Erimus74
Well-known member
Against all odds, second division struggles Boro knocked out high flying 1st division Aston Villa over two legs & booked our 1st ever Wembley cup final
Remember the date, 6th February 1990 - Boro made history a day us Boro thought we would never see, beating Aston Villa 2-1 on the night, after extra time, 4-2 on aggregate over 2 legs, to book our 1st appearence in a WEMBLEY cup final
Zenith data systems cup final & was bouncing for days, weeks after
The draw when made & paired us with Villa, their place for the 1st leg of the Northern section final & against all the odds, as a struggling bottom half of the 2nd division team & with a weakened team at that, we were playing, at that time, IIRC, the 1st division leaders Aston Villa, who on the previous Saturday thumped Bury 6-0 in the FAC 3rd round with England's golden boy Dave Platt in top form
On the night & in awful conditions Villa took the lead, Dave Platt scoring their goal, I thought here we go, getting soaked in the sand & battered on the pitch, but we gradually grew in to the game & scored to bring the game level, we gave as good as what we got & it looked as if both teams would go back to Teesside on level terms but we had other ideas & in what was considered a rain storm throughout the match Mark Brennan scored a wonder free kick in the final minutes to put us 2-1 up from the 1st leg, ecstatic
Roll on the 2nd leg & all we need for tonight's match is to avoid defeat & we're at Wembley
The 2nd leg was played at a cat & mouse tempo, we go looking for a goal to make it harder for Villa, with the quality in their side they will pick us off
Graham Taylor, Villas manager, told his player just bide their time till an opening comes & snatch it & that's what happened, with the clock ticking down to the last 15 minutes Villa win a corner at the east end of the ground which was housing the Villa fans
The ball was swung over & practically on the goalline & within the grasp of Stephen Pears, Stuart Grey headed in the net, 1-0 to Villa, 2-2 on the night & worse, away goals don't count double,
Boro must now hold out till ET & regroup, we were now on the back foot & Villa going for the kill
The ref blew full time & ET it is, typical Boro, we'll have to do it the hard way & win the game again if we are to create history
And that is what we did & in style, one of Boro's best ever signing, bargain buy Bernie scored a world class, quality goal at the holgate end to put us level on the night & infront on aggregate, the atmosphere was building though still nerves around buzzing AP when in the 2nd half Boro get a corner, Mark Proctor puts the ball across the Villa goalmouth, evades everyone & falls perfectly for Paul Kerr who seizes the chances & on the half volley smashes the ball in the Villa net & against his former team & infront of Villa fans too, PK runs away arms aloft, we're the famous Middlesbrough & we're going to Wembley, Wembley
Paul Kerr scored his 1st Boro goal v Villa & a more important goal v Villa, taking us to Wembley
If ever a Boro player, or manager is named after a stand then surely Bruce Rioch stand is the one, he picked us up from our lowest ebb, took us through seasons we'll never forget & a place at Wembley
Bruce's historic team
Stephen Pears
Gary Parkinson
Nicky Mohan
Tony Mowbray
Simon Coleman
TrevorvPutney
Bernie Slaven
Mark Proctor
Alan Kernaghan
Paul Kerr
Stuart Ripley
Subs
Peter Davenport, who replaced Stuart Ripley
Owen McGee, who replaced badly injured Trevor Putney who was put out of the game by Gordon Cowans
Attendance - 20,806
Remember the date, 6th February 1990 - Boro made history a day us Boro thought we would never see, beating Aston Villa 2-1 on the night, after extra time, 4-2 on aggregate over 2 legs, to book our 1st appearence in a WEMBLEY cup final
Zenith data systems cup final & was bouncing for days, weeks after
The draw when made & paired us with Villa, their place for the 1st leg of the Northern section final & against all the odds, as a struggling bottom half of the 2nd division team & with a weakened team at that, we were playing, at that time, IIRC, the 1st division leaders Aston Villa, who on the previous Saturday thumped Bury 6-0 in the FAC 3rd round with England's golden boy Dave Platt in top form
On the night & in awful conditions Villa took the lead, Dave Platt scoring their goal, I thought here we go, getting soaked in the sand & battered on the pitch, but we gradually grew in to the game & scored to bring the game level, we gave as good as what we got & it looked as if both teams would go back to Teesside on level terms but we had other ideas & in what was considered a rain storm throughout the match Mark Brennan scored a wonder free kick in the final minutes to put us 2-1 up from the 1st leg, ecstatic
Roll on the 2nd leg & all we need for tonight's match is to avoid defeat & we're at Wembley
The 2nd leg was played at a cat & mouse tempo, we go looking for a goal to make it harder for Villa, with the quality in their side they will pick us off
Graham Taylor, Villas manager, told his player just bide their time till an opening comes & snatch it & that's what happened, with the clock ticking down to the last 15 minutes Villa win a corner at the east end of the ground which was housing the Villa fans
The ball was swung over & practically on the goalline & within the grasp of Stephen Pears, Stuart Grey headed in the net, 1-0 to Villa, 2-2 on the night & worse, away goals don't count double,
Boro must now hold out till ET & regroup, we were now on the back foot & Villa going for the kill
The ref blew full time & ET it is, typical Boro, we'll have to do it the hard way & win the game again if we are to create history
And that is what we did & in style, one of Boro's best ever signing, bargain buy Bernie scored a world class, quality goal at the holgate end to put us level on the night & infront on aggregate, the atmosphere was building though still nerves around buzzing AP when in the 2nd half Boro get a corner, Mark Proctor puts the ball across the Villa goalmouth, evades everyone & falls perfectly for Paul Kerr who seizes the chances & on the half volley smashes the ball in the Villa net & against his former team & infront of Villa fans too, PK runs away arms aloft, we're the famous Middlesbrough & we're going to Wembley, Wembley
Paul Kerr scored his 1st Boro goal v Villa & a more important goal v Villa, taking us to Wembley
If ever a Boro player, or manager is named after a stand then surely Bruce Rioch stand is the one, he picked us up from our lowest ebb, took us through seasons we'll never forget & a place at Wembley
Bruce's historic team
Stephen Pears
Gary Parkinson
Nicky Mohan
Tony Mowbray
Simon Coleman
TrevorvPutney
Bernie Slaven
Mark Proctor
Alan Kernaghan
Paul Kerr
Stuart Ripley
Subs
Peter Davenport, who replaced Stuart Ripley
Owen McGee, who replaced badly injured Trevor Putney who was put out of the game by Gordon Cowans
Attendance - 20,806
