple of half chances themselves, in it.

The first of those was actually converted, when Lys Mousset headed beyond Dimi Konstantopoulos and into the net only for him to have gone slightly too early to meet Ryan Fraser’s lovely delivery from a free-kick.

Callum Wilson, a target for Newcastle last season, turned an effort wide soon after Adam Forshaw only half cleared from the danger zone, while Fraser missed the target from a close-range rebound following Konstantopoulos’ initial save from Charlie Daniels’ volley.

Middlesbrough’s last win was actually in the EFL Cup before the five match winless run, but there was no place in the starting line-up for the star of that show against Aston Villa that night because Lewis Wing, signed from Shildon, was only named on the bench. Marcus Tavernier did get another chance though and he tried hard to get involved throughout his time on the pitch.

Another recall was handed to Connor Roberts, on loan from Swansea, and he tested the palms of Artur Boruc before the break. The former Celtic goalkeeper did his best to mess it up.

Traore, guilty of gifting Cardiff the match-winning penalty on Saturday, grew into the game as it wore on and his trademark running caused problems. The last of those before the break ended with an effort curling narrowly away from the right hand post.

The tempo Middlesbrough finished the opening period was not carried into the second half, and within four minutes of the game restarting they had fallen behind.

A routine corner from Fraser into the penalty area should have been dealt with more convincingly, instead Simpson was allowed to watch the ball drop in his direction and volley beyond Konstantopoulos.

But the lead didn’t stop long. Moments after referee Simon Hooper had brushed off Bournemouth’s appeals for a penalty when Friend tackled Fraser, Traore broke at speed at the other end.

The unpredictable Spaniard beat his man in the centre of the pitch, rolled a lovely pass behind the defence for Tavernier to control and power low and beyond Boruc to level things up.

It was the sort of finish any winger would have been proud of, not least this one who has only played for the first team in the EFL Cup this season and is closer to knocking on the team’s door to figure in the Championship.

Despite Middlesbrough’s hard work and best efforts to make life hard for Bournemouth, though, they pressed the self-destruct button again with 14 minutes remaining – from another set-piece.

This time Simpson worked his way ahead of Fry, who wrapped his arms around his man who fell to the floor to earn a penalty for Wilson to convert. From that moment on Middlesbrough struggled and Bournemouth took control.

And Fry, who should have a fantastic future ahead of him given his talent, must have wanted the ground to eat him up when the third came from down his side. Wilson turned him, sent over a delivery across the face of goal and Afobe slid into wrap things up.