Today the Boro are seeking to add to their tally,
Unbeaten this month they’re now heading for The Valley,
The afternoon is glorious and the sunshine is so bright,
We are much better than Charlton and that is not being impolite.

The referee, Mark Halsey, tends to let the matches flow,
And, any second now, the starting whistle he will blow,
Conditions are simply perfect, with little or no wind,
So we hope our favourite Boro will remain so disciplined.

We’re off and the Boro have a good tempo from the start,
And JFH immediately shows that he’s a class apart,
He showed tremendous strength and the door almost unlocked,
And he won an early corner when the shot he tried was blocked.

From the by-line, McMahon whipped in a ball with pace,
In the ensuing struggle Jimmy easily won the race,
The fancy flick he tried brought a corner then a scramble,
But the Addicks hadn’t anyone prepared to take a gamble.

The physical presence of Parlour brought Boro’s corner number three,
With Boro’s travelling army shouting out vociferously,
Downing’s great inswinger was unlucky not to score,
With ‘keeper Kiely floundering as if practising semaphore.

The first test for Mark Schwarzer was El Karkouri’s great free kick,
It came from twenty yards and Schwarzer’s dive had to be quick,
It took a nasty bounce and then quite violently reared,
But Schwarzer pushed it for a corner that was very easily cleared.

Tony McMahon sold himself and went easily to ground,
When Thomas teased and gave him, a good old run-around,
He was now out of the game; time for genuine apprehension,
Until Zenden rescued Boro with a brilliant intervention.

Then came a Boro goal although the scorer wasn’t clear,
The shot from Bolo Zenden deflected then off Jimmy’s rear,
The last touch was El Karkouri’s, of that I’m satisfied,
And though Jimmy claimed, it might well be, the panel will decide.

It matters not who scored it; it still counted as a ‘kill,’
And Boro, most importantly, now lead this game one-nil,
Then the score-line should have doubled as the Boro fans were clappin’,
After Downing’s cross of quality was simply begging for a tap-in.

Across the face of goal the ball whipped in was quite a peach,
But it found Floyd and Vid. flat-footed so that neither man could reach,
It was the best ball of the day, no doubt: a ball of which you dream,
Supplied by Stewart Downing, who might one day reign supreme.

Luke Young then made a great turn and tried to pick out Euell,
But, thankfully for the Boro, Chris Riggott kept his cool,
His header almost diverted straight into the Boro’s net,
But it went out for a corner and that’s the closest yet.

The corner’s cleared and Boro break; Parlour’s the mastermind,
He then sets off George Boateng, who’s pulled down cruelly from behind,
Al Kakouri was the culprit and the yellow was not in doubt,
But the resulting kick for Boro wasn’t particularly well thought out.

“That was all my fault,” said Jimmy, for a back-pass far too strong,
But he was rescued twice by Riggott who, today, has done no wrong,
One real almighty problem was caused by Euell from The Valley,
But when he had the chance to shoot he chose instead to dilly-dally.

A free kick now for Addicks was awarded by the ref.,
When Franck Queudrue was guilty of a foul on Kishishev,
Having failed to clear his lines he was then caught on the hop,
But the free kick was, quite wildly, sent well over the top.

The first half was disjointed and had little to enthuse,
And the hosts then left the field to a barrage of loud boos,
They’d appeared rather punchless, and long may that endure,
Then the Boro will succeed and three more points will be secure.

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It has now been announced the goal was put before the jury,
And the decision they reached? An own goal by Al Kakouri,
Jimmy won’t be happy that its one he cannot claim,
So the game now restarts and the teams remain the same.

Euell tried his luck with a shot from twenty yards,
But with Schwarzer well alert a goal was never on the cards,
The shot had no conviction and of hope it was bereft,
And Schwarzer saved it easily by diving to his left.

But that little pot at goal proved to be an appetizer,
For within a matter of moments Addicks had the equalizer,
Just one long ball from Euell brought the Boro’s nightmare start,
When Johansson ran on through and tore us well apart.

Jimmy had a great chance against the ‘keeper one-on-one,
But he struck the minder’s legs, to the surprise of everyone,
He chose at once to shoot rather than to dribble all around,
Though credit goes to Kiely, whose display’s been really sound.

We didn’t have too long to wait for stillness in The Valley,
When Zenden found the Addicks’ net in a brilliant Boro rally,
A great ball from Viduka then Bolo put them to the sword,
So it’s 2-1 for the Boro and the lead has been restored.

It was a quite delightful finish; a delicate left-foot chip,
Cool as the proverbial cucumber and brilliant workmanship,
After Kiely went to ground he simply didn’t have a prayer,
For Bolo’s silky finish was in a class beyond compare.

Viduka’s running clear on goal and danger’s evident,
Then he’s hauled down by Perry, who awaits his punishment,
The ref’s patience is exhausted and he’s normally quite mellow,
But it’s a caution now for Perry and the card that’s shown is yellow.

It’s time now for the hosts to make a double substitution,
Being a goal behind they need to find a quick solution,
Then Boro ring the changes and he’s worked just like a beaver,
It’s Stewart Downing giving way, to be succeeded by Doriva.

Addicks are attacking now and genuine danger beckoned,
When Johansson tried a snap-shot; he’s looking for his second,
Joseph Job’s now joined the fray and Mark Viduka’s quit,
Still giving the impression that he isn’t totally fit.

A last-gap block by McMahon, who had played throughout with pride,
Got the best of Euell, who was once again denied,
We made heavy weather of it but we got there in the end,
2-1 for the Boro so, all in all, a good weekend.

The winning goal from Bolo was such an absolute peach,
To push us up to fourth with all the ‘big guns’ still in reach,
Undefeated in October, that’s a stat that’s worth recording,
A very fruitful month and one that’s been so, so rewarding.