With Banik scoring in the first half nerves were slightly on edge, but they were eased by the fact that the Boro gave as good as they got in the first 45 minutes. However, when Queuedrue was sent off for a second bookable offence early in the second half the alarm bells rang.
And so it proved as the Czechs came forward in wave after wave. Temporary seperate injuries to Cooper and Boateng reduced the visitors to nine men on the pitch for far too many minutes for comfort.
With the game moving into the last five minutes a smile was observed on Steve McLaen's face as Boro had dealt with all that had been thrown at them and surely now would not concede twice.
The game had a final twist in stoppage time as the one man attack of Boro (by this time Christie had replaced Nemeth) sprung into life. Christie played in James Morrison with only a few minutes left. The youngster on his first Boro start did everything right but his final touch meant the chance was lost.
A couple of minutes later a swift break away saw Morrison through again. He evaded a mad dash by the keeper, who was about 10 yards out of the penalty area as the two met, and cooly slotted the ball home from well outside the box.
Team:
Schwarzer, Parnaby, Southgate, Cooper, Queuedrue, Morrison, Boateng, Doriva, Nemeth (Christie 83), Zenden