Middlesbrough have a great opportunity to turn a home clash against Oxford United into a pivotal moment in the club’s history – for the third time.
Twice in the past, home victories against the U’s have given the club a massive impetus and enabled them to take a huge step forward. So can Boro beat Oxford again and give the dressing room the vital boost which ignites the blue touch paper and sparks a dramatic eight-match run to the end of the season which brings a play-off place?
Certainly a top six finish still remains in Boro’s hands. First, they need to lay fresh foundations by beating Oxford and believe in themselves in the challenge to try on come out on top of the six or seven team battle to win the fifth and sixth places in the final Championship table.
Oxford gained a valuable victory at home to Watford in their last outing but beforehand had failed to win any of their previous nine games. They are still perilously close to the drop zone and are certainly beatable if Boro can approach the game thoroughly focused on what they need to do.
The game is huge for Boro in that it offers a springboard to greater things. This was the case during Bryan Robson’s era when Boro faced Oxford in their final game of the season at the Riverside, needing a victory to be certain of winning automatic promotion.
Boro had been relegated the previous season as a result of the controversial three-points deduction but had set their stall out from the start to regain their Premier League place at the first attempt. It had still been a tough season following the enforced sale of Juninho and other star men, though Boro had stuck to their guns and stayed up among the front runners.
When there were a new doubts early in the New Year Robson responded by bringing in no less than three further forwards to boost his attacking options. Marco Branca came in from Inter Milan, Alun Armstrong from Stockport and the Colombian Hamilton Ricard from Deportivo Cali.
Yet there were still blips in early March and early April when Boro suffered a few heavy defeats to leave their promotion hopes in the air. In the event they went on a four-match winning spree, beating Bury, Reading , Manchester City and Port Vale without conceding a single goal.
Their penultimate game produced a 1-1 draw at home to Wolves, which left Boro needing to beat Oxford on the final day to be certain of returning to the top flight. It was a bright sunny day and the fans were up for the game. A crowd of more than 30,000 turned up for what they believed would be a big day for the Boro.
Ironically the game was played on May 3, which is the same date when Boro are due to visit Coventry City in their final league game of this current campaign. A lucky coincidence there? Robson was without Branca, who had been such an inspiration in the run-in, so Armstrong and Paul Merson were handed the job of leading the attack, with lively winger Craig Hignett giving valuable support.
Boro also fielded a formidable trio in midfield with Paul Gascoigne ably backed by Robbie Mustoe and Andy Townsend. However, as hard as they tried, Boro made few inroads in the first half. The crowd was silenced by a wave of frustration as the half ended goalless.
Any fears which we held were quickly dispelled within two minutes of the restart when Merson released Armstrong, who went clear to finish well for the crucial opener. Within 60 seconds the duo struck gain, Merson running in from the right to set up Armstrong for a tap-in second goal which virtually ensured Boro’s promotion.
As a result, the confidence began to flow throughout the whole team. They began to put Oxford under heavy pressure. Great work from full-back Curtis Fleming created the chance for Hignett to make it three and the same player added the fourth after being set up by Merson.
Oxford substitute Nicky Banger did pull a goal back for the visitors but Boro cruised through the final 20 minutes. The deafening noise of the vibrant celebrations at the final whistle was a welcome response in what was only Boro’s third season at the Riverside.
Naturally the fans stayed on for the lap of honour which followed, in which Merson walked around in a white T-shirt bearing the inscription: “This is for you Gibbo and Robbo. We’re back.” While many dads will remember this magical day, the grandfathers among us may recall the even more legendary 4-1 defeat of Oxford which also guaranteed promotion in the summer of 1967.
Boro had been relegated to the Third Division for the first time in their history at the end of the previous season and there was a black cloud hanging over the club. To make matters worse, Boro made a dreadful start to life in the third tier. Shortly before Christmas there was every chance they would be relegated again to Division Four.
Suddenly Stan Anderson’s men grasped the nettle and, with confidence growing week by week, they went on an amazing run in which they lost just one of 16 consecutive games. Promotion still looked unlikely, especially when Boro lost three games in a row in early April.
However four wins and a draw took Boro right bang into the mix and they entertained Oxford in their final game knowing that victory would guarantee their return to Division Two. The town was gripped by promotion mania. A remarkable crowd of 39,683 fans crammed into Ayresome Park for the game, which was around 1,000 more than the official ground capacity.
Many more fans were left locked outside. Tickets had been selling steadily for some time before the game, but 8,5000 were still available on the night for the South Stand and the East End which led to long snaking queues for several hours before the kick-off.
The atmosphere was electric. This lifted the Boro and must have increased the pressure on Oxford, whose team included the larger-than-life skipper big Ron Atkinson, who was later to manage Manchester United among others. Boro were more or less at full strength with a formidable two-pronged attack of John Hickton and John O’Rourke, who had scored more than 40 goals between them during the season.
Urged on by the crowd, Anderson’s men went for the kill from the start. Yet they had to wait until the half hour for the breakthrough when O’Rourke headed Boro in front. O’Rourke headed another before the interval, Hickton scored ten minutes into the second half and O’Rourke completed his hat trick ten minutes later to give him 30 goals for the season.
Oxford reduced the arrears five minutes from time through Colin Harrington but it was all academic. The promotion celebrations had been in full swing on the terraces for some time. In fact there had been three pitch invasions during the game, with one elongated invasion in the first half raising fears for a while that the game might be abandoned.
However there were no further major problems until the final whistle when 50 feet of the restraining wall collapsed under pressure from the fans close to the players’ entrance. Children standing at the front were trampled and, as the fans everywhere surged on to the pitch, there was a sudden medical emergency situation.
A potential disaster was averted when secretary Harry Green took to the microphone and ordered everybody to stand still. The fans responded brilliantly and ambulance staff were able to deal with the dazed and injured. The 4-1 win gave Boro the second promotion spot behind Queen’s Park Rangers and fully restored the town’s pride. If Boro can overcome Oxford by 4-1 this weekend then maybe we will all be thinking that Boro already have one foot in the play-offs!
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