NO Halloween horror stories here then. On a night when the rest of the country might have been suffering scares, Middlesbrough eased to a second away victory in the space of four days to move to within a place of the play-off places. No need for tricks, just plenty of attractive attacking football to serve up a series of treats.

The Teessiders were far too good for a Hull side in freefall in the bottom half of the table, just as they had been equally superior to Reading at the weekend. A week and a half ago, serious questions were being asked of where Garry Monk’s team were heading. Two games on, and ‘back to the Premier League’ looks a reasonable answer.

They controlled last night’s game from the off, opening the scoring in the 13th minute through a crisp finish from Martin Braithwaite before doubling their lead before the interval as Britt Assombalonga added to his increasingly-impressive goals tally.

Hull briefly threatened a fightback when Kamil Grosicki scored from outside the area with 18 minutes left, but Boro’s superiority remained marked and a third goal arrived from the penalty spot in the closing stages as Grant Leadbitter took advantage of a Michael Hector foul that resulted in the Hull defender being sent off.

Aggressive and organised at the back, with Daniel Ayala producing a performance reminiscent of some of his best displays in the Championship, Boro were equally as effective going forward, with Braithwaite and Assombalonga linking neatly throughout.

Given last night’s events on Wearside, one imagines Middlesbrough’s players will be licking their lips in anticipation of this weekend’s Tees-Wear derby with Sunderland.

Perhaps, on Sunday, Monk will name an unchanged line-up for the third game in succession. He resisted the temptation to change things last night, and it did not take long for his faith to be rewarded.

Braithwaite has made a positive impact since returning from injury at the end of September, and while his first-minute effort was rightly chalked off for a clear offside, the Dane’s energetic running troubled Hull’s defenders all night.

While Assombalonga likes to play on the shoulder of the final defender, Braithwaite is a much more fluid attacker, dropping deep to link the midfield and attack, drifting wide to pull opponents out of position and timing his runs into the area in an attempt to have maximum impact.

He is crucial to the way Monk wants his side to play, and his tenacity was the key to Boro opening the scoring within the opening quarter-of-an-hour.

Kevin Stewart’s failure to control a bouncing ball created an opening close to the edge of the area, and Braithwaite pounced to devastating effect. Powering into the box, the summer signing from Toulouse dispatched a crisp low finish into the bottom left-hand corner. Last night’s outing was his sixth Championship start, and he now boasts an impressive three goals.

Saturday’s win at Reading had seen Boro open the scoring at a very similar stage and hold on for what proved a routine victory, and last night’s game on Humberside followed an identical pattern.

The visitors sat back for the most part, soaking up pressure largely thanks to the efforts of Ayala and Ben Gibson. The centre-half duo were integral to Boro’s promotion when they were last in the Championship, and it is surely no coincidence that the Teessiders’ defensive fortunes have improved markedly since Monk opted to reunite them midway through last month.

Ayala in particular was in a resolute mood, charging into tackles and ensuring Hull striker Fraizer Campbell was never afforded much room in the area.

Boro’s task was also aided by the funereal atmosphere in the KCOM Stadium, with a sparse home crowd only ever really sparking into life when cries of “We want Allam out” rang around the home ends. Like Sunderland a hundred-or-so miles to the north, Hull are a club struggling to come to terms with life in the Championship, saddled with an owner who is desperate to sell.

It felt like only a matter of time before Boro made their superiority count for a second time, and while Hull survived a scare on the half-hour mark when Hector almost sliced George Friend’s cross into his own net – Friend was an early replacement at left-back for the injured Fabio da Silva – the visitors doubled their lead just six minutes later.

The goal could hardly have been simpler, with Cyrus Christie swinging over a deep cross from the right-hand side, and Assombalonga peeling off his marker to guide home a stooped header at the back post. With eight goals to his name this season, Boro’s number nine is the second-highest scorer in the second tier.

With a two-goal cushion providing a degree of comfort, the Teessiders spent most of the second half looking to pick off their opponents on the break.

They almost claimed a third goal five minutes after the interval, but while Marcus Tavernier latched on to Assombalonga’s lay-off in the area, the winger’s shot was deflected narrowly wide. Nevertheless, after making his first Championship start at the weekend, 18-year-old Tavernier is now firmly established as a permanent part of Boro’s first-team squad.

Allan McGregor produced a decent save to deny Assombalonga after the striker wriggled into space on the left of the area, before fashioning an even better stop moments later to keep out Gibson’s back-post header after the centre-half delivered a perfectly-timed run to meet Stewart Downing’s free-kick.

Boro’s only failing was their profligacy, and the evening became marginally more tense when Hull pulled a goal back from nowhere with 18 minutes left.

Grosicki was the best player on the pitch when Hull beat Boro in the Premier League last season, and having come off the bench in the early stages of the second half last night, the Polish midfielder seized possession close to the edge of the area before clipping a superb finish into the top right-hand corner.

It was a goal completely out of keeping with the rest of Hull’s performance, but Boro applied a final flourish with five minutes left.

Hector brought down substitute Ashley Fletcher in the area, earning a straight red card for leading with his elbow, and Leadbitter converted from the penalty spot for the second game in succession.