When the home side moved long the left wing in the 12th minute, the resulting cross was headed in at the far post to give Boro the lead, but Tottenham should have equalised when Kudos Oyenuga was brought down in the area and Harry Kane had the penalty kick saved.
Poor defensive work let Boro in for a second goal on 18 minutes, but Anton Blackwood hit back with a goal by shooting home from inside the penalty area with 25 minutes gone. Boro re-established their two goal advantage with a third goal scored before the half time whistle.
Tottenham were better in the second half, but could only pull the score back to 2-3 with a fine goal from Paul-Jose Mpoku to begin the campaign with a defeat.