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BORO V TOTTENHAM BLAST FROM THE PAST IV
It was only seven months ago but it seems like a lot longer since Spurs last visited the Riverside.
Boro and Spurs went head to head in what was effectively a Uefa Cup qualifier. Here's what happened.
BORO v SPURS 7-5-05
Schwarzer, Parnaby, Ehiogu, Southgate, Queudrue, Parlour, Boateng, Zenden, Downing, Hasselbaink, Nemeth
Knight, Cooper, Reiziger, Morrison, Doriva
The First Half
They turned off the PA at The Riverside ten minutes before kick off so that an atmosphere reminiscent of a great bygone age could be reproduced.
Boro started quickly and the game plan seemed to be to rob Spurs of their confidence in the opening stages. Steve McClaren's men succeeded, with style.
An early Stewey Downing free kick from the same position as the one that he scored against West Brom had the crowd in anticipation. The deflection was followed up by a narrow Nemeth miss. And then a George Boateng goal...
Yes, a George Boateng goal! He doesn't score many but when he does bang one in, it seems to be at a crucial moment and games don't come that much more crucial than today's.
After twenty minutes, Boro had stamped their mark on the game and were totally bossing the proceedings. We were winning the midfield battle and were sharper and faster to the tackle and in every area across the park.
Defoe did manage to win one ball however and he did well to create a one on one chance with himself and Ugo Ehiogu. He could have done so much better though. He was easily dispossessed and Spurs' first opportunity ended up wasted.
Michael Carrick and Sean Davis tried in vain to manufacture another striking chance but Zenden and Boateng had the pair in their pockets.
Towards the end of the half, the play evened out a little and Freddie Kanoute almost found a way through on thirty-six minutes. He almost turned Captain Gareth inside out but ran into him instead. The skipper was booked for his troubles.
Boro were not discouraged though and Stewey Downing picked up the remnants of the pooorly taken free kick and literally stormed through the panicking Spurs defence. His twenty-five yard shot was almost perfect and he was unlucky to see it glance narrowly past the post.
It gave extra belief that they we could double the lead and although some neat touches and interplay involving most of the midfield and strikeforce came to nothing, it demonstrated that if Boro could keep this mood going, there would be nothing to worry about in the second half.
Fan Reaction
"We've got his lot on the run. ComeOnBoro!!!"
JohnK
"If we play like that in the second half, we're in Europe next year."
Smoggin' All Over The World
The Second Half
Spurs gained a couple of early corners in the first few minutes. They didn't rattle Boro but it certainly demonstrated that we could not afford to relax at all until we increased our lead.
Martin Jol had probably flashed a bit of temper in the dressing room during the break, as his side were now taking the initiative.
Yet the storm resembled a mild shower after just a few minutes of the restart, as Robbie Keane warmed up and prepared to take the field.
Mark Schwarzer was tested by Keane as a vicious looking inswinger was whipped in. Skippy, who had barely touched the ball in the first half, was more than equal to the shot but Keane had barely warmed up at this point.
Hearts were in mouths on sixty-two minutes when JFH, tracking back at the time made a deadful mistake. A wrong call led to a bad mix-up with Franck Queudrue and we were lucky to have Ugo there to mop up. And Jimmy was lucky that the error did not result in our lead being wiped out. He was big enough to offer apologies all round and with no damage done, we woke up and moved on.
Spurs switched their formation to 4-3-3 with the substitution of Reid for Mido. They were in serious need of a goal with twenty minutes to play and went looking for it. With the midfield now weakened, it was down to Boro to keep the ball in Spurs' half and create.
They began to do that, albeit cautiously and a couple of Stewey Downing stingers gave note that Boro were maybe on the verge of stepping it up.
Doriva came on, replacing the quiet but very effective Bolo Zenden. The Dutchman was applauded as he left the field, surprised that he had been sacrificed for a player who scores less frequently than George Boateng.
Into The Red Zone
Bolo missed the hailstones that kicked in late on this May afternoon. And both defences were nearly stormed as the clock stuttered onwards.
Boro did a good job of scraping the ball out of midfield and five different players had contributed to the move that gave Ray Parlour the chance to break his Boro duck. But once again, the shot was off target, as was Spurs direct free-kick barely a moment later.
It was all attack going into three minutes of added time. Both sides tried to provide what would be a killer goal and JFH could have easily done it as Boro broke clear, Downing crossing to give the unhappy striker a clear shot at an open goal. A splash was heard as Jimmy's effort fell into the Tees and you had to wonder how he had failed to make it 2-0.
But we are obviously delighted with 1-0 because this was a crucial victory and one which has almost ensured Uefa Cup football for the second season running.
Fan Reaction
"I'm not going to come down from this all night. WE DID IT!"
Lillibet M
"Absolutely brilliant. We did it the hard way but that's a great three points."
Smoggin' All Over The World
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