WALKING UP to the Riverside there was a distinct lack of a samba beat. Thinking back to the Little Fella's bow there seemed to be an almost tangible air of excitement in the underpass . Maybe that is just retrospectively enhanced sentimentality. Maybe we are just more cynical now, less easily impressed by Brazilian internationals, after all we've had a few. Maybe I am over analysing it and the heat and expectation have been taken out of the situation by the general consensus that Afonso Alves will start on the bench and LDG will play.
Closer to kick-off the tingle gathers strength. The odd little kid wanders past with green and yellow face paint, there is a scattering of vintage Juninhobilia - scarves, shirts, flags - plus a healthy presence of brand spanking new Afonso Alves number 12 shirts and the odd Brazil flag being fluttered. In the stadium there are plenty of the Garmin sponsored half-and-half paper standards and a new 60 foot 'Boro Goal Machine' banner at the back of the East Stand, turned out with impressive haste by the kids at Our Lady and St Bede's, old hands at this game now.
There is a nagging fear though that the visitors have not read the script and buoyed by their win over Villa last week - and a ' We Are Fulham' banner that appears to depict Joe Strummer in his James Dean latinobilly phase - they may come here to rain on Boro's parade.
Perhaps with the Rio carnival and samba hype and high expectations it is for the best he doesn't start. The bar has been set pretty high for imported hitman debuts - Ravanelli got three, Branca scored, Yakubu got off to a flying start... over the full 90 he would be more harshly measured than is perhaps fair for a bloke who hasn't played for six weeks.
Me Mark Page reads out the teams and as he goes down the subs there is a little dramatic pause before the new boy's name is barked out to spark a warm and loud cheer and a ripple of squealing from the school trip in the South East corner.
Boro start brightly and Huth has two good efforts before Aliadiere scored the opener on 11 minutes, breaking onto a O'Neil ball into the box to slot through the legs of the advancing keeper. Phew. That lifts a lot of the weight. It takes the pressure off`Alves and the dug-out and makes it more likely that we will see him sooner rather than later. Another goal - and Boro are playing with an impressive tempo and zest now - and we could even see him from the start of the second half.
The man of the moment climbs from his place in the dug-out after 21 minutes and goes for a low impact warm-up stroll down the touchline in front of the West Stand to rapturous applause. Just think what he will get later on when he starts to jog and doe his stretches.
Aliadiere goes on a weaving run, leaving defenders in his wake to get into the box before having a low shot well held on 28 minutes. His performances levels have improved dramatically since Alves loomed on the horizon and he is now looking a genuine threat going forward.
At half-time all the talk was about exactly how long we would have to wait before the club's biggest ever investment was unleashed. Ten minutes later the wait was over as he stripped and got ready for his great entrance`while Boro defended a free-kick. He stood poised on the touchline as Boro scrambled the ball clear and out then with a gap in play he replaced Lee on 57 minutes to a deafening cheer and a standing ovation from all around the ground.
Then as the applause died Boro fans made it quite clear that they knew exactly who had made the Alves move possible with a loud and passionate chant of "One Stevie Gibson". However, that endorsement of the chairman's ambition was not matched by bums on seats. Nothing had been said publicly but after smashing the club transfer record to deliver the marksman that the punters - and the fluid football played by the team - have demanded the club will have been expecting over 30,000. That less than 27,000 showed will have felt like a real kick in the teeth.
The new striker had a slow start, ambling about in the Fulham half as the game entered a cagey stage and Boro sat back. There were occasional raids forward down the flanks but the balls into the box sailed over him. The first time the ball came near him he slipped and failed to get a clean contact and you could sense a thousand stifled 'uh-ohs'.
His first meaningful touch came on 66 minutes as he showed neat control and god strength as chested a ball down and then laid it back under pressure from Staltieri out on the left touchline then soon after he almost broke clear onto a threaded pass behind the Fulham defence but again he lost his footing and couldn't quite gather.
There were some good signs that he can fit into Boro's high tempo game: after Stewie won a ball out wide he pushed it quickly forward and the Fonz collected with his back to goal then smoothly span around and crisply pushed inside first time for O'Neil over-lapping on the right then instantly made a break into the box for the return but his team-mate was closed down and the ball never arrived. Another good move onto a ball over the top was halted by the offside flag. And there were similar instinctive moves off the ball that never came off as he felt his way into the game.
It was a shaky finale with Boro holding on. The points are welcome, the unbeaten run extended and another was nail driven in Fulham's coffin as Boro edged closer towards safety. As for Alves, there were some hints at his promise but there was no instant legend created. "Alves? More Lee Dong Gook than Ravanelli", was one cruel comment in the press box. There's plenty of time. Even Juninho had a slow start.
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