By Lillibet M
March 16 2006

With the same team as last Thursday’s tie, the Boro gladiators were fired up to finish what was started at the Riverside. De Rossi returned from suspension for the Romans but nothing threatened to dent the confidence of the Teessiders in the quest for Goblet the Uefa... Schwarzer, Davies, Southgate, Riggott, Pogatetz, Mendieta, Cattermole, Boateng, Downing, Hasselbaink, Yakubu
Jones, Queudrue, Parlour, Doriva, Maccarone, McMahon, Viduka



THE FIRST HALF

As the first of the flares was set off signalling the commencement of battle it was clear that this was not going to be a walk in the park for either team. A free kick conceded by a Boateng business-like tackle on Mancini saw the first of the Roman shots on goal safely delivered into Schwarzer’s hands. Roma fought back in their determination to make Boro the fifth English club in a row to lose at the Stadio Olympico. A further free kick was taken by Pove which again landed safely sraight into Skippy’s safe hands.

As play became stuck in the Boro half, Steve McClaren made his way to pitch side forty minutes earlier than usual. Cattermole was expertly tracking Perrota and forcing a goal kick. Cattermole was then cautioned two minutes later after a rubbish decision from the ref after a perfectly acceptable tackle, and then followed by a further free kick conceded by Mendi. This latter one was headed by Tandi towaards the far corner but went wide.

Roma got the break on seventeen and Mancini would have opened the scoring for the Italians if Davies hadn’t coolly blocked him and delivered Boro out of danger. At this stage in the game we were looking at an irresistible force meeting an immovable object but the more Roma pressed forward the tighter the Boro defence became.

Mad Dog was the next player to be felled in the Roma half but again the free kick went nowhere. Davies managed to break on the bounce giving Boro the first chance to see the whites of Curci’s eyes but we were not quite close enough for a shot.

Just as Boro were gaining confidence, out of nowhere a left-footed smash from Bovo from outside the area left a dent in the crossbar. This rattled Boro for about thirty seconds only and the fight went on.

After a corner from Sidi was again caught by Schwarzer the pattern for the night was developing. Dacourt then caught Mendieta in the area but the ref denied Boro a penalty – as the pleas died away, on the break Alvarez looked almost certain to open the scoring but the chance again went wide.

Then it all kicked off between Baoteng and Mexes after the tamest of challenges saw both of them booked. There was fire and passion on the pitch from both sides tonight and you had to feel for The Boat as he would miss the Quarter Final should Boro get there. This was made worse when on thirty minutes Mancini disgustingly elbowed the back of Mendi’s head but instead of the red that he richly deserved the referee only saw fit to caution him.

Before this could affect the team negatively, a standard cross form Downing saw Hasselbaink clip the ball off the side of his head to blast past Curci, the sweet counter-strike leaving everyone breathless – what a way to make the first effort at goal.

AS ROMA 0 MIDDLESBROUGH 1 (Hasselbaink 31)

Although Boro attempted to close the game down to ensure safety the Romans were having none of it and tried every trick at their disposal to get back in the game. The chance came at forty-two minutes when a cross form Taddei found Mancini who had a lucky strike to find the back of the net

AS ROMA 1 MIDDLESBROUGH 1 (Mancini 42)

As half-time approached Roma livened up once more and attempted to sneak the second goal. Very quickly Yak had a chance to make it two for Boro when the keeper fumbled and dropped the ball but was caught off guard and failed to capitalise. Even so this was a half that Boro could be proud of.

HALF-TIME FAN REACTION

“I need a fag – and I don’t smoke!”
Luke Smogwalker

“Very tense till we scored, but their equaliser hopefully scares us into avoiding any complacency.”
Smog Eat Smog



THE SECOND HALF

Franck Queudrue came on for Davies, who had picked up a knee injury, and he looked up for killing off the Romans. Roma looked for the early second goal from the off but Mendi got the last touch to safety. The Italians were throwing everything they had in a panic as they could see that Boro were a real threat and the pace was relentless from both sides.

Roma nearly created a shock for Boro on fifty-three but another amazing save from Skippy stopped them in their tracks. Pogatetz got the break after a terrific tackle then Downing attempted to cross to Yak who missed again and the resulting attacking short corner went nowhere.

You could be forgiven for thinking that the Gods were not smiling on Boro tonight but then Schwarzer stopped a De Rossi strike from nowhere. As Roma threw everytthing they could think of at Boro the sturdy Teessiders would not allow themselves to be sidetracked. Tactically, Parlour came on for the Yak and the action continued unabated.

Shortly after this substituiton a baffling decision saw a penalty given against Parlour who looked to have made a perfectly reasonable stop on Chuka. Mancini put the ball away to reduce Boro’s lead to a marginal one only.

AS ROMA 2 MIDDLESBROUGH 1 (Mancini 65)

And again both Roma and Boro kept up the pace and neither were prepared to give in. The Romans tried to give no outlet to Boro, giving the impression of grinding down the visitors but still the Teesside steel held strong. In this exciting and entertaining cup tie there was a real feeling that Boro could wrap it up if they could only get the break.

INTO THE RED ZONE

The Romans swallow dived all over the place in a desperate attempt to influence the ref to give more dodgy decisions against valiant Boro. Chivo tripped over Queudrue adding to the stoppage time, followed by yet another save by Schwarzer who truly was a hero tonight. Mad Dog and Bovo were both then cautioned and again Roma pushed and pushed to try to take the match.

Taddei came the nearest to breaking Boro hearts with a free kick on eighty-eight minutes and the Boro fans' voices urged the team on towards a victory that was so close. Hasslebaink and De Rossi had another collision, but the free kick was wasted. Downing again got the ball searing off in the right direction but Aquilani brought down Pogo to once more deny Boro the break.

Things were really hotting up in the last three minutes and it was adrenalin surges all round as no-one dared to predict the final result. Then Mexes was dismissed quite rightly after a bizarre “I won’t try to catch you so I’ll just throw my body at you” move at Pogatetz.

And that was all Boro needed. Holding strong and not giving in made history in the Olympic Stadium. Boro through to the quarter-finals in their second European campaign. You could hear the jubilation and cheers reverberate from Rome to Teesside as the final whistle went and amazingly Boro had achieved both the result and the excitement in one match – with the promise of more to come.

FULL-TIME FAN REACTION

“I’m exhausted”
Big Shot

"Eindhoven sounds a nice trip ..”
Smog Eat Smog