Former England internationals Stewart Downing and David Nugent scored their first goals of the season to fire Middlesbrough to a 2-0 win over MK Dons.

It took Boro 70 minutes to open the scoring when Downing, who rejoined the club from West Ham United in the summer, cut inside and displayed his Premier League quality to fire home.

Nugent, who got the nod to start ahead of top-scorer Kike, then doubled the Championship big-spenders' lead when played through one on one with Dons stopper David Martin.

Substitute Simon Church came closest to scoring for the visitors, hitting the post only moments after entering the fray in the second half.

In truth, the first half was a drab affair. Boro winger Adam Reach forced David Martin into a good save early on, and Samir Carruthers wasted a Dons counter-attack by shooting straight at Dimi Konstanopoulos, but neither side fashioned much in the way of clear-cut opportunities.

The second period was more open as both sides went in search of a goal, and it was home-town hero Downing who eventually brought the game to life with his strike from the edge of the area, before former Leicester City striker Nugent sealed the result.