MIDDLESBROUGH bowed out of the EFL Cup last night after a defeat to Premier League outfit Bournemouth, but manager Garry Monk was proud of the way his players went about reacting to the criticism of recent weeks.

Boro made life hard for their top-flight hosts at the Vitality Stadium, only to be made to pay by defensive lapses that allowed the Cherries to claim a 3-1 win in front of their own supporters.

It meant Middlesbrough’s 650-mile round trip from Teesside to the south coast didn’t end in a victory that would have sealed a last-eight place as well as ended a run of five matches without a win.

But Monk felt that his side, which only included Daniel Ayala from the side that started the defeat to Cardiff on Saturday, turned in a display to show the 1,000 away fans who made the trip that they are intent on ending the slump.

Monk, whose side travel to Reading on Saturday, said: “We have not produced that level we have tonight over a period of games and I know that, but I have broad shoulders and I am happy to take that criticism as long as we keep moving. We wanted to show that response and give the fans something to shout about, I feel we did that.

“We have had criticism in recent weeks, we have not performed at the levels we are capable of, and we wanted to show we are on the right track. A lot of things in this performance said that. We had a lot of travelling fans, amazing support and we wanted to make sure they got that from us.

“We are very aware of what is being said, we are happy to take that. It’s up to me to be positive and to get us to that level we want. When you work every day and see how committed they are every day, we have tried to react in the right way. This showed what we can be.”

Middlesbrough caused problems for Bournemouth and cancelled out Jack Simpson’s 50th minute opener- after he had lost Dael Fry in the area - when 18-year-old Marcus Tavernier grabbed his first goal senior goal, following a lovely run and pass from Adama Traore.

But Bournemouth responded with two more goals. The first saw Callum Wilson score from the spot when Fry pulled down Simpson in the area and then Benik Afobe converted Wilson’s cross.

Monk said: “The scoreline flatters a little, it’s hard to fault the players, there was so much right in the performance, a lot was right against a Premier League team on their own patch.

“We matched them for long periods, unfortunately their first two goals … Dael will learn from those two situations. It was very harsh on us the scoreline because I felt they wanted to come and show we are ready to show what we are capable of and are on the right path.

“We competed so well and we need to show that in the next three games. We have lost the game but a lot of things have shown what we are about.

“It shows we are on the right track and we do know what we want to do, we have seen criticism in recent games but we have a great group here and they are committed here.”

Monk is not one to single out players but he was delighted with the impact of both Tavernier and Traore too – and challenged them both to repeat the showings now and become big players for the club.

He said: “I thought Marcus was excellent, very pleased for him. That goal deserved to warrant a bit more in terms of the result.

“He has come into the first team this season and taken his opportunity in the cup games. He needs to keep going, work hard and fight for those opportunities.

“In terms of Adama, it’s consistency with all the players that you fight for and he is no different, he needs to focus on that. Everyone knows what he is capable of and is committed and he is capable.

“Overall though, we knew the numbers of fans coming down here travelling a long distance, and we wanted to give them a performance and to show them we are ready to respond. I think they appreciated that performance and that’s what we need to hold on to.”