A Flourish to Finish With!!
Middlesbrough 8 Man City 1
13 May 2008
They say that football is a funny game and if ever proof was needed then here it is!
After a mediocre and sometimes worrying season suddenly everything clicked into place and it is always great to finish on a high to ensure that the punters cannot wait for next season to kick in.
It was after 15 minutes that the game took a vital turn when Richard Dunne caught Tuncay's ankle as he headed goalwards. It could well have been totally accidental but, not only did the ref give a penalty, but he also sent the big defender off. Downing smacked home the penalty.
Often teams tend to struggle against ten men but not the 'Boro today. They really went for the jugular. Their first half reward was only one more goal slotted home by Alves but, when Downing cracked home a magnificent volley after 58 minutes, Man City really wilted.
Alves got his second, young Adam Johnson got on the score sheet as did Rochemback with a fine strike. But 6-0 was still not enough and Aliadiere, on for Tuncay, hit the seventh before, amazingly, Elano got one back.
Alves finished the scoring for the day and his hat-trick will give him a massive boost and surely we can look forward to many goals from him next season now that he has settled in and his fitness has improved.
The obligatory lap of honour was well and truly deserved for this performance alone!!
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