History of Middlesbrough F.C. - Notable Matches

Notable Matches

Middlesbrough 2 Port Vale 2 (Football League Third Division, 23 August 1986)

Middlesbrough's first match following their survival from bankruptcy, the club still had to fulfill the fixture in order to avoid being expelled from the league. Hartlepool United graciously lent the club their ground in the evening immediately following their own league game against Cardiff City earlier that day.

Coventry City 2 Middlesbrough 1 (Premier League, 15 August 1992)

Middlesbrough's first Premiership match. They were relegated at the end of the season.

Leicester City 1 Middlesbrough 1 (League Cup Final, 6 April 1997) (Report)

Middlesbrough's first appearance in a major cup final. They lost the replay 1 – 0 at Hillsborough.

Chelsea 2 Middlesbrough 0 (FA Cup Final, 1997)

Middlesbrough's first appearance in an FA Cup final. They conceded the fastest goal in a Wembley cup final to Roberto Di Matteo after 42 seconds.

Chelsea 2 Middlesbrough 0 (League Cup Final, 1998)

Middlesbrough made the final despite playing that season in the (then) First Division. Boro held Chelsea well for ninety minutes, but extra time goals from Frank Sinclair and Roberto di Matteo gave Chelsea the trophy. It was also the Middlesbrough debut for Paul Gascoigne, who was booked almost immediately after coming on as a substitute.

Manchester United 2 Middlesbrough 3 (Premier League, December 1998) (Story covering event)

No club had won at Old Trafford in the Premier League for 18 months, so the match was seen as completely hopeless by most fans, including Century FM radio commentator and ex-Boro striker Bernie Slaven, who declared that if Middlesbrough won the match he would bare his backside in Binns department store window. Boro took a 3–0 lead at one point, and managed to resist a late comeback to 3–2 for their first win over United in 68 years. Slaven lived to regret saying this, though he stuck to his word. He painted the scoreline onto his posterior before baring it in front of all the local press and a 2,000 strong crowd who had gathered in anticipation, before adding "Maybe there'll be a full-frontal if we win the league". In the end, Slaven's activities drew more press attention than the actual win.

Middlesbrough 2 Bolton Wanderers 1 (League Cup Final, 29 February 2004) (Report)

Middlesbrough's first major trophy. Joseph-Désiré Job scored the fastest goal in League Cup Final history, although this record was broken the following year by Liverpool's John Arne Riise against Chelsea. Boudewijn Zenden doubled the lead in the seventh minute with a penalty, before Kevin Davies pulled one back for Bolton midway through the first half.

Middlesbrough 3 Baník Ostrava 0 (UEFA Cup Round 1, 2004) (Report)

Middlesbrough's first match in European competition. They drew the return leg in the Czech Republic 1–1 to progress. They eventually made the last 16, going out to the eventual finalists Sporting Lisbon.

Middlesbrough 3 Chelsea 0 (Premier League, 11 February 2006) (Report)

A huge upset that turned heads all over England. In the first minute, Fabio Rochemback scored and then near the end of the half, Stewart Downing struck giving Boro a 2–0 lead at half-time. Chelsea were unable to recover and Boro ultimately sealed the victory after Yakubu Aiyegbeni scored in the 67th minute. Even the Chelsea manager, José Mourinho, famous for his one sided and biased analysis of matches, conceded that the result was deserved and shook the hands of the entire Middlesbrough team.

Middlesbrough 4 Basel 1 (UEFA Cup Quarter Final 2nd Leg, 6 April 2006) (Report)

Arguably Middlesbrough's greatest ever match. 2–0 down from the first leg in Switzerland, Middlesbrough went 1–0 behind after 23 minutes and looked like they were going out of the tournament, needing four goals to go through. Mark Viduka equalized in the 33rd minute to give them hope, before scoring a second after half-time. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink scored a superb long-range goal with twelve minutes left, before Massimo Maccarone scored the winning goal in the very last minute, to jubilant celebrations at the Riverside Stadium.

Middlesbrough 4 Steaua Bucharest 2 (UEFA Cup Semi Final 2nd Leg, 27 April 2006) (Report)

In what seemed like a repeat of the previous UEFA Cup match at the Riverside, Middlesbrough made it hard for themselves once again, already 1–0 down from the first leg, Dica made it 1–0 on the night then Goian made it 2–0. Once again needing to score four goals in order to progress, Massimo Maccarone scored in the 33rd minute to give them some hope of making a dramatic comeback. In the second half, a Mark Viduka header on 64 minutes, a goal from Chris Riggott and a spectacular diving header, again from Maccarone in the 88th minute completed another massively unlikely comeback.

Middlesbrough 0 Sevilla 4 (UEFA Cup Final, 10 May 2006) (Report)

Further information: UEFA Cup 2005-06#Final

Argued by many as the most important match in the history of the club, as well as Steve McClaren's final game as Middlesbrough's manager before taking over as England manager from the departing Sven-Göran Eriksson, Middlesbrough had the opportunity to become the lowest ranking club ever to win the UEFA cup (having finished 14th in their domestic league). It was an exciting match, not least from the controversy caused by the denial of a penalty due to a foul on Mark Viduka. However, a brace from Enzo Maresca and goals from Luís Fabiano and Frédéric Kanouté gave Sevilla a 4–0 win in PSV Eindhoven's Philips Stadion. This was also Middlesbrough's 64th match of the season, including all Premiership, FA Cup, League Cup and European games and replays- no other British side played as many matches that season, which was evident in the Cup Final performance.

Middlesbrough 2 Arsenal 1 (Premier League, 9 December 2007)

Nearly half way through the Premier League season, Middlesbrough were without a win in over three months and just hovering above the relegation zone, while Arsenal were flying high at the top of the league having not lost a match in the league all season and only lost one in all competitions. Boro took the early lead through a penalty and never looked back, dominating Arsenal from start to finish with Tuncay adding the second while Rosicky got a late consolation for Arsenal.

Middlesbrough 0 Cardiff City 2 (FA Cup Sixth Round, 9 March 2008)

One of Middlesbrough's worse matches. The day before, Chelsea and Manchester United had both been knocked out, therefore making Middlesbrough second favourite's to win the cup. However, Middlesbrough let in a goal within 9 minutes. A second goal was scored in the 23rd minute, which came about due to a foul on Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, who was a former Middlesbrough player. It has been considered one of Middlesbrough's poorest performances.

Middlesbrough 8 Manchester City 1 (Premier League, 11 May 2008)

On the last day of the Premier League, Middlesbrough managed one of its biggest victories. Within 15 minutes Richard Dunne was sent off for attacking Tuncay Şanlı in the penalty area. Stewart Downing scored the resulting penalty. Afonso Alves scored the second goal in 37 minutes to make it 2–0 at half time. In the second half, goals were scored by Adam Johnson, Fábio Rochemback, Jérémie Aliadière and again by Alves and Downing. Elano scored for Manchester City on the 87th minute, by Alves completed a hat-trick on the 90th minute, winning the game 8–1.