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ANOTHER STEP NEARER 25-2-05
Seven matches to go and we get a taste of the venue for the final in the next tie. Sporting Lisbon will not beat the Boro. Our quality will be far too much for them to cope with.
It is a mere thirteen days until Sporting arrive at The Riverside. We have Charlton on Sunday, then Villa away, then five days later our next European foray begins. It is to our advantage that we do not have a match in between the two Sporting Lisbon fixtures. The legendary Portuguese side play Penafiel at home four days before Boro come to town.
Did you know that when Newcastle won this competition way back in prehistoric days, it was the first season that they had entered it? This season, they are one of only five teams left in the competition that we should be wary of. The Gods of Smog were smiling last night as Valencia, Schalke 04, Stuttgart, Benfica, Fenerbahce, Ajax and Panathinaikos were laid to rest.
The last thirty two looked far stronger than the last sixteen does. I would fancy the four Spanish teams to progress to the quarters along with Shakhtar Donesk who produced the best performance of the tournament so far in putting out Schalke 04. Apart from ours against Lazio of course.
The tension should have eased after last night's final whistle but it remains. We are all on tenterhooks this morning, waiting for news of Stewey Downing. It could be serious.
If the price of last night's victory turns out to be the loss of Super Stew, then we are going to be severely tested over the remaining seven UEFA Cup matches. Stewey was inspirational last night and if you are praying for the Pope right now, please drop a mention in for Stewey. Hopefully, it really is just a scratch...
Don't forget the plan. All nine matches mapped out with the whole aim being for us to peak on May 18th in the stadium that we play in exactly two months before.
And finally, for now, if the tension last night was hard to swallow, imagine what it will be like if we draw Newcastle United in the quarter or semi-final. Or even...
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