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SUNDERLAND v BORO BLAST FROM THE PAST I
'Dirty Mackem, dirty monkey Mackem, dirty Mackem, you're from Sunderland'. Well I guess somebody has to be I suppose. But if you are then surely you cannot feel anything but absolute shame for the way your team has performed this season. I know we've been bad but Jesus you're dire. But let's get one thing in perspective first - personally, I quite like Sunderland. I don't know why but we both share contempt for the Geordies and that's good enough for me.
But others disagree, which is why matches between the Boro and Sunderland are often tempestuous niggly affairs with lots of passion and lots of bookings. And like with most local derbies, it's a fixture that stokes up the most primal emotions amongst both sets of fans, emotions that often spill on to the pitch and give us memorable encounters. Here are just a few of them...
Smog Eat Smog
Middlesbrough 0-2 Sunderland, 25/09/2005
Due to a severe lack of money, I was unable to go to the match, but did have a few pounds scraped together so I could at least have a drink in the pub. York has a fair few Boro fans, so I knew I had options on where to go. However taking a non-Boro friend with me, he wanted to go in a pub that wasn't too busy. We settled on the Cross Keys, which is hardly the most respectable and fun-loving pub in York, but they've got big screens, and having watched a match or two there before, there were a few friendly faces.
As the match got underway I was under no illusions that this would be a walkover for Boro. At the back of my mind, there was a worry that Sunderland would have to end their non-winning streak sooner or later. It didn't take long for the worries to grow. Two minutes in and Tommy Miller had given the Mackems the lead. Things couldn't have started much worse, but they then did, as Sunderland fans suddenly swarmed the pub.
Unfortunately being the only man in the pub in a Boro shirt, I sort of stood out. Not only were these the loudest Mackems ever, but also the roughest. They took one look at me, and proceeded to throw crisps and peanuts at me, and basically anyone who didn't seem to show a liking for Sunderland. Rather than stand up to twenty Mackems, I figured I'd try and talk my way into their good books.
It appeared to work, as we chatted about the joys of hating Newcastle, Dean Whitehead, and Stella Artois. When the talk turned to the 'city' of Sunderland though, things took a turn for the worse. Firstly Julio Arca curled in a sublime free kick to take it to Boro 0 Sunderland 2. Being in a crowd of huge, sweaty, happy Mackems at that point was the last place I wanted to be.
However, after the Sunderland fans had calmed down, the focus turned back to talk of Sunderland city centre. Innocently mentioning I'd only been once, the guy I thought I'd at least got myself on good terms with stated "Aye, and you won't fuckin come doon there again will yer? Cos I know York is like, nootral territory and that, so you're alreet, but if you fucking step within like, five minutes of the stadium of leet, I'll bash yer face off."
Needless to say I didn't stay to watch the post-match analysis. Not only had I endured, one of the most depressing matches of football ever, but I'd been surrounded by the biggest pack of tossers seen this side of the Wear. Probably my worst ever Boro memory.
Luke Smogwalker
Middlesbrough 0-2 Sunderland, 25/09/2005
Hola!!
I was lucky, yes I said lucky, enough to be in Magaluf for this one, with eight other Boro fans (and one Boro supporting Geordie), celebrating a mate's stag do. The actual match was on the day before we were flying home, but prior to this on the Saturday night we happened to meet a bunch of Mackem supporters who we had some really good banter with. By banter I mean they had already accepted that they were going to get stuffed.
Anyway, with it being a Sunday n'all we quite rightly decided we were going out for the match, would have a few beers, and then hit the town for a couple more and basically stay out until we couldn't stand up anymore!
We all settled down about an hour before kick off in a nice quiet bar, sun on our backs, beers on the tables, big screen in front of us, ready for kick off, contemplating a cricket score win and an all day sesh in the sun!
Whistle blows - the anticipation of stuffing the mighty Black Cats had crescendoed, OH FUCK! - two minutes in we're 1-0 down. OH FUCK! Sitting through the rest of that match was pure torture, only relieved by endless trips to the bar, ordering more ridiculous amounts of alcohol just to numb the effects of what we were having to watch.
Needless to say the rest of that afternoon, evening and early hours of the following morning were and still are very much of a blur. Except for about ten to fifteen minutes. We 'bumped' into those Mackem fans again - the ones from Saturday night - and it wasn't good. No trouble. Just lots of abuse. And to be fair - I think this had more to do with how pissed they were - they claimed that the best team got beat!
Who said Mackems haven't got a sense of humour?
Adios Amigo's......
Andrew Morgan
Middlesbrough 0-1 Sunderland, 19/04/1997
The most surreal season in our history entered its final stages and after a positive March in which we had remained undefeated (barring the result on the first of the month for all you pedants out there) we found ourselves entertaining the Mackems with a genuine chance of survival. But everything was still so uncertain, something that had been epitomised by the 3-3 draw we had played out against Chesterfield in the FA Cup semi-final the previous week.
There was a confidence going around the Riverside that day, but one that was tainted with fear. We were simply unpredictable and no one had the faintest idea what was going to happen from one game to the next. However, we thought, we must SURELY beat the Mackems at home - they were worse than we were, and battling against relegation themselves. It was a genuine six-pointer, one we really had to win to give ourselves the confidence we needed to spur us on to survival. Unfortunately, we blew the opportunity.
I remember very little about the game itself. In fact I can't remember if it was an even game or whether we succumbed to some deckchair dominance but some of the players that day were so lazy that sitting on a deckchair may have been more productive. Particularly if it was Kevin Philips, the wily sod. But it wasn't him who scored the only goal of the game, it was someone making their debut (the name escapes me - Darren Stuart or something?) and his celebration was full of the precociousness of youth. In other words he was a pugnacious little bastard. And as I sat in the stadium and watched him wind up the Boro fans I felt like I wanted to lamp him across his smug arrogant little face. Maybe it was just frustration, maybe it was just the knowledge that we had blown it once again. Either way, the future looked grim. And it inevitably was.
Lord David
Middlesbrough 2-1 Sunderland, 28/09/1997
My best two Mackem memories are from the same game, when we won 2-1 and the ref added on two hours of injury time. Emerson and I think Mustoe scored.
After the game some big mouth kid was waiting shouting "Come on Boro you puffs blah blah". This went on for a couple of minutes, and a Boro fan that was at least sixty knocked him to the floor. Quality.
Also on the bus on the way home, some kid had his arse hanging out of the bus window and the Mackems started throwing rocks at the window. Someone else, for some unknown reason, put his feet on the side window and the whole window fell out on to a Mackem. I have never seen people retreat so quickly.
Steve Goldby
Middlesbrough 3-1 Sunderland, 25/01/1975
I remember it as clear as yesterday. The first time I ever watched the FA Cup third round draw was in 1975 and it was a bit magical because we drew a team that I had never heard of, Wycombe Wanderers, who were in the non-league in those days. They actually held us to a draw at their place and we were handed the biggest incentive of the lot when the draw was made on the Saturday evening.
Wycombe Wanderers or Middlesbrough v Sunderland. Yes!
We struggled past Wycombe in the replay, putting them out 1-0 via a late David Armstrong penalty.
On to the fourth round and the game itself stands out for several reasons. First of all, both teams played in their away kits with Boro sporting the classic blue and black stripes, the original Ironopolis colours.
There was the atmosphere as well, which was really something else. I was far too young to recognise that the 'banter' between the Mackems in the away end and the Boro fans in the ajoining stands was very much for real...
Boro destroyed Sunderland that day with Bobby Murdoch ripping their midfield to pieces and leaving the Mackems having to resort to bringing down the onrushing Alan Foggon, and consequently giving away not one but two penalties.
Both were converted by John Hickton who nearly broke the net with the second. I'm sure that Jimmy Montgomery dived the wrong way on purpose to get out of the way.
A 3-1 thrashing rounded off a fine day and it's one that I don't think I'll ever forget.
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