THE importance of the two points tossed away by Middlesbrough during the extraordinary denouement of this encounter will only become apparent in the ensuing nine months of Premiership struggle.
Such is Boro’s continued improvement under the guidance of Steve McClaren that the draw Fulham salvaged by improbable last-minute strikes from Sean Davis and substitute Facundo Sava is more likely to dent Middlesbrough’s hopes of qualifying for Europe than it is to cost them dear in the annual relegation scramble.
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Fulham midfield star Sean Davis gets his first Premiership goal in The Cottagers amazing fightback
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Yet that will mean little when they continue the painful inquest into how what should have been the Massimo Maccarone Show metamorphosed into something more unpalatable.
From bitter experience, Middlesbrough supporters know only too well the perils of taking to their hearts Italian strikers who deal in forging instant impressions.
Fabrizio Ravanelli’s debut hat-trick against Liverpool six years ago ignited a love-hate relationship that eventually ended in bitter recrimination and a footballing divorce from which wounds still fester on both sides.
Yet the ubiquitous Maccarone has already made significant strides towards winning a lengthy role as the darling of the Riverside, thanks to a stunningly taken brace on his home debut.
The Italian had long since been substituted by the time the drama unfolded late on, with the lurking Davis pulling one back from virtually under the bar after rare confusion in the Middlesbrough defence, and, moments later, Sava conjuring up a cool finish from 12 yards past Mark Schwarzer after more good work down the right flank.
Surprisingly, Fulham coach Christian Damiano felt his side deserved their late leveller, their strong finish a legacy of this already being their ninth game of the season, thanks to their Intertoto Cup exploits. “We equalised because we had the quality to recover quickly,” he said. “Middlesbrough lost their focus at the end and it was a beautiful draw for us. I think we deserved the draw because Middlesbrough could not get that killer third.”
Middlesbrough’s goals — their first in the Premiership for more than five-and-a-half hours stretching back to last season — arrived either side of the interval.
The first owed more to old-fashioned English route one tactics than anything honed on the training ground, as Maccarone latched on to Robbie Stockdale’s hopeful punt, and spun in one fluid movement to leave a leaden-footed Andy Melville for dead before drilling a low shot past Edwin van der Sar.
| Match Stats |
Boro |
Fulham |
| Goal attempts |
6 |
10 |
| On Target |
3 |
4 |
| Fouls |
18 |
7 |
| Corners |
8 |
11 |
| Yellows |
4 |
3 |
| Reds |
0 |
0 |
| source: www.sportinglife.com |
Moments after Louis Saha spurned a gift-wrapped opening to equalise early in the second half, Maccarone showed the Frenchman how it was done with a perfect near-post header from Jonathan Greening’s inviting left-wing cross.
Then came the sting in the tail. After the match McClaren struggled to hide his frustration: “I’m shocked and disappointed, devastated in fact. We’ve been taught a harsh lesson.
“For 80 minutes we were coasting and could have scored five, because we created so much and looked fluid throughout the team. But we always knew Fulham, because of their Intertoto Cup involvement, would be strong towards the end.
“Massimo’s disappointed not to get a hat-trick, but he caused problems for Fulham all day and for most of the game we looked a good team. We’re a young side and we will learn. The game’s never over until the final whistle, and hopefully we won’t repeat that kind of ending too many times this season.”
Middlesbrough:
Schwarzer, Stockdale, Southgate, Ehiogu, Cooper, Greening, Boateng, Geremi, Marinelli (Wilson 81min), Boksic (Job 78min), Maccarone (Whelan 81min)
Fulham:
Van der Sar, Finnan, Melville, Goma, Brevett, Legwinski, Davis, Malbranque (Inamoto 60min), Boa Morte, Saha, Marlet (Sava 60min)
Scorers:
Middlesbrough: Maccarone 33, 49
Fulham: Davis 89, Sava 90
Referee: M Dean
Attendance: 28,588