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ARSENAL v MIDDLESBROUGH - BLAST FROM THE PAST II
We didn't always play Arsenal in the early part of the season. Just most of the time. The games against The Gunners have often been full of heartache for Boro fans but there are some special memories from the midsts of time. Here, Boro fans recall their favourites.
Simon Foster, Skipton
Optimism everywhere - Boro are back in the big time. The messiah has
come and he's brought a friend - The Lord Gibson and Robbo.
You could knock
me down with a feather as we've also managed to sign a current England
international - Nick Barmby. Maybe this time we can actually make a
mark in the top league. Maybe we won't go straight back down.
What we really need is
a good start - a nice easy game ...can't wait for the fixture list to
come
out and........... oh bugger - its Arsenal - we're going to get tonked.
Fast forward to a sunny August day, Boro come out in their new away
strip -
black and blue halves - they look good, but will it all be washed away
with
an ugly performance?
No - I can't believe this - we're at Highbury and Boro are the better
team.
Surely Arsenal will soon exert themselves, but - joy of all joys - we've
scored - Nicky Barmby - I'm in dreamland!- Come on Boro.
Second half- we're still hanging in there as Arsenal start to exert
pressure -
surely they must score two or three... But as the match goes on we are still
hanging in there - sometimes by the skin of our teeth, until finally with
around ten
minutes left Arsenal manage to scrape an equaliser by some unheard of
substitute. Ian Wright was his name, I think.
Now the natural Boro
pessimist
in me goes into overdrive - surely they'll follow it up with another -
all
our good work will be swept away, until, gloriously, its the final
whistle and we've achieved a hard fought draw - every man in those black and blue
shirts
a hero - maybe this year it will be different.....
*************
The Oort Cloud, Brighton
The first Boro game I ever went to was against Arsenal at Ayresome Park,
18th May 1980, the last game of the season. If memory serves me correctly they
had just lost the Cup Winner's Cup Final to Valencia on penalties and had
to win to qualify for Europe.
But all those games had taken their toll and
we
trounced them. I remember David Hodgson having a great game and scoring one, David Armstrong got two and I think Billy Ashcroft was on the bench, unfortunately.
Foolishly I thought every Boro game was going to be like that!
*************
Mark Dennis, New York
Our FA Cup run of 1976-77 had the whole town thinking that this was the year we were going to do it. It didn't start off too brightly though with a 0-0 draw against Wimbledon, then of The Southern League. We needed a David Armstrong penalty to see them off at Ayresome three days later. Was John Hickton not in the team that day?
Another Spike penalty sealed a 4-0 win against Hereford in the fourth round and the excitement reached overdrive when we were drawn against Arsenal at home in the fifth round.
There was an unusual debate that raged for weeks afterwards. David Mills scored three of our four as we shot down The Gunners in fine style. The debate was all about Millsy's hat-trick. Was it or wasn't it? The pundits said it wasn't because the three goals were not consecutive. Trust the establishment to try and dampen down an excellent Boro win.
Liverpool put us out in the quarter finals four weeks later but David Mills will always have a hat-trick against Arsenal to dine out on, despite what Jimmy Hill says.
*************
Harry Haverton, Middlesbrough
Back in the days of caseys and ration books, I went to Ayresome Park to see the Boro take on Woolwich Arsenal, as everyone used to call them in those days. It was 1954. I see they've brought back the kit that they used then for this season. Must be trying to save money.
George Hardwick and Wilf Mannion had left by this time and we were on the downward slide that would lead us into the second division for twenty years. A young lad called Sam Lawrie made his debut at just sixteen years old and they had Leslie Compton in their side who basically just walked all over us. Ayresome Park was full to the rafters and the anticipation was amazing as the teams ran out. We really thought we had a chance of beating the mighty Arsenal.
We lost 3-0 and they won the FA Cup that year, our only consolation being that they beat Newcastle in the final. Lucky that the days of getting beat 3-0 at home by London teams have come to an end. Hang on a minute......
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