Posts Tagged ‘Middlesbrough FC’

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Middlesbrough v Deportivo de La Coruna, Saturday 2nd August 2025, 3pm

August 8, 2025

There’s just a week to go until the proper season starts for the Boro. That means it’s time for the traditional ‘big name’ friendly at home. Good as that is though, the fixture against Deportivo de La Coruna wasn’t the highlight of my weekend. Not at all.

Twelve years after logging our first section of the Cleveland Way, Jen and I finally finished it off. We walked a total of eleven miles from Filey Brigg to Cayton Bay and back, which meant that we fully completed the trail in both directions on the same hike.

It’s nice to do these walks with a dog and as Henry is still recovering from his knee surgery, we borrowed Soph’s other dog, Millie. She’s an seven-month-old Labrador and whilst Jen and I covered just the minimum distance necessary, she ran back and forward for at least twice the mileage.

The second-best weekend activity was the match. Tom had mentioned that he and his mate Jones were going in hospitality for forty-eight quid. That seemed like a good deal to me and so Harry and I joined them.

We were in the Host and Stay Lounge, which is usually close to two hundred and fifty pounds a pop, although I think for regular games you get a lot more than the burger and chips that we were given.

It made for an interesting change though. There was table service, and we had one of the booth tables that allowed us to look out towards the fan zone and see other fans arriving.

Having a big table also made it easy to spread out the fold-out poster in the programme and identify ourselves in the photograph of the Boro end at Ibrox a week earlier.

Our padded seats were just to the right of the Director’s Box. The Boro were pretty much full strength from those available, with the exception of Rav van den Berg and Hayden Hackney. The dutchman was nowhere to be seen as he tries for a move back home, but Hackney was on the bench after deciding to gamble on securing a Premier League move by turning down Championship Ipswich.

I think he has made the right call, but if his transfer doesn’t happen until late on deadline day, we might find it too late to replace him in this window.

We did ok with Tommy Conway scoring twice, the second after a good run from wing-back Sammy Silvera. In between those efforts, Deportivo scored twice themselves and the resulting draw meant that we were still awaiting our first win under Rob Edwards. Hopefully we are saving that for Swansea on Saturday.

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Hartlepool United v Middlesbrough, Wednesday 30th July 2025, 7pm

August 2, 2025

It’s not often that I get to Hartlepool, but this was my second visit within a month. The previous time Jen and I had taken a walk along the England Coastal Path. We started at St Hilda’s church, quickly passing a pub with outdoor karaoke next to the Andy Capp statue. We continued northwards as far as Steetly Pier before retracing our steps.

We paused at the cemetery that has the graves of those killed in the World War One naval shelling, with the highlight of the six-mile walk being a seagull flying past us with a mouse firmly clasped in its beak.

This visit was to watch the Boro at the Victoria Ground, or as it is now known, the Suit Direct Stadium. It’s thirty-nine years since I last saw a game there, back in ’86 for the Boro’s first game after coming out of liquidation. Ayresome Park didn’t have the safety certificate and so Hartlepool very kindly lent us their ground.

My memories of that game are sketchy. I remember turning my ankle on the wasteland going in and I’m fairly sure I watched from the terracing along one side of the pitch. Probably the side facing the tunnel. We went two up and could have clinched the win when someone, possibly Archie Stephens, maybe Gary Hamilton, rattled the crossbar from distance. Port Vale hit back though, and we had to settle for a two all draw.

There was no wasteland to negotiate this time as we parked near to the stadium and followed the road around to the entrance for the Victoria Park Lounge. I’d opted for a hospitality ticket mainly so that I could watch the match sitting down. For thirty-eight quid a pop, Jen and I got padded seats behind the dugouts, curry and rice before the game and a welcome drink. Not bad at all.

There were around two thousand Boro fans attending. We had the standing section behind the goal to our left and the seated stand to my right. There was a small group of vocal Hartlepool fans in the corner of the stand opposite, but otherwise the home crowd were fairly quiet.

Boro had picked a young, inexperienced side, so much so that there were players I’d never heard of. Fringe players Forss, Barlaser, Hamilton and Gilbert were given a run out, but none of them made a pressing case for a first team starting spot.

It was goalless at half-time when we returned to the lounge for a coffee. Hartlepool scored first after the restart, but Boro equalized through Sonny Finch running at the Hartlepool defence and finishing well. A draw was a fair reflection of the evening’s action.

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Glasgow Rangers v Middlesbrough, Saturday 26th July 2025, 2pm

July 30, 2025

The Boro’s pre-season friendly with Rangers certainly caught the attention of the Boro fanbase with around seven thousand tickets sold for the trip to Ibrox. I looked at accommodation in the city but it seemed so expensive that I initially assumed that it must have been a weekend when both Oasis and Taylor Swift were in town.

My Plan B was to stay north of Glasgow and combine the trip with walking a little further along the West Highland Way. The hotel that we booked in Drymen was having a Murder Mystery Night and so we joined in. I doubt I’d make a detective as I strongly suspected a couple who were there as punters, just like us. It’s lucky I didn’t rugby tackle them to the ground to make a citizen’s arrest. Jen identified the murderer easily enough, reasoning that ‘it’s usually the wife’.                                                                     

We only had time on the Saturday for a short pre-match walk, but we covered the section between Dumdoyne and Arlehaven in both directions. It was just six miles in total, but it’s enough to keep the progress of the trail ticking over and it’s good to spend a morning out in the countryside.

We passed a distillery that I may visit on a future trip but didn’t see much wildlife. I’d been hoping for deer but had to settle for a robin.

In the afternoon I drove to Ibrox. It’s a stadium that I’d last visited in the summer of ’85. On that occasion my friend Craig and I had travelled up to Edinburgh to see some lads that we had recently met on holiday in France. They were Hearts fans and we went with them to Glasgow to see their team get beat 3-1.

It looks as if there have been some renovations in the past forty years as the few memories that I have of the inside of the ground bear little semblance to what I could see from the lower section of the Broomloan Stand.

Tom and Harry had made the journey north too, but I missed them before the game. As they were in the upper tier I couldn’t meet up with them during the game either.

I was pleased to see Sol Brynn in goal for us. If he is going to be our first team keeper this season, he needs to establish himself as soon as possible. Possible departures Hayden Hackney and Rav van der Berg were missing, supposedly with minor injuries, or perhaps after a phone call from an agent.

The game was more physical than a lot of our players were used to and we struggled to ‘win’ free kicks by going to ground after minimal contact. I’m ok with that. Law McCabe adjusted quite quickly and seemed to relish the opportunity to get stuck in. I’m hoping that when Hackney does go, that he’ll get a decent run alongside Morris.

We went one up from a corner early on and added a second just after half-time. Rangers then made ten subs at once and with a much stronger team brought it back to two each. We were happy to take the draw by the end.

I finally caught up with Harry and Tom for a chat outside before heading back to Drymen with the intention of a further chunk of the West Highland Way the next day.

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Sheffield Wednesday v Middlesbrough, Monday 21st April 2025, 3pm

April 30, 2025

Three wins. After the victory in add-time over Plymouth on Good Friday, a play-off spot was still within our own hands. All we had to do was win our final three fixtures, starting with a Hillsborough trip. Sheff Wed had lost five home games on the trot going into the game and so an away win seemed feasible.

Jen and I were staying over in Sheffield for a couple of nights in a hotel that was just a fifteen-minute walk from the ground. I’d been to see a lower-league cup final in Mexborough in the morning and as it was all done and dusted within ninety minutes, I was back in the hotel with plenty of time to walk to Hillsborough.

The Boro were unchanged, although we’d added another centre-half to the bench with Lenihan joining Fry and Edmundson. I doubt that he was fully fit, but Carrick has a habit of including injured players to keep them involved.

We started well with Azaz finishing off a neat passing move after ten minutes and then Hackney winning a pen midway through the half. After Conway’s injury time spot-kick winner against Plymouth I had high hopes of him putting us two up. Unfortunately, the keeper guessed correctly on this occasion and kept Wednesday in the game.

We struggled in the second half, and it was no surprise when Wednesday equalised. Carrick tried a short-term reshuffle, moving Howson into midfield and pushing Hackney up into the ten role. That didn’t achieve anything and with a minute to go a failure to clear a cross enabled Sheff Wed to score a deserved winner. Conway had a chance in added time to snatch a point but hit the bar from close range.

It was another poor performance on a day when play-off rivals Bristol City and Coventry both lost. Ironically those results meant that we were in no worse a position than we had been when we kicked off. With two games remaining, two wins will be sufficient to reach the play-offs. Two wins. Surely that can’t be beyond us?

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Middlesbrough v Plymouth, Friday 18th April 2025, 3pm

April 26, 2025

Four wins needed. After the defeat at Millwall, we pretty much had to win our final four fixtures if we were to make the play-offs. I’d come out of the New Den accepting that we weren’t capable of doing that, but getting on for a week later, some of my usual positivity was returning. We’ve won four games on the trot before, so why not again?

It has been a good week for doing stuff. Jen and I had been to a talk about murder given by a retired detective, and we’d seen John Bramwell in a pub in Durham. It was our third Bramwell gig in the past three weeks and we’ve at least two more scheduled for later in the year.

On paper, you’d think a home fixture against bottom of the table opposition should be a near-certain three points, but it’s a tight league this season and Plymouth could easily stay up with two or three wins from their final four games. Despite centre-backs Fry and Edmundson being fit enough for the bench, Howson kept his place at the heart of the defence, whilst Forss got the nod over Burgzorg on the right of the three behind Conway.

Boro controlled the game with three-quarters of the possession and made three passes for every one that Plymouth completed. We took the lead when Azaz tapped home a Conway dink over the keeper that came back out off the inside of the post. Plymouth were level within minutes after another instance of playing out from the back going wrong and if Travers hadn’t pulled off a couple of good saves we’d have gone in behind at the break.

We didn’t really look like scoring in the second half, but Plymouth’s timewasting led to eight minutes of added time and as we entered the final stages a light touch on Conway’s back earned us a penalty. He took it himself and picked the right side to roll it home. A lot of the Boro fans had already left by that point, but Harry and I celebrated, not really believing our luck and reflecting upon how moments like that make it all worthwhile. Three wins needed.

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Millwall v Middlesbrough, Saturday 12th April 2025, 3pm

April 15, 2025

I initially had some university stuff on in Chelmsford this weekend and so Jen and I booked up for three nights in nearby London. It subsequently turned out that there wasn’t much benefit to me in attending and so that freed up my Saturday to go along to the New Den to see the Boro instead.

There’s always plenty going on in the Capital and our visit also coincided with a Sea Power gig at Islington Assembly Hall. They like to mix things up and on this tour they are playing songs from soundtracks that they’ve done, such as Man of Aran and From the Sea to the Land Beyond. They’ve also done one for a computer game, Disco Elysium. It won them both a BAFTA and a fresh set of fans, mainly young gamers. The crowd for this gig had far many younger people, than I think I’ve ever seen at a Sea Power gig, even twenty-odd years ago.

The track selection made for an interesting change, although I was hoping that they’d encore with something a bit more raucous. I think Sea Power are at their best when it’s all a bit chaotic, in the old days it would be Eamon off on a frolic with a drum, Phil knocking his teeth out stagediving or the bear on the loose. More recently it might be Noble crowd surfing, whilst Paul the guitar tech steps in for him. These are all things that I’d like the young gamers to see.

Jen and I also had time for a pre-match walk along Regents Canal. We were staying in Camden and went from the market area to Little Venice and back. We watched a couple with a boat navigating one of the locks and some monkey business in the London Zoo enclosure that backs on to the canal.

It was interesting to see the lifestyles of the people on the permanently moored boats along that stretch of the river. I’d happily live in one of them, I think, although I did feel the same about camper vans until we spent a week in one in Australia. Maybe I should try it for a short period first.

The match was easy enough to get to with a tube to London Bridge and then a five-minute overground journey to South Bermondsey. There’s a dedicated walkway for away fans arriving by rail and I was into the ground with plenty of time for a couple of beers in the outdoor area behind the stand.

It’s always a good feeling pre-match when the sun is shining and your team is still in with a chance of the playoffs.

My ticket was in the upper tier, in the second row and central. Carrick had made one change, taking Iheanacho out of the firing line after his performance against Leeds and bringing in Whittaker to the front three supporting Conway. We had most of the ball in the first half but didn’t do a lot with it. We rarely do these days, limiting ourselves to keeping possession and recycling it in the hope that the opposition defence might drop off to sleep.

Things got worse in the second half when Millwall stepped up the tempo. We couldn’t cope with the pressure and conceded on the hour. Even after going behind nothing really changed, but then again, that’s how it is with the players and system that we have. It might have been different if we’d hadn’t flogged off Akpom, Rogers, Latte Lath or even Jones. But when you sell your creative players whenever a bid comes in, that’s what happens. We will likely lose Hackney in the summer too.

Highlight of the day was bumping into Carl outside afterwards as we were held back to allow the Millwall fans first access to the trains. It was his first away game since the win on penalties at Old Trafford a few years ago. I suspect that after that performance it might be his last trip for a while.

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Middlesbrough v Oxford United, Saturday 29th March 2025, 3pm

April 9, 2025

As we approach the business end of the season the visit of relegation threatened Oxford had to provide three points if we were to stay in the play-off hunt.

Jen and I had been to see Boo Hewerdine at Coulby Newham cathedral the night before and I was chatting with Col, an old school-friend. He was a Darlo fan as a kid but is more into ice-hockey these days. He had little faith in the Boro’s prospects of reaching the play-offs and even less confidence that we’d get promoted at the expense of whichever of the top three teams misses out on automatic. He’s probably right, but you’ve got to enjoy the chase whilst it’s still on.

The gig had good acoustics and a well-behaved crowd. Bonus point for the cushions that softened the effect of the wooden pews.

On the morning of the game, I nipped up to Declan Carroll’s stables at Malton to see Hickton, our syndicate horse. Most of the other fellas don’t bother with the stable visits and this time there was only Graham and I. Hickton is a friendly enough horse and likes to have his head stroked. Declan reckons that he’s progressing well, and he has an entry for Redcar early in April.

On this occasion, we drove up to the gallops to see him work with a couple of sprinters. They used the starting blocks and then had a stiff gallop for four uphill furlongs. He was sharply out of the stalls and ran well, keeping up with the faster horses before taking a bit of pulling up. If he doesn’t run well next time, it won’t be for a lack of fitness.

The Boro’s fitness was improving too, with regular centre-half Rav van den Berg making the bench. He got on for the final few minutes, so should now be available for selection. We’d been poor in the first half and went in at the break a goal down. At that stage, it looked as if Col had got it spot on in his play-off prediction.

We kept at it in the second half, with Howson holding everything together from deep. Iheanacho equalised with his first goal for the club and hopefully that will boost his confidence. It’s a loan that seems more in his interest than ours but if he hits form then it might pay off.

The winner, ten minutes from time, was a glorious build up full of flicks and backheels with the final one coming from Borges as he steered it home. It was the sort of move that you’d expect if you were five goals to the good rather than desperately needing a winner as time slips away for keeping your season alive.

The win took us to seventh, with only goal difference keeping us out of the play-off spots. Seven games to go and a Wembley trip is still a possibility.

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Middlesbrough v Queens Park Rangers, Tuesday 11th March 2025, 7.45pm

March 16, 2025

In the lead up to this game, it was easy to think that the season was done. The defeat at Swansea had halted our two-match winning streak and that poor first half performance had suggested that without the pace of Latte Lath or the creativity of Doak we’d struggle to make the play-offs.

But the gap was only five points or effectively two wins. Mind you, with just ten games remaining, winning two more games than your rivals is a tall order. There’s always hope though, until there isn’t and Harry and I set off for the Riverside thinking that a win would keep the promotion campaign alive.

When I saw the line-up I initially thought that our problem of the lack of centre-backs was going to be exacerbated by the novel approach of playing with three of them rather than two and filling the slots with a right back, a left back and a central midfielder. However, Carrick had stuck to his usual back four with Borges and Howson at centre half. It worked ok. Dijksteel remained at right back and capped his performance with a wide run where he cut inside and passed the ball into the far corner of the net.

Jonny Howson showed how badly he had been missed. He played deep, usually five or more yards beyond the QPR attacking line. He organised everything and despite not being anywhere near match-fit was our most influential player. Even if our missing centre-halves make recoveries I’d keep him in the side, either as a third centre-back or perhaps as part of a midfield three, sitting in behind Hackney and Morris.

After being two-up and cruising a late QPR goal meant a tense final few minutes. Their keeper even went up for a corner and had a header on target. We held on though to keep the play-off hopes alive for another week.

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Middlesbrough v Derby County, Saturday 1st March 2025, 3pm

March 4, 2025

I got lucky with my full day back in the UK with both a Boro home game and a stable visit to see Hickton, the Riverside Racing Syndicate horse. I didn’t see him run at all as a two-year-old and so I’m hoping to be more involved in his campaign this season.

We’ve switched trainers for this season to the smaller yard of Declan Carroll and I went along with a couple of other syndicate members to watch him on the gallops.

Declan seems a decent bloke and was happy to spend an hour and a half with us, talking us through Hickton’s progress since arriving. He’s a horse that seems to have some ability, but is reluctant to show it. Hopefully Declan and his team can bring him on a bit.

We watched him run over six furlongs alongside one of the stable sprinters. It’s an uphill track so hopefully he’ll appreciate the much easier gradient next time he’s on the course.

After taking my Mam for quick jaunt around Aldi, I picked up Harry and we set off for the Riverside. Neither of us could work out how to get Radio Tees on the hire car radio, so we missed the team news. The Boro are short of centre halves at the moment, having sold Matt Clarke and then had Van Den Berg and Edmundson pick up injuries.

Jonny Howson still isn’t fit either and so Luke Ayling switched inside. Early in the second half he picked up an injury too which meant that left back Neto Borges took his turn to fill in. It feels as if they’ll all get a go at some point.

Derby are struggling at the moment and came for a point. We had the best of the chances, but it wasn’t until ten minutes from time that Finn Azaz broke the deadlock to give us a second win in four days. Hopefully we can build on that and get back into a play-off spot

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Middlesbrough v Burnley, Sunday 29th December 2024, 8pm

February 1, 2025

The second Boro game of my UK visit was at home to Burnley, at eight o’clock on a Sunday night. WTF? Who decided that was an appropriate time for scheduling a football match? It was another cold night and so I kept faith with my Russian coat. If it could cope with the sub-zero temperatures at the final Moscow Torpedo game before a winter break, then I was hopeful that it would do for Teesside.

Chances were at a premium and the nearest either side came to a goal was when Dael Fry managed to chest a goal-bound shot off the line. Burnley were timewasting towards the end and so were clearly happy with a point. I was too, I suppose, although a point a game over the season might well get you relegated.

It was the last match of 2024 for both Harry and I. A year in which I only got along to thirty-five games, albeit in twelve different countries and with thirty new grounds. I saw the Boro on just four occasions, witnessing two draws and two defeats in my visits to the Riverside. I’m hoping 2025 will be better on all counts.

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