DESPITE telling supporters to turn up in jacket, collar and tie, courtesy of a printing error on the match tickets, Middlesbrough were not about to be caught with their trousers down in the Uefa Cup first round. Three second-half goals mean they are dressed for success going into the second leg away to the Czech champions.
That Banik Ostrava beat Bayer Leverkusen at home last month — albeit they lost the Champions League qualifier on aggregate — shows the job is not yet over, but the way in which Middlesbrough overwhelmed their opponents, with Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Mark Viduka wreaking havoc after a slow start, means they are surely all but through to the group stages.
“I could not ask for any more,” Steve McClaren, the manager, said. “We want more nights like this. We’re making history, but it’s still only half-time. We’ve seen them at home and they are very strong there.”
This was a heady occasion for Middlesbrough fans. After 128 years of hurt, where the only forays into Europe were Anglo-Italian Cup ties against the likes of Barnsley and Grimsby Town, this was a signifier of the strides made under McClaren.
Steve Gibson, the chairman, has hurled money at his club, but some wondered whether all he was doing was spray-painting an old banger. Now, with the club enjoying its best start to a Premiership season, the Carling Cup still fresh in the memory and a European adventure off to a flying start, it seems there is something under the bonnet.
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Middlesbrough looked tentative at the start of their big night, but the opening goal removed any self-doubt. It came after 57 minutes when George Boateng’s deflected shot fell to Hasselbaink, who finished confidently.
The second followed six minutes later when Nemeth set up Viduka to score from ten yards and the Australian’s late header effectively settled the tie.
MIDDLESBROUGH (4-4-2): M Schwarzer — S Parnaby, C Riggott, G Southgate, F Queudrue — S Nemeth, R Parlour, G Boateng, B Zenden — J F Hasselbaink, M Viduka. Substitutes not used: C Nash, J-D Job, S Downing, Doriva, C Cooper, J Morrison, A McMahon.
BANIK OSTRAVA (4-4-2): M Raska — Z Pospech, P Besta, J Dvornik (sub: J Velkoborsky, 15), P Drozd — R Latal, D Bystron, M Zubek, M Cizek — M Matusovic (sub: M Papadopulos, 87), M Licka (sub: M Lukes, 65). Booked: Velkoborsky. Substitutes not used: M Konig, P Zavadil, J Hoffmann, L Zurek.
Referee: P Garibian (France).