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EIO... FOREVER 1-11-05
None of us expected it and the odds were stacked against it. I couldn't believe it at the time and it still hasn't sunk in. Who would have thought that David could defeat Goliath in such emphatic fashion?
I'm sure I'm not alone. Who could have predicted the biggest shock of the season so far? Newcastle's 3-0 win at West Brom really has stunned the world of football.
And this after manager Graeme Souness defended Jean-Alain Boumsong's inability to stay on his feet by claiming, "People have to realise that pitch at St. James' Park is treacherous for leggy players". Souness added, "Sometimes it looks like he's playing on ice", which must make a change for the one time Boro favourite, who himself has spent his entire career with the Geordies on thin ice.
Elsewhere this weekend it's been business as usual. Sunderland made Portsmouth look like Champions League contenders as they capitulated to what Mick McCarthy described as an "embarrassing" home defeat, while we, the MIGHTY Boro, strolled to a comfortable home win against the Great Manchester United.
"What?!", I hear you ask. "Boro beat Man Utd?" In fact the answer to that question is no, we didn't beat them. We hammered them. And we wasted no time is doing so.
It was only the second minute when Gaizka Mendieta bent a dipping, thirty-yard shot beyond the flailing arms of United keeper Edwin Van Der Sarr. Mendieta, Mendieta, Ole Ole Ole...
To my surprise, the instant introduction of Doriva from the substitutes bench was not forthcoming. Instead, waves of attacking football followed. A second goal looked just as likely as an equaliser at this stage. it was all to play for.
After Chris Riggot superbly blocked Wayne Rooney's goal bound effort, the momentum swung back the way of the Boro.
Mendieta was again involved, this time playing a huge part in Boro's second. His raking fifty-yard pass landed perfectly in the path of onrushing 'skipper' Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, whose elegant touch was too much for Rio Ferdinand, and his accurate shot was too much for Van Der Sarr. 2-0, and still no sign of Doriva.
And then, with only a few first half moments remaining, Boro were awarded a spot kick after Kieran Richardson hauled down the galloping Stuart Parnaby.
The linesman who gave the penalty may have been called Mr. R. Martin, but it was the Boro fans who were Livin' La Vida Loca as Yakubu calmly stroked the ball home to continue his excellent personal scoring record against United, and to put Boro 3-0 up at the interval. Easy, easy, easy, easy...
With twenty second half minutes played and the score still at 3-0, Doriva was finally brought on to replace another Brazilian World Cup hopeful, Fabio Rochemback. Soon after, Yakubu waltzed past the awful Ferdinand and picked out Magic Mendi, who fired the ball through the crowded six yard box to make it 4-0.
Substitute Cristiano Ronaldo headed home a Paul Scholes corner in the fourth minute of added time, but it was no consolation for the United fans, some of who allegedly live within an hour of Manchester.
The goal will have been a relief to Ronaldo, who recently had the rape charges against him dropped due to lack of evidence. A medical team failed to get a sperm sample for the woman, as apparently he dribbled a lot but never actually made it into the box.
The game ended with United having suffered their heaviest defeat in nineteen months. The bookmakers understandably favoured United from the kick off and the odds given reflected that. Now I'm not a betting man, but any home team given odds of 4/1 must be worth a bet. Ironic isn't it that the team with the odds of 4/1 ran out 4-1 winners.
Mendieta was 14/1 to score the first goal, which unbelievably were the same odds as Ruud Van Nistelrooy to net a hat trick. And if the bloke in the North Stand who had 4-0 at 100/1 is reading this, words can't express how you must have felt at full-time.
Unfortunately, F.A. rules state that no matter how heavily you beat a team and no matter what the status or reputation of the opposition is, the reward for a victory is still only three points.
Nevertheless, they are points we need badly if we still want to qualify for Europe. The 5-3-2 worked away at Everton in the Carling Cup and obviously brought success against Manchester United. Whether it will be work on a long-term basis is yet to be seen.
Those of you who have been on planet earth since the start of the season - and those who haven't, welcome back - will know that our form has been patchy to say the least. But in fact, it's not as bad as it may first appear.
If you replace the relegated Southampton with Sunderland, Norwich with Wigan and Palace with West Ham, then you'd be amazed to find we have scored more points against the teams we have played this season than we did against them last season. Confused? Don't be.
| |
Last Season |
This Season |
| Liverpool (h) |
2-0 |
0-0 |
| Spurs (a) |
0-2 |
0-2 |
| Birmingham (a) |
1-2 |
3-0 |
| Charlton (h) |
2-2 |
0-3 |
| Arsenal (h) |
0-1 |
2-1 |
| Norwich/Wigan (a) |
4-4 |
1-1 |
| Southampton/Sun'land (h) |
1-3 |
0-2 |
| Aston Villa (a) |
0-2 |
3-2 |
| Portsmouth (h) |
1-1 |
1-1 |
| Palace/West Ham (a) |
1-0 |
1-2 |
| Man Utd (h) |
0-2 |
4-1 |
| Points |
9 |
15 |
Another statistic that makes interesting reading is that despite the recent home defeats to Sunderland and Charlton, we have only lost 5 out of our last 27 games at the Riverside.
Europe on Thursday shouldn't be too difficult and then a return to Goodison Park to face Everton, a side out for revenge. I'd be happy with a draw this time around.
Amazing isn't it, how beating Man Utd and a few statistics can alter the entire outlook of the season. E I O.forever.
Same time next week. UP THE BORO!
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