Middlesbrough 4 Norwich City 0

THE wait goes on for Middlesbrough to hit top spot in the Championship, but at this rate it will not take Aitor Karanka’s men too much longer to get there.

Only goal difference now prevents second-placed Boro from leading the division after a comprehensive demolition job on Norwich City, who many expect to return to the Premier League at the first attempt this season.

After Patrick Bamford’s fifth-minute header earned a perfect start, Grant Leadbitter took centre stage by following up his 33rd minute penalty with his ninth of the campaign.

Without being exceptional, this was an extremely effective performance to see off a promotion rival and highlighted once more the quality which Karanka clearly has at his disposal.

And after substitute Yanic Wildschut, unfortunate to be left out after his man of the match display at Rotherham on Saturday, added the fourth five minutes from time, attention turned to the visit of Bournemouth this weekend.

The Cherries’ arrival – a battle of the top two after the south coast club’s victory over Sheffield Wednesday - deserves a much bigger crowd than the 16,000 or so home fans inside the Riverside Stadium to watch the ninth victory of a campaign which could yet end in promotion.

Middlesbrough, looking to go top for the first time since November 2012, have a buzz about them and they are also starting to play with style and a hint of arrogance. There may be a long way to go before the automatic promotion places are decided, but Karanka has the Teessiders’ ticking.

Within 80 seconds Boro had made their presence felt in the final third. An ambitious early run from Ryan Fredericks, back in at full-back instead of Emilio Nsue, earned a chance when a blocked cross from the left ended up dropping to him on the edge of the box; the loan signing from Tottenham chested down and rifled a half volley narrowly over.

That was just the sort of high intensity start Karanka had demanded. With Boro's next serious foray forward, Lee Tomlin played in Albert Adomah down the left.

Adomah's turn of pace got him into space near the byline, then delivered the ideal cross for Bamford to stoop and head in from six yards. Goalkeeper John Ruddy was beaten and at that stage the Riverside crowd must have hoped for an easy night.

It did not turn out quite like that initially. In fact Norwich were unfortunate not to have levelled before Boro had created a serious second chance.

Dimi Konstantopoulos had to get down low to his right to palm away a decent effort from ex-Boro man Gary O’Neil, making his second start after signing as a free agent, while Kyle Lafferty shot a yard over after creating space in the box.

But then, just as it seemed Boro would have to find some extra energy from somewhere after the restart, they burst into life again down the left to earn a spot-kick, however controversial.

When Kike cleverly backheeled into the path of overlapping George Friend, the full-back’s first touch got him away from Russell Martin in the box. Martin appeared to get a slight touch, Friend went down and referee Nigel Miller seemed to take an age to point to the spot but eventually he did.

There has only been one man to take a Boro penalty this season and Leadbitter, with his fifth successful spot-kick of the campaign, slotted into the bottom right corner with Ruddy diving in the opposite direction.

Despite the 12 remaining minutes of the first-half, Boro were unable to increase their advantage and what confidence Norwich had shown in the first half had disappeared. Neil Adams, the Norwich boss had to come up with something, so introduced former Celtic striker Gary Hooper for defensive midfielder Alex Tettey.

But that change did not have the desired effect. Boro still proved the most dangerous. After Leadbitter hit the side netting with a 25-yard drive, Fredericks saw an ambitious strike from even further out turned behind for a corner by Ruddy.

Leadbitter managed to hit the right side of the net with his next opportunity with 21 minutes remaining. The former Sunderland man moved freely into the penalty area, where Tomlin picked him out with a lovely chip, and the midfielder jumped marginally off the floor to loop a header over Ruddy.

There was still time for a fourth. When Leadbitter’s corner was badly dealt with by Ruddy and his defence, substitute Wildschut pounced in a crowded box to poke over the line to complete the win. It might not have been enough to lift Boro ahead of Bournemouth, but that time could soon come.