Norwich had to stomach Borja Sainz’s moment of petulance as they turned down the chance to move into the Championship play-off positions.
The Spaniard raised his studs on Jonny Howson’s thigh during a first-half flashpoint and was rewarded with a straight red card from referee Bobby Madley.
Norwich, who had been dominant until that point on the half-hour mark and led through Ashley Barnes’ brutal finish, never recovered from falling to 10th.
Middlesbrough took control and were ahead at half-time thanks to goals from Marcus Forss and Emmanuel Latte Lath, before Lukas Engel wrapped up the match after the break.
The win eases the pressure on Michael Carrick after a torrid run of just one league win in seven saw him worryingly slide towards a relegation battle at the end of the season.
Marcus Forss celebrates after drawing Middlesbrough level against Norwich at the Riverside
Forss was able to take advantage of a poor clearance from Dimitris Giannoulis to fire Boro’s leveler
Emmanuel Latte Lath fired Boro ahead just before half-time as the game turned upside down
Latte Lath was given the freedom of Teesside after Norwich were shut down defensively
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Norwich boss David Wagner has been left to rue a missed opportunity as travel sickness continues – the Canaries have managed a paltry 17 points from 18 away games this season.
They could have jumped above Hull into sixth place after the Tigers were defeated by Birmingham City on Tuesday night, but Sainz ruined that for them.
“It was a good result for us, we needed a win and a good result and something to go our way,” Carrick said.
‘The red card is a snapshot, we were just starting to get on the right track. We handled the broadcast very well. It’s not easy playing against ten men and the period before half-time turned the game in our direction.
‘We were positive, we stretched it, we created chances, we were aggressive, on the front foot and a bit of spark came back.
‘We have seen enough over the years to understand that it is not always easy (playing against ten men), so I am very happy that the boys made the best of the situation.
‘The performance didn’t have to be too perfect, we just had to get that feeling back tonight.’
Norwich made a blistering start and put Middlesbrough’s goal under fire from the first whistle.
Norwich’s Borja Sainz trudges off after being dismissed for kicking out at Jonny Howson
Referee Robert Madley waved the red card to Sainz after the flashpoints in the first half
After this came together for the ball, Sainz, on his back, raised his studs to Howson
Sainz created an effort early on and curled the follow-up just wide after Dimitris Giannoulis had broken free and forced Seny Dieng into a block.
Dieng then denied Barnes, who was unable to get a clean link into his attack after Giannoulis, coming in behind full-back Luke Ayling, held him down from the left.
A Norwich goal looked increasingly inevitable and came through Barnes’ improvisation after 17 minutes, when the chance seemed to have passed.
It owed everything to Gabriel Sara’s perfectly measured pass over the Boro defense, with Barnes beating the offside trap but initially mis-kicking and losing balance.
From his position on the lawn, Barnes had the presence of mind to sneak a boot and beat the advancing Dieng.
Norwich were in control while Boro struggled to even get anything done going forward, but the pendulum of the match swung when Sainz saw red on the half hour.
The Spaniard’s 50-50 tackle in midfield with Jonny Howson was innocuous enough but left the Norwich man on his back.
In crazy fashion, Sainz kicked out and the studs hit Howson’s thigh, with the Boro man telling referee Robert Madley that he had felt it.
‘Kick’ would be an exaggeration, but the fact that Sainz had even pushed his studs in Howson’s direction was enough to warrant the red card.
In a flash the color of the game changed and Norwich struggled to sort themselves out at 10.
Forss’ equalizer followed at short notice, a simple finish from close range after Giannoulis presented the ball straight to him in an attempt to clear under pressure after Lukas Engel’s cross on the left caused panic.
That was Boro’s first goal all evening and they were level. As the Riverside crowd came alive, things got even better two minutes before halftime.
This was another very soft concession from Norwich, with Latte Lath departing with what seemed an age to pick his spot, having somehow gone completely unmarked to bring down Matt Clarke’s cross.
Marcus Forss played his part and pulled Latte Lath’s marker by attempting to reach the ball. Norwich could only curse Sainz as the match turned upside down.
Lukas Engel celebrates scoring Boro’s third goal during the second half at Riverside
Engel met Luke Ayling’s cross from the right with a precise first-time finish for 3-1
Things went so well for Norwich when Ashley Barnes fired them into an early lead
In contrast, he unexpectedly had an excellent platform to grab a much-needed three points and early attacks in the second half saw Angus Gunn deny Riley McGree with his feet and Howson curled just wide.
The third arrived just after the hour, a clinical first finish from Engel after Ayling floated a deep cross over Jack Stacey’s head.
Boro sensed the opportunity to make a big score and Gunn punched out a powerful strike from McGree.
Engel also saw Jacob Sorensen’s shot cleared off the line, but Boro were already on their way to a welcome victory.
