We have no chance tonight; almost everyone believes,
But it’s time now for the Boro to roll up their sleeves,
Have a go at the Gunners and don’t feel too daunted,
Or we’ll suffer once more and forever be haunted.

Some refer to the home team as being Boro’s jinx,
And, as soon as we line up, the heart quickly sinks,
But I do not subscribe to these utterings of “hoodoo,”
And, to be totally honest, I don’t think that you do.

With both teams being weakened and for more than one reason,
On the result of this tie could depend Boro’s season,
So do come out ‘fighting’ and maintain constant guard if,
You’re to advance that bit closer to the final in Cardiff.

We’ve got to get stuck in and no-one must skive,
To ensure that for the second leg the game’s kept alive,
But it won’t be very easy and that’s the plainest truth,
As the Gunners field a good mix of vast experience and youth.

Arsenal attacked incessantly, despite key players being rested,
But Schwarzer in the Boro goal was never really tested,
Then, with Gilberto lying injured, though not from any foul play,
Juninho’s surge looked promising then did quickly fade away.

Queudrue kicked the ball to touch to help the situation,
As Mills was constantly booed for last week’s ‘Henry confrontation,’
Then Schwarzer was well beaten by Kolo Toure to his right,
Some paint shaved off the post by the first real effort of the night.

Schwarzer fluffed his first touch, which was just beyond belief,
As Kanu closed him down he cleared, much to everyone’s relief,
For a moment it did seem that it would end again in sorrow,
When we almost had a re-run of last Saturday’s painful horror.

We’ve had a couple of hairy moments in the opening minutes of this match,
And once again our passing has not been really up to scratch,
As Edu hares towards our goal he’s stopped by our ‘wee fellow,’
Juninho clearly pulled him back and was punished with a yellow.

The Brazilian star, Juninho, almost became the ‘Teesside Toast,’
As he beat the ‘keeper wonderfully and hit the inside of the post,
At that moment, for the Gunners, things were looking somewhat black,
But the ball somehow rebounded to a grateful Graham Stack.

Seeing Schwarzer off his line and hastily back-tracking,
David Bentley tries a delicate chip; could Boro now be cracking?
Such audacity and cheek was awfully difficult to believe,
And by the narrowest of margins the young man just failed to achieve.

Bentley had a great chance but didn’t know what to do,
When a brilliant ball was laid to him by the magic of Kanu
Although genuine danger threatened we had not been torn asunder,
And the Arsenal crowd’s subdued: there’s been no Cup-tie blood and thunder.

Doriva lost possession though he’s played well, by and large,
With Arsenal attacking and Kanu leading the charge,
Chris Riggott kept his cool and showed the Nigerian man inside,
At the vital moment Kanu slipped and then his effort went well wide.

Quincy has tremendous skill, as Riggott now discovered,
Our man was very nearly skinned but importantly he recovered,
He gave away a corner, bringing pressure we didn’t need,
For it’s crucial as the break is near that Boro do not concede.

The corner’s easily cleared and brings about a Boro attack,
And Juninho disappointed when he’d a chance to have a crack,
Then Danny Mills was sandwiched and the position looked inviting,
But French Franck’s kick was really poor and not at all exciting.

Well, Boro must be happy with the way this half’s unfurled,
The shot by Boro’s ‘Samba Star’ had the ‘keeper beaten to the world,
Mark’s not had a save to make and the scoreboard doesn’t lie,
The Boro lads can be very proud; we’re still very much in this tie.

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Play recommences; no changes made to either side,
And undoubtedly the Boro have shown some tremendous pride,
The game stands at nil-nil and we’re very much still in it,
So now let’s get really at them and we might go on to win it.

A dreadful error shown by the young goalkeeper Stack,
Almost cost him dearly as the ball’s passed back,
Juninho nearly profited through his really swift reaction,
But he failed in the end by just the merest fraction.

The next time he is called upon, Graham Stack then makes amends
As Zenden a magnificent ball into the box then sends,
Juninho’s marvellous effort seemed a ‘certainty’ to score,
Then, what a save from Stack! No-one could ask for any more.

Gilberto sends a great ball in; the accuracy was frightening,
It fell just right for Quincy, who’s like a streak of lightning,
We were then almost caught cold as Kanu suddenly appeared,
But Danny Mills reacted well and the danger was soon cleared.

With the score-line reading nil-nil some fans are going ‘ballistic’,
But Juninho’s playing his heart out to change that one statistic,
He’s hit a post and had one saved but he obviously thinks “Why worry?”
His next attempt’s successful and we’re one-nil up at Highbury.

A wonderful Boro move had prized the Arsenal door ajar,
And the finish was delightful from the little ‘Samba Star,’
So now it’s really ‘game on,’ at least that’s what one senses,
This is, no doubt, the moment that the real battle commences.

We’re temporarily down to ten men as Mendieta gets a stitch,
And yet we find the time again to get well up the pitch,
Maccarone fed Juninho who might once more have scored,
He was desperately unlucky not to get his just reward.

Stunned by Boro’s goal, Ray Parlour’s attacking down the right,
Queudrue slipped and this then led to a mighty Boro fright,
Riggott’s out of position and we’re really in a sweat,
Then Kanu fails through trying to walk the ball into the net.

After being so long inactive we saw Schwarzer withstand the test,
As the next attack on Boro’s goal showed Arsenal at their best,
A terrific drive from Bentley saw us almost torn to shreds,
That was far too close for comfort for our favourite Boro reds.

Clever play by Kanu then left Danny Mills for dead,
He then set up Jerome Thomas, who should have scored, it must be said,
With Arsenal pushing forward and with the Boro looking stressed,
And fifteen minutes left to play this remains a massive test.

Boro now make changes; we don’t want to be too bold,
Keep it tight and make sure that what we have we hold,
A magnificent tackle by Boateng as a goal-bound shot was blocked,
Meant a corner for the Gunners but our door remains unlocked.

Strong claims for an Arsenal penalty which Arsene Wenger actually saw,
When the ball thumped against Juninho and brought a massive home fans’ roar,
The referee dismissed appeals with a slight shake of the head,
Though Arsenal weren’t too happy, “It’s not a penalty,” he said.

Now monsieur Arsene Wenger is once more on the prowl,
With things now set to slip away, his face is one deep scowl,
But levels of concentration still need to be maintained,
Though every Boro stalwart must be absolutely drained.

Riggott intercepts and another Boro attack is mounted,
When Juninho and Joseph Job now two-on-one then countered,
The ‘little man’ was totally free and would have surely made it pay,
But Joseph shirked the opportunity and threw a wonderful chance away.

Another missed chance by Job had Steve McClaren feeling bitter,
When put through by Stuart Parnaby the big man missed a sitter,
It should have been goal number two, of that I’m totally sure,
But he sent it well over the bar and the finish was really poor.

Almost on the stroke of time in this first leg of the cup,
Arsenal force a corner and Stack asks could he go up,
His manager refuses and the ball’s then booted clear,
We’re now well into added time and the end is very near.

The victory is now signalled and every man is looking flagged,
And the ‘wee man’ in particular has run his little legs ragged,
But every single one of them is undoubtedly a hero,
As the final whistle blows: The Boro one and Arsenal zero.

This was a truly massive victory; one really to be relished,
And, honestly, not a word of this has been in any way embellished,
But just a word of caution, on a game deservedly won,
Don’t let us yet get carried away, the job is just half done.

I do hope that the tabloids give our lads well-earned respect,
For their effort and a victory that they perhaps did not expect,
I feel sure that the loyal fans will be queuing up as I speak,
And they’ll be hanging from the rafters at the Riverside next week.