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A dominant display from Middlesbrough saw them ease to victory over 10-man Rotherham at the New York Stadium.

The visitors took an early lead through Patrick Bamford's neat turn and finish - his second league goal of the season.

Yanic Wildschut then doubled Boro's lead from close range and Rotherham's Jordan Bowery was sent off following an off-the-ball clash with George Friend.

Matt Derbyshire struck the post for the hosts after the break before Lee Tomlin added a deserved third for Boro.

The result temporarily moved Middlesbrough into the promotion places - although Bournemouth's win in the evening kick-off pushed Boro down to third - while Rotherham drop to 17th.

Kike and Bamford had a number of chances to extend the lead for Aitor Karanka's side, before Tomlin finally put an end to matters in the closing stages with a quality run and finish.

Wildschut, making his first start for the club, was a threat throughout and, after he rifled in left-footed for Boro's second, Rotherham rarely looked like getting back into it.

The match was then as good as over as a contest when Bowery was shown a straight red card appearing to aim a low kick at Friend.

Substitute Bowery had only been on the pitch for four minutes and 18 seconds.

After that, the closest the Millers came to a goal was Derbyshire's strike which clipped the outside of the post.

The defeat was Rotherham's first at home since a 2-0 loss to Brentford at the end of August.

Rotherham manager Steve Evans: "Are we going to go away remembering the game and the quality of the Middlesbrough team?

"We go away remembering an absolutely shocking, awful, woeful, disgraceful, abject decision to send Jordan Bowery off. There are no other words I can use for it.

"That assistant is known to us as a management team: when he was appointed we feared what would happen and it's happened today.

"There is not even a case for a yellow card. One or two of the (Middlesbrough) players and staff apologised to me in the tunnel at half-time about the sending off. That has been a wrongful decision."

Middlesbrough manager Aitor Karanka: "I think when this (the sending off) happened we were winning 2-0 and I don't think it is a very big important thing.

"I am very pleased with the performance because everybody knew how difficult it was going to be to beat this team in this stadium.

"I am very pleased because they performed very well and our attitude was very good."