Steve McClaren was insistent the tie was still alive and kicking but Boro had given themselves a mountain to climb.
Giving an experienced European outfit such as Basel a two-goal head start wasn’t ideal.
If Boro were to keep the UEFA Cup dream alive and advance to the last four, they were going to have to do it the hard way.
In hindsight, losing the first game 2-0 on this day in 2006 perfectly set up the first of two unforgettable nights at the Riverside.
But judging by the first leg, it was hard to believe Basel would be capable of such a collapse.
It wasn’t until the very last minute in Switzerland did Boro give the hosts anything to think about - a Ugo Ehiogu header well held by keeper Pascal Zuberuhler.
What was frustrating was the fact Basel hadn’t caused too many problems themselves until they broke the deadlock two minutes before the break.
And after switching off to fall a goal behind, Boro seemed in a spin as they soon allowed the Swiss side to double their advantage.
“Both goals were frustrating, unnecessary and have posed serious doubts about Boro’s ongoing participation in the competition,” wrote Eric Paylor in his Gazette match report.
“They have only themselves to blame because they controlled the game for long spells but were as ineffective up front as they were in their failure to keep a clean sheet.”
Frustrating.
But, insisted McClaren, the tie was far from over.
“We know that we have left ourselves a very difficult task, but we have the players who are capable of pulling it back,” said the boss.
“I’m convinced it will be a completely different game in the home leg and we have to do everything we can to stay in this competition because we don’t want to slip out now.”
How right McClaren would turn out to be.
But it wasn’t just the challenge of overturning a two-goal lead that the Boro boss had to be concerned about.
He was also facing up to the prospect of being without Emanuel Pogatatz for the rest of the season after the Austrian international suffered a sickening facial injury.
It had been a difficult night all round for Boro but nothing compared to Basel’s suffering on Teesside in the return leg.
No comments:
Post a Comment