
We deserved to win this very entertaining game. Okay, we had a big dollop of luck but our pressure had created that luck and we’d already fought back well after a wobbly start.
BEFORE
I was delighted to hear that we'd managed to get Isidor on a permanent deal and at a good price and let's hope we can do some more good business in the final hours of this transfer window. I was disappointed to see Aouchiche go out on loan as he added some zest to our attacks despite being decidedly hit and miss but maybe someone better is coming in to replace him? Leeds are looking a bit beyond us now but I think we can overtake Sheffield United and Burnley and we can start by getting three points this evening. Boro are just outside the top six and their form has been erratic of late but I think we can beat them as long as we don't give a daft goal away near the end again. Surely we've learnt that lesson... Boro have conceded twelve more goals than us but they're the third highest scorers in the league so I can see both sides getting a goal today. I’d like to see Mayenda and Rigg on from the start. I'll be watching the match at Fitzy's in Sunderland and a number of my mates will be with me. My match prediction is a 2-1 win for us.
I got to the pub around an hour before kick-off as I wanted to make sure of getting a good seat. I was hoping for a couple of changes in the starting line-up from the Plymouth game and when I checked the team-news, I was pleased to see that Rigg was starting in place of Abdul Samed. My mates’ match predictions were:- 2-1, 2-1, 1-1, 1-2 and 1-2 so we were covering all bases. The pub was surprisingly quiet but the game was on Sky and ITV of course.
THE MATCH
Boro started stronger and in the second minute a low cross came over from the left and we were lucky that nobody was there to get on the end of it. Roberts then had a shot-cross that Travers in goal held comfortably but next thing Boro were back, making the most of oceans of space down our left and it resulted in Patto making a good save from a powerful Forss header. Boro took the lead in the eleventh when Roberts lost the ball in their half, claiming that he’d been fouled and the replays showed that he probably was, and a long ball from Hackney found Burgzorg racing into our half. He kept his cool and shot past Patto to put them one-up. We promptly won a corner but it came to nothing, as so often. We were having difficulty getting hold of the ball but in the sixteenth Roberts had a good low shot on target that Travers turned out from a corner. From the kick Mepham had a powerful header on target that Travers managed to block. Those Boro drums were getting on my wick. Morris was booked for a foul on Rigg after Boro had got away with one or two other dirty tackles. We were lucky not to go 2-0 down when Boro cut us wide open on another speedy break but Forss skied it when he should have done better.
We’d hardly seen anything from Le Fee yet but in the twenty-sixth he managed to get a shot on target, a weak one that Travers easily held. Similarly Isidor had barely had a touch. The ref was being decidedly lenient with Boro as they made a few cynical trips. Burgzorg missed a good chance and we’d lived dangerously but after thirty minutes it was still 1-0 and we had plenty of time to get back into the game. We were finally putting together a period of pressure and in the thirty-third we equalised when a Neil shot took a big deflection off Edmundson, maybe his arm, and went into the net. Rigg was given a good nudge by Giles in their box but the ref wasn’t having any.
It was a much more even game and we’d done well to get back into it. In the closing minute of the half O’Nien was booked for a spot of wrestling on the centre-spot and after just a minute of added-time the half-time whistle went. After an alarming opening period we’d manged to battle back and the game was wide open.
Julio was interviewed on Sky during the break and he expressed affection for both teams. No mention of Willow Pond, though.
As usual there were no changes as the second period began but the consensus in our little group was that we’d like to see Mayenda on sooner rather than later. Isidor had barely had a sniff really but in the fifty-first he put us ahead. A great pass from Le Fee found him sprinting into the Boro half and he kept ahead of the pursuing defender, played a dummy to send Travers diving in vain and slipped the ball into the empty net. There weren’t many in the pub but we erupted in joy. We had Boro well rattled and a couple of good chances went begging that could have just about put the result beyond doubt. However, out of the blue Boro equalised when Hackney picked the ball up near the edge of our box and blasted it into the left of the net giving Patto no chance. It was turning into a right ding-dong battle with corners at both ends and then a surprise shot from Isidor that produced a diving save from Travers. In the midst of all that Jobe was booked. The commentator said, “Welcome to the North East” which intrigued me.
Boro took off Forss and brought on Conway in the sixty-ninth but we hadn’t made any changes yet. Next thing we replaced Rigg with Abdul Samed, which didn’t go down well in the pub. With ten minutes on the clock we won a corner and then we brought on Mayenda for Isidor so I hoped for more magic. Hume tested Travers with a low shot from outside the box and the commentator reminded us, as if we didn’t know, that we were entering the late stages of the game where we’d conceded a number of crucial goals recently. In the eighty-eighth we were gifted the lead after a great cross from Le Fee from the left. Giles somehow managed to turn the ball into his own net but we weren’t about to question it and there was much rejoicing in the bar. Five minutes of added-time were announced and we seemed to have learnt from recent debacles by booting it clear from defence and pressing forward more. In the final minute Poveda, who’d replaced Roberts just before ninety minutes, had a golden chance to put the result beyond doubt but he slipped just as he was about to strike and that was that. It ended 3-2 to much joy.