The weather in Blackburn, well, so I am told,
Is really wet and windy and extremely cold,
But one thing we don’t have, and that is ice,
So conditions should add just that bit more spice.

Very early on Blackburn delivered a ‘warner,’
As a little flick by Yorke was scrambled for a corner,
Then a second one delivered right among the Boro rabble,
Led to a set-piece goal from the head of Babbel.

So, on a day that had started so full of hope,
Are we already starting out on that slippery slope?
In one single moment’s lapse of Boro’s concentration,
We saw a really early Blackburn Rovers'celebration.

McClaren’s on the bench and looking awfully restive,
And his thoughts at the moment must be anything but festive,
With Queudrue and Southgate exchanging woeful glances,
After presenting the big German with the easiest of chances.

Another corner almost hit us where it hurts the most,
As it was perfectly delivered and glanced off a post,
It bounced about the box and a second goal was feared,
But Mendieta bobbed up on the line and somehow cleared.

We’d put just one man on the line leaving one post unprotected,
Yet when Blackburn chose to attack that side, the move seemed unexpected,
The wave of noise from the Boro fans has now become a whisper,
As yet we haven’t started and the home team’s play’s much crisper.

With Blackburn attacking left and right and finding great positions,
They have, no doubt, adapted much better to poor conditions,
Hopefully Boro haven’t overdone the mince pies and the turkey,
They really must pull out all the stops or the outlook could be murky.

It was more than twenty minutes before the Boro fans could cheer,
We were denied by ‘keeper Friedel although Ricketts came so near,
Great ball in from Downing who’d again got on his bike,
Then a thunderous header from Ricketts: now that I really like!

Awareness and great caution is what the Boro now behoves,
As Blackburn, down the right side, attack once more in droves,
Emerton’s fine ball in instantly real danger then created,
Which, thankfully for the visitors, Flitcroft hadn’t anticipated.

Downing’s contributions are showing promise most immense,
Could he perhaps be that vital key to unlock the home defence?
It must be said that so far we’ve not caused them too much trouble,
But certain signs are showing that we’re about to bubble.

The pendulum’s possibly now swinging more the Boro’s way,
As a ball from Stewart Downing sees Ricketts’ best run of the day,
His fantastic contribution laid one for Juninho on a plate,
It was of the highest order; let no-one underestimate.

As the ‘Little Man’ bears down on goal, one prays we see no slips,
But he showed true, great composure, then the most delicate of chips,
A quite exceptional finish from the ‘Little Samba Star,’
Now twinkling oh so brightly and clearly visible from afar.

Ferguson then lines one up from all of thirty yards,
No-one seemed at all concerned; a goal's never on the cards,
But it flew towards the Boro net, down to the ‘keeper’s right,
The big Aussie got a hand to it but he’d certainly had a fright.

Gallagher brought great danger in attack that’s never ending,
To be thwarted by big Franck with some brilliant defending,
After Southgate ‘fell asleep’ the Scot’s about to pull the trigger,
Then came Queudrue to the rescue; what tremendous skill; what vigour!

A chance in added time saw Mendieta make a hash of it,
When wonderfully place the Spaniard simply has a lash at it,
That was a golden opportunity and what a time to score,
But he missed it by a mile and one can’t really say much more.

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Blackburn made some changes as they’d had some players tire,
Souness has decided to put some Cole upon the fire,
The striker quickly seeks to become the Boro’s party-pooper,
But his effort is soon dampened by tremendous work from Cooper.

Cole is in the box again and once more his charge is ended,
When another Cooper tackle leaves a corner to be defended,
Babbel comes up once again; he’s seeking further glory,
But Schwarzer grabs it easily: for the German, end of story.

Juninho then goes on to totally justify selection,
With a truly wonderful strike, executed to perfection,
On this miserably cold day he left the Boro fans enraptured,
As they witnessed unique quality, which was beautifully manufactured.

Such perfection from the ‘Little Man’ is a real privilege to watch,
When he set off on his own he was impossible to catch,
He got it on his left peg and then curled it out of reach,
Of Rovers’ ‘keeper, Friedel: what an absolute peach!

Rovers won’t give up this game, that’s what McClaren’s stressing,
As they force corner number eight through hard and constant pressing,
Cooper’s once more the saviour of our favourite Boro side,
As he pushed it for a corner which was then deflected wide.

Then came another Rovers’ strike, which should have been a goal,
It ends in major disappointment for the Blackburn striker, Cole,
He was six yards out and central but the ball then wasn’t won,
So it’s 2-1 for the Boro but there’s much work to be done.

Southgate gave the ball away; being careless, so it seemed,
But instantly he got stuck in and the situation he redeemed,
He immediately apologised for the ball that was so sloppy,
Then his reaction was just perfect for all younger players to copy.

Another Rovers’ corner and once more real danger beckoned,
As Schwarzer was left stranded the ball deflected for a second,
Then, from the Boro bench, sounds of great unrest were heard,
When Franck’s momentary indecision saw him give away a third.

Thankfully for all concerned we weren’t made to pay too dearly,
But this game is now so finely poised; that one can see quite clearly,
Then, to my bewilderment, we lost the greatest man on view,
When Juninho was subbed as Rovers further turned the screw.

Although among the fans there were some howls of derision,
That’s what McClaren’s paid for: to make such a decision,
It could well be the ‘Little Man’ is hurt or being saved,
But now we’ll never see the hat-trick that the Boro fans have craved.

Zenden struck a fierce free kick from the Boro’s right-hand side,
But as soon as it had left his boot it was clearly going wide,
Friedel was too anxious and his bearings he had lost,
So he pushed it for a corner and, hopefully, greater cost.

The kick failed almost miserably from a Boro point of view,
When Southgate fouled his marker and the referee quickly blew,
Then Downing tried to wrap it up but truthfully, on reflection,
It never mildly threatened: lacking both power and direction.

With the referee now checking time and Rovers fighting back,
A good punch out by Schwarzer ends another good attack,
Mendieta plays a sloppy ball instead of kicking clear,
Then Davis saves the day for us but now he’s hurt, I fear.

‘Mendi’ surely can’t have panicked instead of keeping calm,
He really should have ‘wellied’ it, well away from any harm,
There’s a well-known football saying; “a goal is scored in just a trice,”
For this late, late indiscretion, will we now pay the ultimate price?

In fact, the corner’s cleared; a home goal now would be a crime,
Then Rovers force another and we’re well into added time,
Their goalie comes up in attack for the last throw of the dice,
But surely, from a corner, the Rovers can’t score twice.

Amazingly the Boro managed to pay the highest price,
Again ‘twas Markus Babbel who proved that lightning can strike twice,
We had the three points in the bag to end a really marvellous day,
Then once more came disaster and we’d thrown it all away.

Perhaps the late appearance in attack of ‘keeper Friedel,
Brought to the situation that little bit of extra needle,
Whatever it was there is no doubt that Boro fans were reeling,
As the ref. blew up to end the game: I know just how you’re feeling.