IT WAS HUMBLE pie all round for Boro's fickle fans as Mark Viduka cooly rounded the Birmingham keeper and slotted home the goal that banished any lingering relegation fears.
The goal was warmly received and fans who were said to hate him chanted his name loudly while team-mates widely claimed to despise him joined in what looked a warm and genuine celebration.
When he was subbed late on it was to generous - and reciprocated - applause from the terraces and from team-mates and he was hugged by his replacement and by the boss on his departure.
That's quite a public endorsement from all quarters for a man who not long ago was a hate figure being blamed for the disasterous slump.
Just a month ago Mark Viduka was public enemy number two (go on, guess who number one was) after he reacted angrily to taunting by angry fans after the 4-0 drubbing by Aston Villa.
He faced a furious self-righteous backlash from the jittery masses looking for a scapegoat. What had in truth been a little more than frustrated dismissive gesticulation was elevated into a watershed moment in a bout of recriminations after the Villa disaster.
For a while there he was by popular consent a fat,lazy waster using Boro as a pre-World Cup training camp and he was not fit to squeeze into the shirt. He had long been a target for the snipers but in daring to confront fans he had put himself firmly in the firing line.
His early departure before the Chelsea game was swiftly elevated to a major crisis by the conspiracy theorists and his absence became promoted as a key reason for the resounding defeat of the champions.
Without the bad apple, the theory went, Boro are fantastic. How that squares with Boro's poor results in his other absences during a traumatic season is inexplicable. As is Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink missing the game today through illness without sparking dark whispers and apocalyptic talk of dressing room rifts.
When he plays, Viduka is a class act. There may well be reason to moan that his long injury absences have meant Boro have not got full value of the deal but when fit he is a major asset. But that is no reason to chase him out of town.
Boro have a flurry of massive matches coming up and will need him. He could yet score the goals that take us to the UEFA or FA Cup finals. It he does some fans will be choking on their portion of humble pie
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