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Middlesbrough FC fans were given their first glimpse of new boy Viktor Fischer in action during the 2-0 friendly win against Doncaster.

The Denmark international came on at the break and lined up on the left wing - in his first outing since securing a £3.6m move from Ajax.

It was far from a classic in the South Yorkshire sunshine, but Boro did strike early as Stewart Downing's deflected effort handed Aitor Karanka's side the perfect start on 13 minutes.

And as the game petered out, Academy prospect Alex Pattison - arguably the standout performer - slammed home from close-range on 81 minutes to secure the win.

Like they did at York seven days ago, Boro made 11 changes at half-time to give all the first-team squad valuable minutes before they jet off to Marbella on Monday.

Most of the 1,118 Boro fans at the Keepmoat were hoping to see new super-stopper Valdes in action - and although the Spaniard posed for photographs and signed autographs before kick-off, he was not named in the 22-man squad.

Valdes' surprise omission from the teamsheet meant fellow newbie Fischer was instantly promoted to centre stage.

Big things are expected of him

Big things are expected of Fischer, following a scintillating summer for Denmark - which left his national coach salivating.

Given some warm words of encouragement by captain George Friend, the 21-year-old lined up on the left of Boro's attacking trio - but he didn't stay there for long.

Drifting this way and that, Fischer spent most of his time in the No 10 position - with Adam Reach and Alex Pattison willing runners either side of him.

A Dutch journalist reliably informed us that Boro new boy Fischer had "lungs like a horse", after swapping Amsterdam for Teesside.

And we got an early sighter of his rapid pace, as he went above and beyond to close down a dawdling Doncaster defender.

Off the ball, he looked bright enough - running into decent areas - but in truth, it was a pre-season game lacking any cutting edge or quality.

His most eyecatching moment came with 15 minutes to go, as he cut inside from the left and slid through Jordan Rhodes - but the striker's shot was parried over.

A glimpse - but nothing more. Fischer ticked off his first game in a Boro shirt.

Now we hope that his best - and Boro's best - is still to come.

Boro first half: Mejias, Nsue, Morris, Gibson, McGinley, Clayton, Forshaw, Carayol, Downing, de Pena, Nugent.

Boro second half: Dimi, B Halliday, Baptiste, Jackson, Friend, de Sart, De Roon, Fischer, Pattison, Reach, Rhodes.