Middlesbrough FC v Coventry City

Images courtesy of Harry Greenmon, The Northern Echo, Middlesbrough Libraries and Gary James.
Eventually, the home side took the lead with
Peden firing home after Kitson had saved from
Donaldson. Before the break, Kitson denied
Donaldson but Farman chested the ball
home to double the home side’s advantage.
Boro might have fell further behind had it not
been for the heroics of their goalkeeper, with
The Northern Echo noting how “Kitson was
cheered for grand
saves several times”.
After the break,
Boro fought to get
back into the game
and would have
halved the deficit but
for an effort hitting
the bar. The contest
was effectively ended
when Donaldson fired
home after a mazy
run by Hood, with
Donaldson adding his
second and Newton’s
Heath’s fourth of
the game. The Echo
suggested it might have been a 5-0 rout had it
not been for the “big mistake” by the officials
who had ruled out Farman’s first-half effort.
Boro’s cup dream was therefore over and
despite the heavy defeat, the post-match
analysis of a “Manchester contemporary” in
the North Eastern Daily Gazette praised the
visitors as “a fair team, the defence being
the strongest part”, although described the
visiting forwards as “weak in shooting” and
criticised Thomas Bach for “using his weight
unmercifully”.
Almost 40 years would pass until
Middlesbrough met Manchester United in
the FA Cup, with the Teessiders visiting Old
DR TOSH WARWICK
Dr Tosh Warwick is a Middlesbrough-born historian and heritage
consultant at Heritage Unlocked. He established Heritage Unlocked
in 2018 and has worked on heritage projects with a number of
local and international organisations. He has appeared as expert
contributor for BBC Television (Match Of The Day 2, Great British
Railway Journeys), BBC Radio (Leeds, Sheffield, Teesside) and the
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. He has authored a number
of books including Memories Of Middlesbrough In The 1970s And
1980s and Memories Of Stockton In The 1970s And 1980s and is
currently writing a biography of Boro and England goalscoring
legend George Camsell. Visit www.heritageunlocked.com
Above: A Boro line-up from 1932/33.
Left: A postcard of Bobby Bruce at
Ayresome Park, and a caricature
of Joseph Spence, who scored
Man United’s goal in the 4-1 home
defeat to Middlesbrough.
Trafford in 1933 looking to avenge
the defeat to Newton Heath. The
visitors did just that with a 4-1 win
courtesy of goals from Harold Blackmore,
Joey Williams and Scottish international
Bobby Bruce, who scored two. Joe Spence
got the home side’s goal.
The victory would be Boro’s last over the Red
Devils in the FA Cup until a 2-1 replay win at
a snow-covered Ayresome Park in 1971, when
Hugh McIlmoyle and Derek Downing goals
ensured George Best’s late strike for the visitors
was only a consolation.
Teesside fans had to wait another three
decades for Middlesbrough’s only other FA
Cup success against Manchester United,
as late goals from Noel Whelan and Andy
Campbell helped Boro to a 2-0 Riverside win
and a place in the Fifth Round on the way
to semi-final heartbreak against Arsenal…
at Old Trafford!
#UTB 29