Live Commentary: Middlesbrough 4-0 Doncaster Rovers - as it happened

Middlesbrough welcomed Doncaster Rovers to the Riverside tonight for their first match since sacking Tony Mowbray as manager.

Mark Venus was in temporary charge of the club and gave his hopes of a full-time job a massive boost with a confident 4-0 win.

Read how it all unfolded in the North-East in our minute-by-minute updates below.

9.46pmAnyway, that's all we've got time for here on SM tonight. Thanks for joining us. Stick around on site for analysis and reaction from the Riverside. I'll leave you with our match report. Make sure you come back tomorrow as well for the usual Saturday footy madness. Until then!

9.43pmClick here to see the latest table after that demolition. Boro have moved up to 13th and things aren't looking as bad now. Donny remain 17th.

9.40pmEasy, this management lark isn't it? Is that what Mark Venus is thinking after guiding Boro to a comfortable victory in his first game in temporary charge of the club. He's now the clear favourite with the bookies to get the job full time.

90+4 minFULL-TIME: BORO 4-0 DONNY

90+2 min

They've got their shirts off now in the South Stand #UTB

— Middlesbrough FC (@Boro) October 25, 2013

90 minYELLOW! Robinson gets himself in the book for a foul as four minutes of added time are signalled by the fourth official.

90 minBORO SUB: Adomah gets just as good a reception as Kamara as he comes off for Jozsef Varga.

89 minEmnes almost gets the goal his performance has deserved as he bursts into the box before just having the ball taken off his toes as he was about to pull the trigger.

86 minBORO SUB: Kamara gets a huge reception from the Riverside as his lung-busting performance comes to an end, with Curtis Main taking his place.

83 minBoro get another as Ayala finds the net on his debut with a header from Leadbitter's corner. Turnbull had come out to claim but got nowhere near the ball as Norwich loanee Ayala got up well to head into the unguarded net.

83 minGOAL! BORO 4-0 DONNY (AYALA)

82 minGOOD SAVE! Kamara feeds it inside for Emnes, who waltzes past one man before being denied by Turnbull.

82 minBORO SUB: Venus makes his first change of the afternoon as the exciting Carayol is replaced by Jacob Butterfield.

81 minOFF THE POST! It's the closest Donny have came as Cotterill dinks for Brown whose header beats Steele but not the far post.

77 minCHANCE! Boro should have at least five by now. Again it's Emnes and Kamara who threaten as the latter pushes a shot wide from the Dutchman's cutback.

75 minDONNY SUB: A second change for the visitors sees David Cotterill replace Furman moments after Emnes let fly with another long-ranger.

73 minDonny have given up and who can really blame them. Again Boro come close as a loose ball breaks to Kamara, whose snap shot fizzes over.

72 minIt's almost four for Boro as Leadbitter strikes a vicious drive low at goal that Turnbull can't hold onto.

67 minGAME OVER! Boro make it three as Kamara is left all alone at the back post to prod home Leadbitter's deep free kick. Easy peasy.

67 minGOAL! BORO 3-0 DONNY! (KAMARA)

63 minCHANCE! This is kind of similar to Jones's miss in the first half. Carayol curls over a corner from the left that reaches the new signing at the back post. He's only about five yards out but somehow fails to make good contact and Donny clear.

61 minCarayol winds Wabara up by actually doing a little jig with his step-overs. Completely unnecessary but quite funny. Boro, at the moment, looking comfortable and on course for a morale-boosting win.

57 minCHANCE! The visitors come close again as Brown's header down falls to Furman who goes for accuracy rather than power and has his shot blocked by a last-ditch Ayala tackle.

54 minA bit of a nothing five minutes comes to light as Donny break into the Boro box with Coppinger. His shot is blocked and falls to Duffy who is just outmuscled when looking to work a yard of space.

49 minYun has been seeing plenty of the ball in the first four minutes of his debut and he's just burst down the left before dinking over an inviting cross that almost reached Brown.

47 minCLOSE! Donny almost pull one back straight away as Williams gets his clearance all wrong, slicing the ball a yard or so wide of his own goal.

46 minKICKOFF! The second half is underway at the Riverside, where the teeming rain of the first half has eased.

8.49pmDONNY SUB: Dickov makes a half-time change as Yun Suk Young makes his debut in place of Quinn. That will see Wabara switch into his favoured position of right-back.

8.46pmSTATS! Boro have had nine shots at goal to Donny's four. The visitors have had more of the ball, just, though with 52% possessioin.

8.43pmIt's right to congratulate Adomah for two very well-taken goals. The first, especially, was an absolute gem of a finish. However, in my opinion, Boro should be down to 10 men at least. Smallwood's challenge on Quinn inside the opening minute was ugly while Leadbitter's lunge on Furman should have earned a red.

8.40pmIf you're only just joining us and want a quick rundown of the opening 45, read our HT report by clicking here.

8.38pmSo it's Boro who lead thanks to Albert Adomah's fourth and fifth goals in his last three games. Donny haven't been too bad but lacked a cutting edge up top.

45+3 minHALF-TIME: BORO 2-0 DONNY

45+3 minCHANCE! Boro should have three. Kamara plays it in to Carayol, who is being played onside by Wabara but can't beat Turnbull who makes a fine save.

45+2 minDonny are ending the half really well here. Duffy, who has been excellent in this first half, has just tested Steele with a curling shot before Coppinger failed to get enough contact on a ball over the top.

45+1 minThree minutes of time added on at the end of the opening 45.

45 minWHAT A MISS! From the resulting corner, Duffy swings over a corner that's on a plate for Rovers captain Jones to head home from six yards or so. Somehow the centre-back doesn't get enough on it and it flashes wide of the far post. Big, big miss. If Donny had halved the deficit just before the interval it would have been massive.

44 minDonny threaten for the first time in a while as Brown loops a ball to the back post where Williams heads for a corner and safety for the time being. Duffy was ready and waiting right behind so it was the right call.

41 minVenus must be over the moon with how this first half has gone. If Boro can safely see out this result and continue to impress in the second half, will Mowbray's old assistant become a true contender for the full-time role?

40 minEmnes looks to slip Adomah in for his hat-trick but delays the pass a second too long so the Ghanaian is offside.

35 minIt's five goals in three games for Adomah as he gets in front of Wabara to head home Smallwood's cross. The ball was straight at Turnbull but zipped up off the slippy turf and into the roof of the net.

35 minGOAL! BORO 2-0 DONNY (ADOMAH)

32 minBoro work the ball nicely upfield through Smallwood, Leadbitter and Adomah. The latter releases Emnes who dilly-dallies inside the area before having his shot blocked.

28 minYELLOW! Another horror tackle from a Boro player as Leadbitter jumps in two-footed on Furman. For me, it's a red but referee Naylor only produces a yellow. I said beforehand that his recent record indicated to leniency.

27 minCHANCE! Big, big opening for the hosts. Adomah cuts the ball back for Emnes who instead of shooting perfectly lays it off for Carayol. The net should burst but instead it's the empty seat in Row S that takes the brunt of it.

24 minThe rain is PELTING down at the Riverside. Boro have just had a half-chance after more good work from Carayol down the left saw Kamara leap highest and loop a header over the bar.

21 minManchester City loanee Wabara is playing out of position at left-back but looks comfortable enough. He's just warmed the palms of Steele with a curling shot from 20-odd yards.

17 minSAVE! Carayol's velvet touch brings the ball down expertly before he runs at Quinn. It's far too easy for Carayol to come inside onto his favoured right foot and he shoots low and hard at goal, with Turnbull beating it out well.

15 minSmallwood gets his head up well to find Emnes down the left. The Dutch forward runs at Quinn, turning him inside out before earning a corner. The result set piece comes to nothing.

11 minDonny have responded well since the goal and just had a chance on the break as Duffy picked out Coppinger on the right. The winger couldn't then find Robinson in the middle though.

8 minWhat a delightful goal! Kamara initially does well to hold onto the ball in the centre before finding the run of Adomah streaking through the middle. The winger finished with aplomb by lobbing Turnbull from 20 yards with the outside of his boot. Think Ramires for Chelsea against Barcelona at the Camp Nou, but better. Seriously.

8 minGOAL! BORO 1-0 DONNY (ADOMAH)

5 minCHANCE! First real opening of the match comes the way of Doncaster and Coppinger, who beat his man to head the ball in front of him before pulling his shot wide. Replays show that Steele actually got a touch on it but the ref didn't see and awarded a goal kick.

4 minCarayol brings the ball forward and has a pop from distance that bobbles harmlessly wide.

1 minCRUNCH! Awful challenge from Smallwood on Quinn that should earn at least a booking. As it was inside the first minute though, Naylor lets it go.

0 minKICKOFF! We're underway at the Riverside as Donny kick off.

7.42pmHere come the two sides out of the tunnel. Boro are in their predominantly red kits while Doncaster don their blue and black away kit.

7.40pmREFEREE WATCH! The man with the whistle tonight is Michael Naylor. He's only taken charge of one Championship game this season back in August between QPR and Ipswich. He has been cautious with his cards so far this season, not a single red.

7.37pmClick here to see the Championship table ahead of this weekend's fixtures. Both Boro and Donny start on 12 points in 16th and 17th respectively. A win tonight would take either side within touching distance of the top half.

7.35pmPREDICTION! Ten minutes until we get underway at the Riverside so I best make my prediction. I fully expect Boro to come through and am backing them to win 2-0.

7.32pmRovers fans may also be wondering about the name of Yun Suk-Young in their squad. The Korean's loan move from Queens Park Rangers was only confirmed this evening. He joins Rovers until December 31.

7.30pmDickov makes one change to his Doncaster side as Theo Robinson, who scored at Reading last week after coming on as a substitute, starts in place of Richie Wellens.

7.26pmRight then, Venus has gone to work on that team, making six changes from last time out. Daniel Ayala makes his debut for the club after moving North from Norwich on a three-month loan earlier this week. Elsewhere, Jonathan Woodgate, Rhys Williams, Mustapha Carayol, Richard Smallwood and Marvin Emnes come in.

7.23pmSUBS! And the two benches tonight:

BORO: Leutwiler, Hines, Friend, Varga, Butterfield, Jutkiewicz, Main
DONNY: Maxted, Paynter, Cotterill, McCullough, De Val, Yun Suk Young, Peterson

7.21pmDONNY XI: Turnbull; Quinn, Jones, Khumalo, Wabara; Keegan, Furman, Duffy; Coppinger, Robinson; Brown

7.19pmBORO XI: Steele; Williams, Woodgate, Ayala, Gibson; Smallwood, Leadbitter, Adomah, Carayol; Emnes, Kamara

7.17pmThe fixture tonight is the first for Boro without Mr Mowbray, who lost his job on Monday night. Saturday's 3-2 defeat for Barnsley proved to be the final straw for the former centre-back. His assistant, Mark Venus, remains at the club and is in charge tonight. Let's see who he's picked...

7.16pmEvening folks! Tonight's game in the second tier sees two bottom-half clubs meet in the North-East as Boro welcome Donny.