Boro flashback - 14th October 1978 - My 18th birthday too

[erimus74]

Boro 2 Norwich City 0

1978-79 season was John Neal 2nd season as Boro manager, he was slowly building a young & exciting team
Terry Cochrane was a cracking signing, a new club record signing, £238k from Burnley who was to make his Boro debut for John Neals team at home to Norwich City
Our season to date, hadn't started very well, we had played 9 games up to this day, 4 at home & 5 away
4 home games producing 3 defeats & one draw
5 away games producing one win, one draw & 3 defeats

Micky Burns, another recent signing, made a goalscoring away debut the previous Saturday in a 3-2 defeat at Man United

On this day Micky Burns will make his home debut alongside Terry Cochrane

Pre match drinks in the Yellow rose with my dad & a few of my mates, some were probably too young to consume alcohol
After the Yellow rose, my dad went with his mates in the chicken run, the rest of us went in the holgate end

I can still remember when the teams lined up for kickoff TC standing practically on the white line itself, which he didn't leave the whole afternoon, just mazy run, after mazy run, as close to the line as he possibly could, I had never seen anything like it
In front of our biggest home crowd of the season TC, registered No525, absolutely tortured Norwich that afternoon, maybe I'm looking through red, rose tinted glasses, but after all these years that game is still up there as one of my favourite games at Ayresome Park, the mighty Boro winning our 1st home game of the season 2-0 with a Martin Peters OG & David Mills scoring his 5th goal of the season
We've got Terry, Terry, Terry, Terry, Terry Cochrane on the wing, on, on the wing, Terry, Terry Cochrane, Terry Cochrane on the wing
A legend was born, and also what a class signing Micky Burns was too

John Neals team

Jim Platt
John Craggs
Ian Bailey
John Mahoney
Stuey Boam
Tony McAndrew
Terry Cochrane
David Mills
Billy Ashcroft
Micky Burns
David Armstrong
Sub
David Hodgson

On the night a gang of us went to the Westminster pub disco on Parly road then afterwards to the Fiesta nightclub in Norton, great day, great night too

[borope]

Happy Birthday Erimus. Time to retire. 

The first Boro first team game i went to was a few weeks later v Bristol City.

[erimus74]

Happy Birthday Erimus. Time to retire. 

The first Boro first team game i went to was a few weeks later v Bristol City.

Cheers borope, yes I can see the finishing line mate

Regarding the Bristol City game, it was the 1st game Terry Cochrane missed, rumours were he'd had a good drink on the friday, whether true or not he was missed big style v City, a 0-0 game, Mark Proctor wearing the No7 shirt a massive difference from the No7 playing in the previous 3 games

[TMG501]

Happy Birthday G

[borope]

Happy Birthday Erimus. Time to retire. 

The first Boro first team game i went to was a few weeks later v Bristol City.

Cheers borope, yes I can see the finishing line mate

Regarding the Bristol City game, it was the 1st game Terry Cochrane missed, rumours were he'd had a good drink on the friday, whether true or not he was missed big style v City, a 0-0 game, Mark Proctor wearing the No7 shirt a massive difference from the No7 playing in the previous 3 games

Id been to a few reserve games i remember your hero John Hickton nearly taking my head off with a clearance in one. It was 78 before my dad thought i was old enough for my first big game.