DI HARD V; Boro bogeyman Roberto strikes again.. and again and again and again and again.

Byline: MIKE WALTERS

MIDDLESBRO 0

WEST BROM 5

M'BORO:Coyne 4, McMahon 4, Wheater 4, St Ledger 5, Grounds 6, Yeates 5, Williams 5 ,Arca 4 , (Digard 57, 6), Johnson 4, Aliadiere 5 (Folan 32, 5), Emnes 4 (Lita 67, 5).

WEST BROM: Carson 6, Zuiverloon 7, Olsson 7 ,Martis 7 ,Mattock 6 ,(Barnett 73, 7), Mulumbu 8, Dorrans 9 , Brunt 8 (Wood 82), Thomas 8 , Bednar 6, Moore 6 (Koren 64, 6). Goals: Brunt 17, 31, Mulumbu 42, Bednar 82, Thomas 89

REFEREE: Trevor Kettle ATTENDANCE: 22,725

BORO bogeyman Roberto Di Matteo is still mugging the Smoggies 12 years after his goal inside 42 seconds at the FA Cup Final.

Every time Middlesbrough made it to Wembley in the closing overs of the 20th century, Di Matteo was there to let down their tyres with Chelsea.

And as Boro boss Gareth Southgate conceded his side had been hit by a "sledgehammer," West Brom's fivegoal romp by the Riverside didn't just puncture the earlyexperience season optimism on Teesside - it was a high-speed blow-out.

West Brom's performance, a tribute to new manager Di Matteo (below), we can deal with in short measure. Everything they touched turned to gold, while everything Boro tried turned to manure.

The Baggies may not be enough for the Premier League, but they are too slick for the Championship.

On his first visit since Boro showed him the door five years ago, midfielder Chris Brunt scored twice - the second an instinctive 45-yard return of serve from Danny Coyne's under-clubbed clearance.

Yousuff Mulumbu's header put them out of sight before the interval. Middlesbrough were more ragged than a rag doll by the time Roman Bednar and Jerome Thomas rubbed their noses in it.

Boro's spectacular collapse deserves further inspection, and Southgate did not attempt to hide behind excuses. "I have to be careful when I say we will learn from that because lots of people will say we should have learned by now," he said.

"But for this team the first few games have all been an upward curve and now they have been hit by a sledgehammer.

To a degree, one or two kept going but there were a few who buckled.

"It is always a difficult losing at home in front of your own fans, but that was annihilation, so they are not going to be too chuffed."

Brunt described his longrange goal as the best of his career and said: "As soon as it left my foot I knew it was going in. It was my first game back here and it went like a dream."

Di Matteo remained more deadpan than comic Jack Dee. He said: "Believe it or not, I'm really happy - and if I don't look it, that's only because I don't get excited too easily, but I haven't a clue how I should act as a manager.

"As a player, I got excited when I won trophies, but we have not achieved anything yet.

"If we're in this position at the end of the season, you'll see me jumping up and down."

CAPTION(S):

JINX Di Matteo's FA Cup Final goal against Boro in 1997 SLOPPY JUMPERS Brunt finds a way past the Boro wall with his free-kick opener