TV replays showed that Geovanni was offside when the ball was played to him, but nothing was awarded by the assistant referee. [64], A young Boro side cruised to a comfortable victory over Darlington in the next friendly. The goalkeeper played less than 30 first team games for Middlesbrough and had been dropped earlier in the season in favour of teammate Brad Jones. Their twelfth consecutive away defeat extended the club record, and equalled a Premier League one, and saw their eleven-year run in the top flight ended, with the club needing to prepare for the next season in the Football League Championship. Tuncay doubled the advantage in the second half, and they could have had more as the visitors left themselves open at the back as they tried to find a way back. It was decided that bottom club Stevenage would be spared from relegation while the top three are set to be promoted with playoffs going ahead for those in the four positions below. Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink leveled the game during stoppage time to end the game at 1–1. [126], First team coach Steve Harrison left the club in early July following seven years at the club. Tuncay had the West Ham defenders trailing in his wake after a mazy run down the middle and the ball fell to O'Neil on the right who wasted little time in crashing home his fourth of the season. The hard-working Luis Boa Morte did well to create space on the left and threaded a neat pass through to Ilunga. Jimmy Bullard got the opening goal after Turnbull could only parry Bobby Zamora's shot. [109], Another home tie followed a week later, and Boro did everything but score against a Fulham side featuring former Boro keeper Mark Schwarzer in goal. In a sweeping move on the edge of the box, Jack Collison passed into Stanislas and his low shot should have been dealt with by Brad Jones, but the ball slipped through his fingers. When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. [98] Neither side could muster enough chances for a goal and the game ended 0–0. [117], Middlesbrough were handed a tough away tie against Manchester United for the third round. Wheater's header levelled the game before Alves got his second goal to win the game 3–2 for Boro. [106], April began as March had ended with a defeat, this time at the hands of Bolton Wanderers at the Reebok Stadium. [121], The replay was played in front of a small but very vocal Boro crowd who were fired up by an unfortunately worded letter from the club seemingly asking them to sit down and be quiet in their last home game. The whole EFL will have the chance to decide on the final decision and it's said there is little chance relegation will be scrapped in any of the three leagues. [75] John Johnson came on to make his debut as a substitute for Grounds around the hour mark on a "horrendous day" for his club. Ste McGovern 17/07/2020 Five of the Best, Opinion/Features Leave a comment. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. The Colombia striker had the simplest of tap-ins from three yards after Sol Campbell completely missed Charles N'Zogbia's 27th-minute cross. Afonso Alves made it two goals in two games after converting a penalty – Boro's 6000th league goal. After six seasons in the second tier, Palace returned via the playoffs, but Andy Johnson’s goals could not save them from the drop in 2004/05. [74], Following another international break, Middlesbrough's next game was at home to Chelsea. [56] Justin Hoyte became the new number 2 upon his arrival, while Nathan Porritt was given number 33 before the away match at Portsmouth. Like much of the season, the team once again failed to score. [86], With Wheater suspended, and both Taylor and Hoyte out injured, Middlesbrough had to field a patched-up back four for their home game versus Arsenal, with Tony McMahon returning to the starting line-up after a long time out with injuries, alongside Huth and Riggott, both of whom were returning from injury. The home side were then denied a penalty when Johnson was brought down in the box, but the referee didn't award anything. Middlesbrough relegated after 3-0 loss to Chelsea seals their fate. Instead, they were left to pick up the pieces after a 1–0 defeat courtesy of Jonas Olsson. The following decade was far kinder to them, as they managed to stay in the Premier League from 2010 until 2017, when they finished 20th in the table.