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FULHAM 1 MIDDLESBROUGH 0, PREMIER LEAGUE, 7th MAY 2006
There was a carnival atmosphere at Craven Cottage for the last game of the season. Well it was the last game of the season for those teams who are not in a cup final...
Steve McClaren's team selection was bold and historic with fifteen of the sixteen players born within thirty miles of the club and Lee Cattermole becoming the youngest ever captain in Premier League history. Colin Cooper made what will almost certainly be his last appearance as a professional player and the travelling Boro army rightly showed their appreciation of him.
Turnbull, Davies, Bates, Wheater, Taylor, Morrison, Kennedy (Cooper 85), Cattermole, Christie (Walker 62), Graham (Craddock 81), Johnson
Knight, McMahon.
Boro outplayed a full strength Fulham side for long periods of the match but appeared to lack the cutting edge up front that would have provided a deserved victory. This is a small detail that will surely be ironed out in good time.
Danny Graham's workrate was immense and he demonstrated all of his battling qualities for the whole time that he was on the pitch. He looked to have more than the Fulham defence could cope with but managed few clean shots on target, despite Young Boro creating plenty of opportunities throughout.
Graham did put the ball in the net mid way through the second half when he dived low to connect with a James Morrison cross but the referee judged him to have connected his arm and harshly booked him for his troubles, as well as obviously ruling out the 'goal'.
Malcolm Christie put in another solid performance and like Graham, it will not be long before he regains his touch in front of goal.
But today was more about the performance than the result and those who attended were lucky enough to get a glimpse of Boro's future. It looks very bright indeed.
Fulham managed to break on several occasions but consistently failed to stretch Boro's defence who proved themselves to be more than able to cope with anything that their more experienced opponents could throw at them.
It took a penalty to defeat Boro and although you can't begrudge Fulham their slender win, it has to be said that it wouldn't have happened without the referee's intervention.
At times, Boro's wing play was excellent with James Morrison and Adam Johnson showing real class in carving out chances from lost causes. Boro were the midfield masters today with Jason Kennedy putting in a performance that a player of several years standing could have been proud of.
Aside from Colin Cooper's swansong appearance, the most poignant moment of the day came just after the second-half had restarted when Steve McClaren walked along the touchline, just in front of where the Boro fans were gathered, and raised his hands in an attempt to stir the crowd. And he very rightly got a response.
Steve McClaren will be missed at Middlesbrough but not by most of the players who played today as it is surely just a matter of time before he is managing them again in his new job.
McClaren is a man who weathered a storm of monumental proportions earlier this season and emerged not just with tremendous dignity and class but with a legacy that he named as his starting line-up in his final Premier League match. Everyone single one of them did him proud.
The new England manager has just one game left with Boro now and it is the biggest game in the club's history. With so much positivity emanating from The Riverside at the moment, it is difficult to see anything other than a Middlesbrough win and McClaren bowing out in a blaze of glory. He deserves it.
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