A packed stadium gathered half in anticipation and half in fear wondering if Boro could manage to put in another performance like the one we saw against West Ham on Wednesday and could we really beat the mighty Liverpool for the first time in almost a decade?
Boro did not disappoint. Matthew Bates initially looked over-awed by his esteemed opponents but that lasted all of about ten minutes before he remembered he is from the Boro and therefore has a healthy level of disrespect for anyone born south of the River Tees. Then he got stuck in and gave as good as he got.
Gary O'Neil and Downing were excellent on their respective wings, Tuncay and Ali ran past Liverpool's defence until they found a way through for Boro's goal. Hoyte and Huth were both exceptional and Brad Jones made two first class saves early on without actually looking troubled by either effort. Four clean sheets now for Boro's eternal number two goalkeeper...
And we weren't even as good as we could have been. Aliadiere and King probably should have scored but more goals would have been icing on the cake, and the cake tasted good enough without it. We kept something in the tank for our midweek fixture with Spurs and we were not punished for it.
After Alonso did us a favour and kneed the ball into his own net, most fans would have happily taken the result and gone home delighted, I, on the other hand wanted a real Boro goal, I wanted us to keep attacking and not let up for a second. I'm demanding, so sue me.
For the most part, I got my wish. We did start to sit back too much during the second half but by then the match was won. Gary O'Neil (my vote for man of the match) had taken charge and linked up nicely with Aliadiere who stroked the ball over to Tuncay for the Turk to find the net with typical style and earn Boro all three precious points.
Tuncay got booked for taking his shirt off in celebration, I know it is the rules but it is a ridiculous 'law' in the first place.
Ali got a knock to his already injured ankle which he proceeded to run off with gritted teeth and Wheater clashed heads with Sami Hyypia but did not seem to notice until about ten minutes later, after Hyypia had annoyed the Boro fans by refusing to leave the pitch for treatment.
It is all on the line now and we need players like these who understand that and are willing to endure a little short term pain to safeguard their futures and that of the club.
Despite another dubiously long extra time (we had already had two minutes in the first half, do Liverpool have their own time settings?) the Reds could not score and an overjoyed Boro climbed out of the bottom two.
There is still a lot of work to be done, Wheater still made some silly mistakes, Aliadiere needs to stop over thinking everything and just shoot first time and Arca was slightly more hit and miss than his magnificent display against West Ham. But none of that mattered yesterday because our errors cost us nothing, and our fully deserved victory effectively ended Liverpool's title challenge.
After the game, the Boro fans descended en-mass on the club shop. Everybody wanted a programme as a memento of the historic win they had just witnessed, unfortunately they were sold out as demand as dropped in recent months (understandable!) and so a much smaller number seem to have been published.
And people were talking to each other! Strangers came together in their re-ignited passion for Boro to debate the man of the match, the difference Aliadiere makes to the team and the massive improvement all over the pitch.
But mostly the fans were singing. All the way to the train station and beyond, a selection of supporters sang "Na na na na na nah Aliadiere, Gary O'Neil, Stewart Down-ing!" I suspect they incorporated the rest of the team into the next chorus but they went out of earshot before I could check.
A great day to be a Boro fan and a reward for those of us who kept the faith, now we all have to keep going. The team must perform like that against all opponents and the fans must provide the same vocal support no matter who we are facing.
A midweek trip to Tottenham will test our fitness and our mental strength but the current Boro eleven really can beat anyone if we play to our strengths and believe in our ability. Downing will want to impress 'Arry Redknapp and Woodgate should act as an extra incentive should we need one to spur us on.
First published on www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/sport/fanzone - Mar 09
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