Boro won 5 - 4 on penalties.

The Boro formation is designed for out-and-out attack,
And even the little Brazilian ‘boy’ has been brought back,
To see if we can put one over a Tottenham side again,
At one of our few ‘lucky’ grounds; that’s White Hart Lane.

A quick goal for the Boro is really what is needed,
But, inside of sixty seconds, that’s what we have conceded,
That must, surely, be the quickest goal of the night,
Thankfully, the good thing is we’ve time to put it right.

As Tottenham attacked we were found totally static,
And the home fans were, quite naturally, feeling so ecstatic,
It was Anderton’s shot that Mark Schwarzer never reached,
For the first time in simply ages, the Boro’s goal was breached.

The ball was a truly glorious one that came in from the right,
And, though Cooper then half-cleared it, we were still in for a fright,
Anderton’s shot was deflected; it was just the merest glance,
Leaving Schwarzer in the Boro goal with not the slightest chance.

Robbie Keane and Stephen Carr lead another Spurs’ attack,
And suddenly, things for the visitors are once more looking black,
They combined really well together – what a truly wonderful blend,
Then when the final ball came in, no-one got on the end.

It now appears that Boro are at last starting to click,
As Ricketts now connects with a very useful flick,
The ball finds Maccarone and a quick shot he then tries,
But he doesn’t quite get over it and up and up it flies.

A Darren Anderton corner is now delivered most precisely,
Great expectations now of Schwarzer and he handles very nicely,
The ball is heading goal-wards, from the head of Ledley King,
Mark parried it for a corner; bet it made his fingers sting!

Spurs then attack with speed and try to hit us on the break,
Gives a chance to Rohan Ricketts which he thankfully doesn’t take,
Keane receives from Anderton then shows terrific acceleration,
Then, with Schwarzer rooted to the spot, for Spurs’ fans; just deflation.

Boro were once more lucky as Stephen Carr crept in,
And he got behind the Frenchman, who had temporarily slept in,
Queudrue failed to cope with the task he’d been allotted,
But Southgate cleared the lines for him as the danger he had spotted.

Boro’s best move came after more than half-an-hour,
But a goal did not materialise as the final shot lacked power,
Maccarone laid one on a plate; he couldn’t have done it better,
But Spurs were able to easily block the shot from Mendieta.

Great ball to Michael Ricketts, who quickly took it in his stride,
Then he rounded Kasey Keller, who had come out rather wide,
The hard work’s done; he’ll surely score; what would you say’s the betting?
Your money you’d have lost because he found the goal’s side netting.

With the half-time whistle awaited, how the Boro fans now roared,
And all, including Ricketts, know he really should have scored,
For stranded ‘keeper, Keller, a moment not to be enjoyed,
But, truthfully, in the game so far, he’s been virtually unemployed.

There’s still a little time remaining to continue Boro’s rally,
But Maccarone chose again to dilly and to dally,
He’s only eighteen yards’ out after Danny Mills had shone,
Instead of shooting first time, the opportunity was then gone.

With seconds ticking fast away, Robbie Keane sought fame,
But Schwarzer reacted brilliantly to keep the Boro in the game,
So now it’s time for tea and for the players to be rested,
And left in absolutely no doubt that ‘keeper Keller must be tested.

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Downing starts the second half with Maccarone being replaced,
Let’s hope that he can overcome the problems now being faced,
Boro need at least one goal, but where will it be found?
With “Come on Boro” echoing from all around the ground.

Zenden gets a great cross in, as the Boro pressure’s growing,
Can this mean that openings now in Spurs’ defence are showing?
Ricketts got his head to it; his effort was so fine,
But Keller got a hand to it and somehow saved it on the line.

The pattern of the game in Boro’s favour is now switching,
Little things are happening which, at times, appear bewitching,
The lads have certainly opened the second half rather brightly,
And currently have the upper hand, if only very slightly.

Southgate, after slipping, was caught out of position,
That’s something we can do without; let’s have no repetition!
Kanoute passed our man with ease and then he let one rip,
It deflected for a corner; have Boro already lost their zip?

In little spells the Boro play has been really effervescent,
But now they see McClaren, by the dugout, incandescent,
For his lads had totally lost their way to Keane, now such a threat,
Once more Southgate to the rescue and to him we owe a debt.

Downing with splendid vision put a ball on ‘Juno’s’ pate,
The wee man jumped the highest but the Spurs had closed the gate,
The ball was then diverted and a corner kick was given,
And that was also charged down, but how Juninho had striven.

Boateng thanks Colin Cooper for getting him out of trouble,
After he was robbed by Kanoute to release Keane at the double,
With such a massive prize at stake there’s desperation showing,
And Boro’s search for that elusive goal is ever, ever growing.

What a block by Cooper, as he stops a Poyet rifled shot,
And that’s his final touch; so what’s now McClaren’s plot?
Nemeth's introduced; will Boro throw caution to the wind?
Any pre-match plans will probably now need to be binned.

Zenden had a pot at goal and saw it ricochet,
Juninho was a lucky man as the ball then fell his way,
It was a chance said to be golden, but the wee man missed the boat,
From just six yards he rammed the ball right down Keller’s throat.

Downing on a mazy run left defenders in his track,
But from twenty yards he missed the chance and failed to have a crack,
With Boro now on all-out attack they got their just reward,
In the shape of Michael Ricketts, who put Keller to the sword.

So McClaren’s bold decision to attack has now paid off,
And to him and Michael Ricketts, I now my hat do doff,
All around the ground can be felt the warm, warm glow,
The bench, too, was ecstatic and brought out the mistletoe.

That means that we’re back in this game, thanks to ‘Mike the Fixer,’
And with normal time fast running out the tie’s back in the mixer,
It left the home fans totally gutted and absolutely mute,
All credit to big Michael; that really was a beaut!

Added time is now being played; so now it’s us against the clock,
Nemeth left two men for dead but was thwarted by a block,
The corner that resulted saw us throw more men well up,
To try and get the winner and reach the semi-final of the cup.

The pinpoint ball from Mendieta then found Ricketts who said “ta,”
As he raised himself majestically then saw his effort hit the bar,
In fact, credit goes to Keller as the seconds slowly pass,
As he pulled off yet another save that was undoubtedly world class.

The agony goes on as the lads strain every sinew,
We’ve yet another corner; how long can this continue?
From off the line a Ricketts’ shot is somehow scrambled free,
Without exaggeration he’s had chances to score three.

So extra time now beckons with a winner still awaited,
No doubt at all, throughout the land, all Boro breath is bated,
One thing’s absolutely certain, we had the best of early action,
And Downing had a brilliant run then missed by just a fraction.

It’s now clearly apparent that fatigue is setting in,
But we need total concentration if this game we are to win,
And this we certainly got as the game ebbed to-and-fro,
It was impossible to guess which way this wonderful game would go.

There were wondrous saves at both ends, a pleasure to behold,
And nails were being bitten; how will this game unfold?
Right in the final seconds, Downing left them all for dead,
Spurs, right now, are being besieged; they’re hanging by a thread.

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It’s freezing now and Bernie is suffering from exposure,
Time again for penalty kicks; for coolness and composure,
Time for the Boro lads to get the stadium rocking,
By giving us five presents, in our red and white Christmas stocking.

It was three penalty goals for each side, and then up stepped Poyet,
To issue the challenge which big Mark, the Boro boy met,
Schwarzer, as expected, displayed all the necessary skills,
Then we went four-three ahead; our thanks to Danny Mills.

The scores then became equal and the Tottenham fans all kissed,
When up came Mendieta who, amazingly, then missed,
Now up comes Spurs’ Taricco: in the ground not a single breath,
And he hits the Boro upright so, from now, it’s sudden death.

So now it’s down to French Franck and on him all eyes are glued,
But this man is totally laid back and he’s a real cool dude,
His nonchalant approach was just typical of Franck Queudrue,
The net then bulged and we had won: what drama: Sacre bleu!

So, ooh la la and all that, we’ve finally won the fight,
Our thanks to all the Boro squad: we’ve had a brilliant night,
And in this season of good will, I hope you’re feeling merry,
Good wishes to you all I send and “No. I’ve not been on the sherry.”

Now Christmas is approaching with the Boro still in the hat,
For the semi-final of the cup and we can surely better that,
After five scored from six attempts and all of which were stunners,
Have a very good Christmas, lads, and then bring on the Gunners.