Adomah hits top form as he scores in Middlesbrough friendly victory

Albert Adomah started his preparation for the English Premier League in impressive fashion as he scored one and set up another in Middlesbrough's 6-0 pre-season friendly win over York City on Saturday.

The Ghana winger demonstrated his blistering form even though he played only in the first half of the game against the lower division side.

A fortunate Scott Flinders own goal set a strong Boro side on their way, with further efforts from David Nugent, Albert Adomah, Jordan Rhodes (two) and Adam Reech underlining the visitors’ class.

City, though, had made the early running with Clovis Kamdjo, Richard Brodie, Simon Heslop and Yan Klukowski all missing the target before the newly-promoted Premier League outfit struck three times in 19 first-half minutes.

First, Adomah’s cross from the right was headed against the far post by Carlos de Pena but bounced over the line off the back of an unlucky Flinders on 19 minutes.

Nugent made it 2-0 four minutes later, finding an unguarded net from close in after his initial shot had been parried by Flinders, following Alex Pattison’s through ball.

Aitor Karanka’s men went on to add an eye-catching third goal when Adomah’s cleverly-disguised pass sent Nugent clear through the right channel.

Nugent then smartly lifted the ball over an advancing Flinders and squared to Adomah for a tap-in.

Substitute Rhodes added a fourth on 64 minutes, when his powerful shot on the turn beat trialist City keeper Ed Wilczynski from 12 yards following Mustapha Carayol’s left-wing cross.

It was 5-0 on 75 minutes when a long ball forward flicked off Tyler Walton’s head, releasing Reech who lifted a perfectly-weighted edge-of-the-box lob over an advancing Wilczynski.

City did go close to claiming a spectacular consolation, but Matty Dixon’s 25-yard strike rattled the visitors’ crossbar, before Rhodes completed the scoring when he forced home from close in after Reech’s low centre from the left byline..

Middlesbrough: Meijas (Konstantopoulos, 46) Nsue (Halliday, 46), Morris (McGhee, 46), Baptiste (Jackson, 46), Husband (Friend, 27), Adomah (Carayol, 46), de Sart (Clayton, 46), Forshaw (de Roon, 46), de Pena (Downing, 46), Nugent (Rhodes, 46), Pattison (Reech, 46).

Attendance: 2,812 (1,508 from Boro)