Having tried and having failed to sign a European,
The Boro have finally landed a young South Korean,
They had apparently enjoyed a trouble-free long look,
And now they’ve finally signed up Lee Dong-Gook.

I understand they’d put out lots of world-wide feelers,
And they finally found success with the ‘Pohang Steelers,’
In his homeland it is said that he’s a goal-scoring ace,
But will the man succeed here? Well, just watch this space!

Down to Ashton Gate in Bristol is a long, long trek,
But this is the FA Cup lads, so, “What the heck!”
And one thing, I feel sure, is as clear as crystal,
It’ll not be easy for the Boro, down there in Bristol.

This is bound to be, I’m sure, a very testing tie,
For the ‘CideReds,’ as they are known, are flying mighty high,
The ground is totally packed though, of course, it’s not king size,
And a place in the Cup’s last sixteen is the highly valued prize.

The teams, right at the outset, were plainly poles apart,
And Boro, with great ease, soon enjoyed the ideal start,
It was due, without a doubt, to the home defenders’ sinning,
And it brought about for Yak a truly glorious beginning.

Many schoolboy errors brought us openings galore,
Good fortune and poor finishing meant that Boro didn’t score,
Christie should have netted with defenders all caught square,
Then he clasped his hands and glanced above, as if so deep in prayer.

We then sank ever-deeper and huge pressure was invited,
As City hemmed us in, and Bristol’s crowd became excited,
We had uneasy moments as great danger often beckoned,
Then Christie lifted Boro as he deftly scored a second.

With City once more guilty of the sloppiest defending,
Boro took advantage and had that second happy ending,
So the first half saw the City’s wings so well and truly clipped,
From a Boro point of view the lads were sticking to the script.

‘So far, so good,’ is what I heard, among the Boro fans’ banter,
It has all been pretty comfy and something of a canter,
The start was simply glorious: I really have to say,
But we’ve all been here before: could we now throw it all away?

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Gary Johnson, City’s boss, revealed he’d had the odd harsh word,
And his Robins came out fired up and apparently undeterred,
Southgate is clearly worried as he contemplates and glowers,
For it’s clear to see the Robins’ start is better by far than ours.

With the bit between their teeth and our lot not having started,
Lee Johnson took a free kick and the Boro were then outsmarted,
It was whipped in with precision, right on the top of Keogh’s dome,
He accepted with alacrity and nodded coolly home.

Then City who, at half-time, had appeared a sad non-runner,
Brought the tie to two-all, and it really was a stunner,
Schwarzer went on walkies and found himself left stranded,
When he chose to punch the ball out and at Murray’s feet it landed.

Murray lobbed the ball superbly, straight over Schwarzer’s head,
To leave the Boro bewildered and hanging by a thread,
The hosts were then revitalised and they almost scored a third,
But Downing cleared from off the line: this is really quite absurd.

Then Boro, from being two goals ahead and seemingly then cruising,
Are clearly now just second best, and that is not amusing,
We need to clear our heads now and the travelling fans are stunned,
We’re supposed to be the ‘Big Guns,’ but we’re simply being outgunned.

The spellbound City supporters, with good reason, were ecstatic,
The way the game had turned around was really quite dramatic,
Boro’s discipline had been lost with Schwarz more jittery than most,
When another City rocket was slashed so narrowly past the post.

Euell’s now on for Christie and he searching for a goal,
He was soon denied a penalty by the referee, Graham Poll,
Then our normally great defence made one more almighty hash,
And we almost paid the price for being so slap-happy-dash.

In a worrying second half the Boro appeared to lose the plot,
And kept inviting City to come on and have a pot,
Boro were almost totally scuttled: sunk without a trace,
But we get a fortunate second bite and a chance to save our face.

‘We could only lose it,’ it was earlier announced,
So many thought that City would be well and truly trounced,
But surely, at the Riverside, the only way is up,
My friends, that is the story and the drama of the Cup.