This was a hell of a battle and very tense for us at times but we showed great character and held out for a deserved victory.
Before
After the defeat last weekend we of course need to get back to form this afternoon and I think we're going to win. Browne will be missing and he'll be a big loss but we have more strength in depth this season and should be able to cope with his absence. There's been considerable debate about whether Ballard should play but despite the Plymouth match being one he'll want to forget, I think he's been a standout player overall. There have been some very good reports about Isidor so we may well see some more of him today. Boro are currently in tenth position having had two wins, two defeats and a draw so far. I was at the same game last season and have tried not to think about that heavy defeat. I'll be at the match with my usual mates and we discussed it all in Jameson’s last night. We're all seventy years old and for what it's worth we consider this match a derby, though at nowhere near the same level as the other one. Two of their pre-match predictions were 2-0 and 2-1 to us while my own, in the cold light of day, is also 2-1 to us.
I left home at 11.15 and there were stacks of fans crossing the bridge so it was clearly going to be a big turn-out. There was a heavy police presence around St Peter’s Station but I could only see a few alighting Smoggies attempting a half-hearted chant. After a quick check-in at ALS Towers I was in my seat in the Upper East Stand at 11.55. I checked the team-news and it looked like Mepham replacing Ballard was the only change. Ballard was on the bench and so was Aleksic. The p.a. system was blasting out like hell and the pitch was looking great. Not long before the teams emerged there was a good display in the South Stand and next thing a huge flag was going over my head. It was the first time I’d experienced that. If it had been there for the entire match last time we played Boro at home, I’d have been happier.
The Match
The place was really buzzing as we kicked off and there were boos for the Boro back four from the off as they seemed very reluctant to move the ball forward. We were awarded a free-kick near the left corner in the second minute but it resulted in Neil completely fluffing his shot and setting up a Boro counter-attack. Next thing a Conway header went just over the bar and we’d looked vulnerable at the back. We bounced back and won the first corner after a powerful run by Mayenda but it came to nothing. In the ninth minute Hume was booked and Boro were awarded a free-kick just outside our box. Latte Lath had was down injured for a couple of minutes and the resultant free-kick went high and wide. Our fans were already booing the Boro players for taking ages to get moving. When they went forward, though, Boro were moving the ball around too confidently for my liking. In the nineteenth a great run by Roberts led to our second corner, though it only resulted in a throw to us. Latte Lath was booked for a bad foul, maybe getting a bit of revenge in.
We conceded our first corner in the twenty-second from which Clarke headed over but next thing we were ahead. Roberts made another great run down the right and the Boro defence got themselves in a tangle before Rigg coolly flicked it in from just to the right of the goal. It looked like he back-heeled it to me. Boro had to go for it and they pressed forwards strongly but our defence had started to look a lot more solid. A Hume shot was well of-target in the thirty-fourth but at least we were up their end again. Hume and Mepham were both down injured for a minute or so after colliding and thankfully they both recovered. Mepham had looked very capable up to that point. Boro continued to cause us problems down our left with Ayling being the main cause of worry. Half-time was approaching but there was likely to be a fair bit of added-time. Mundle managed a low shot on target but it was also straight at Deng in goal. The stadium had gone quiet and no doubt we were all getting a bit edgy. Three minutes added-time were announced, shorter than I’d expected, and then Roberts was booked. Mundle turned his man yet again and as he raced into their box he went down, rather too easily perhaps, and the ref Adrian Holmes waved away any penalty. There were boos for him when the whistle soon went. The p.a. played ‘It’s A Sin’ by The Pet Shop Boys, maybe commenting on the ref too. Anyway, so far so good but I felt that there would be at least one more goal in the second period and it could go to either side.
A minute into the second-half Mundle went down after a foul and he certainly felt it. We didn’t make anything of the free-kick. Our fans were quiet again and there was a lot of murmuring going on. We all perked up in the fifty-first when another run down the right by Roberts led to a curling shot that was narrowly wide of their left post. It was certainly a battle and players were hitting the deck regularly. Mundle was penalized when it looked like he’d been fouled and a few seconds later Latte Lath escaped a second yellow after a rough challenge. We won a corner just after the hour-mark and next thing Boro made a double change. I was wondering when we’d make one or two. A strong run down by Boro down our left led to a corner but we cleared it no problem and were soon pressing forward. A Jobe shot from the left in the sixty-sixth was wide but it perked us up.
With just over twenty minutes to go there was tension in the air as we were pressed back for a good while. There was still no sign of a substitute for us. Rigg became our third player to be booked so maybe that would influence a change? Fifteen minutes to go and Boro won a corner after another spell of pressing us back but we got it away. We were awarded a free-kick just outside the centre of their box when many thought we’d got a penalty. Mayenda took it and it bounced off the left post. We finally made a change, bringing Isidor on for Roberts and with ten minutes to go our fans found their voice again. We were pressing forward more at last and there were five minutes on the clock so could we manage to hold out? I never understand how people can leave early at games like this… A minute to go and our fans were making all the noise. Only three minutes were added and I was happy about that. Rigg was subbed by Ballard and went off to a great and deserved ovation. I thought the ref would never blow that whistle but as our fans roared and whistled themselves it finally went to great joy all around me.
