Events over the past ten days have been absolutely grand,
But, as of now, talk of “that Cup” within the club, is banned,
The players must now come back to earth after that Birmingham reverse,
And tonight would be just perfect to take three points away from Spurs.

The fans are all decked out in red, with flags and sounding hooters,
Hoping that their heroes have, for once, brought their six-shooters,
To thereby raise the temperature on a night that’s really freezing,
And another Boro win would ensure our situation’s easing.

Juninho’s brought down near the box and things were looking tense,
As the little man went darting, clean through the Spurs’ defence,
But the tackle was a good one, by a player well supported,
And the Boro’s hoped-for early break was very swiftly thwarted.

Young Andrew Davies was then guilty of a rather bad mistake,
Heading the ball straight to Defoe but the chance he failed to take,
He first lobbed Gareth Southgate, showing lovely, skilful stuff,
And it dipped as it approached the bar but, thankfully, not enough.

Spurs force two quick corners, each bringing very different dangers,
They seem to be having the better of these opening exchanges,
McClaren wasn’t too happy and he vociferously complained,
Although the ball each time was cleared, Spurs’ initiative was maintained.

Queudrue took the ball on well then came the slightest slip,
Just as he was steadying to really let one rip,
But Job was found, inside the box, though he didn’t catch it right,
And Keller, at full stretch, then made his first save of the night.

Boro keep up the pressure now and Zenden leads the fight,
As he almost – perhaps in error – found the top corner on the right,
Keller’s flick when under stress certainly kept the visitors in it,
As Boro forced two corner kicks, well inside the following minute.

A corner kick from Jackson found Anderton without a marker,
And only Schwarzer’s wonder-save kept our plight from being darker,
Given time and plenty space he struck a venomous volley,
And McClaren, not at all amused, was going off his trolley.

Some unfamiliar frailties in Boro’s defence have been perceived,
And the antics of McClaren must be seen to be believed,
I’m becoming rather worried as Defoe and Keane buzz around,
And one thing that’s for sure is that an answer must be found.

It was a disappointing first half and we looked nervy in defence,
But I’m sure that Steve McClaren’s talk will remove the lads’ suspense,
As the dressing room reverberates inside those hallowed halls,
I wouldn’t mind being a tiny fly listening in within the walls.

We must show greater fluency to have a chance to score,
Make full use of our wide men and then try to stretch Spurs more,
The chance is there for us to take three points away from Spurs,
But so far it’s been a poor game and not for the connoisseurs.

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Steve McClaren will get it right; I’m a very big believer,
And he starts by subbing Davies and the Brazilian, Doriva,
There’s so much still at stake and it’s a truly massive prize,
With money: and more great players, the higher that we rise.

Parnaby and Maccarone are brought on to take their places,
Seeking to bring smiles again to the hoards of Boro faces,
Immediately from the start one sees the tempo is much higher,
And in the Boro bellies there now seems to be some fire.

Mendi forced his way right through and thought about a shot,
Then he picked out Joseph Job, standing almost on the spot,
Sadly, his reactions were just that wee bit slow,
But Boro have their tails up now and it really starts to show.

Queudrue’s dribbling along the line, his touch is wonderfully deft,
A great ball picks out Job with colleagues centre, right and left,
Then came a quite tremendous strike from our little Samba Star,
But an equally wonderful Keller-save sent the ball over the bar.

So a corner was the outcome, to give the Boro another chance,
But yet again the kick was wasted as the boss looked on askance,
Keller made an easy catch, as he was totally unimpeded,
Then he set up another Spurs’ attack and Boro danger then receded.

There’s good movement now for Boro and the pace is somewhat faster,
Juninho’s pass found Macca but the ball he failed to master,
Two further Boro corners had the Spurs now looking fearful,
And Taricco lashed the ball upfield then received a right old earful.

Then it was the Boro’s turn for a massive stroke of luck,
A Mendi ‘slice’ thankfully deflects to Schwarzer and it stuck,
With Keane almost upon it he’d have reached it in a trice,
And one has to say, with certainty; we would then have paid the price.

Brown then targets Boro’s goal and meets with no resistance,
Then he rifled in a shot from quite considerable distance,
Things opened up quite dauntingly but Schwarzer’s alert and alive,
And he collected it the second time and the Boro once more survive.

Keane then overstepped the ball with Boro slow to clear,
It ran through to Taricco and one instantly sensed the fear,
He let one fly from twenty yards and it bobbled up off the park,
Causing hearts to flutter and bringing a super save from Mark.

Boro then got a penalty, which brought howls of Spurs’ derision,
And that was totally justified for a poor and wrong decision,
Macca chose to take it and to the keeper’s right ‘twas chipped,
And Keller saved it comfortably: he’d obviously read the script.

In truth is must be said that the penalty kick was poor,
As was the referee’s ruling, of that I’m absolutely sure,
But the Boro will continue to seek that of which we dream,
And the crowd is working ceaselessly to try and lift the team

There came even more frustration and, goodness, how it hurt,
With Job again the culprit as he somehow missed a cert,
Juninho put the ball to him and I’d have bet a fair few quid,
But the question is “How did he miss” and the answer is “He did.”

That was a sitter: no excuse: it should have been a ‘kill,’
With that and the recent penalty, we could have led two-nil,
But we’ve seen it all before when opportunities have been spurned,
Then in the final moments our fingers might be burned.

Joseph Job then pays the price as we play our final card,
And we call again for a wonder-goal from our favourite Slovakian, Szilard,
And as he leaves the field of play, no doubt feeling great frustration,
The fans, as only they know how, show Job their appreciation.

Robbie Keane continues to be the thorn in Boro’s side,
This time he’s foiled by Ugo; displaying such tremendous pride,
Then it’s down to French Franck to prove that he’s up to the job,
As he flies right in on Anderton who he’s able then to rob.

The Slovakian Express is right on time after his belated start,
He’s taking on the visitors and ripping out their heart,
With Richards left for dead and with an aim totally unerring,
He rounded Kasey Keller and left the Boro fans all purring.

So, with the touch-paper now ignited and the noisy celebration,
Now what is called for is Boro’s unfailing concentration,
The time that still remains will surely be a massive test,
But the Boro will now, surely, go on to show that they’re the best.

Robbie Keane, along with Carr, presented genuine danger,
When, from all of twenty-five yards, he released another long-ranger,
He’d stepped away from Zenden at the speed on an in-flight cheetah,
Then he let it fly and it missed the goal by no more than a centimetre.

Spurs now make their changes, which come as no surprise,
They need to press on further as they seek to equalise,
Sadly, they can’t call upon our old friend Christian Ziege,
So they bring on Gus Poyet followed then by Helder Postiga.

But they didn’t help their cause at all and soon full-time arrived,
And Robbie Keane escaped a caution although it did appear he dived,
Although the game was not convincing, the fans are still in seventh heaven,
For the three more points collected means that we move up to eleven.

Now surely Szilard Nemeth is worth another start,
As the club’s most natural scorer, he plays with all his heart,
And, certainly I, for one, would be as happy as young Ali,
If Nemeth were to start the game next Saturday at The Valley.