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FULL-TIME: MIDDLESBROUGH 2-1 SPURS
Robert Huth has deflected the ball into his own net to make the score 2-1, but it's too late to affect the final result.
Full-time at the Riverside and Boro take a deserved three points after a hard-working display against a lacklustre Spurs side who weren't at the races today.
Aliadiere gets away from Dawson and is one-on-one with Gomes, the former Arsenal forward tries to lob it over Gomes but it's a weak effort and straight at him in the end.
The fourth official indicates there will be four minutes of added on time to be played, certainly not enough time for Spurs to turn this one around.
It had to be Mido to wrap up the game for Boro - he turned in Digard's driven shot which was going wide, the former Spurs striker sliding it to direct it home.
Middlesbrough make another change and its the former Spurs man Mido who enters the fray, replacing Alves who gets a standing ovation.
Zokora does well to work the ball to Bent who recieves it just inside the D on the edge of the area, manages to turn and strike it just an inch wide of Jones left-hand post.
Jamie O'Hara comes on to replaced Benoit Assou-Ekotto with Gareth Bale now switching to left-back.
David Bentley gets himself a yellow card afte pulling back Alves who had just got away from the wide man.
Downing takes another corner floating it into the six yard box where Alves can't win it this time and Woodgate can clear.
Middlesbrough make their first change of the game with Sanli Tuncay heading off and Didier Digard replacing him.
David Wheater does score this time after Downing works a nice corner - it finds Alves whose header floats over Gomes onto the crossbar leaving Wheater to tap it home from a yard.
Bale whips in a great cross towards the far post where Bent dives in feet first to reach it but can't make it and Wheater can clear.
Berbatov and Jenas work a lovely one-two to set up Jenas who goes on to fire his effort straight at Jones who stood up tall to block.
Spurs make a double change and on come Dimitar Berbatov to a mixed reaction, he replaces Giovani whilst Gareth Bale replaces Aaron Lennon.
Downing will take a corner for Boro, whips it into the six yard box where Spurs can clear it well, leaving Tuncay to try and strike it on the volley only for Woodgate to stick his head in their bravely to nod it away.
Jermaine Jenas becomes the first man to go into referee Atkinson's note book after fouling Alves on the half way line.
Giovani takes a short corner which he works back and forth with Bentley before chipping it in towards Dawson who can't reach it and Boro can clear.
Downing whips in another low cross looking for a red shirt but it drifts across the face of goal as it drifts out for a Spurs throw-in.
Alves intercepts a long ball from the Boro defence and sprints away towards goal before trying to square the ball for Tuncay but its cut out well by Woodgate who got back to stop the breakaway.
Spurs give away a freekick 25 yards from goal, just off centre which Alves strikes straight into the wall, poor effort in the end from the Brazilian.
Jenas rolls the ball to Bentley who finds himself with the time and space to have a strike which Jones is forced to Parry away, good effort from the former Blackburn man.
Middlesbrough get the second half underway knowing that they should be a goal up whilst Spurs will have to up their game to get something out of this one.
All square at the break after a decent first half which Boro had the better of, Wheater's header should have stood but was ruled out and the home side can feel hard done by.
Tuncay and Downing combine to set up Alves who does well to turn in the area before his shot is saved well by Gomes.
The fourth official indicates there will be just one minute of added on time.
Downing takes a corner for Boro which is whipped in towards the near post only for Dawson to power a header away from the Tottenham goal.
Assou-Ekotto whips in another great cross towards Giovani who nearly reachs the low ball but its flicked away by Taylor, good defending from the Boro man.
Bentley takes another corner for Tottenham and floats it in towards the near post where Bent attacks the ball but the referee blows up for an earlier foul on Wheater.
Aliadiere cuts in from the right and then plays in Alves whose shot creeps just over the crossbar and at the moment its all Boro.
Boro have the ball in the back of the net but their celebrations are cut short after Wheater, who headed the ball home, is deemed to have shoved Dawson before heading it home.
Downing plays a lovely chipped cross intowards Alves at the far post whose downward header is blocked by Dawson and out for a corner.
Bentley takes another corner for Spurs, this time Dawson tries to get his head on it but can only flick it away and out of play for a throw-in.
Ekotto gets forward from left back looking for Bent but Jones does well to knick the ball away from the former Charlton man before gathering at the second attempt.
Shawky tries an ambitious effort after cutting in from the right but his strike is high and into the Spurs fans behind the goal.
Taylor whips in a low cross looking for Alves inside the penalty area but its stabbed away by the outstretched leg of Dawson, very open game so far.
The resulting corner from O'Neill is wasted after Wheater is adjudged to have pushed a Spurs player in the penalty area.
Great counter attack from Boro, from the Spurs corner the home side make their way up the other end with Tuncay breaking into the box and squaring the ball for Alves who takes a touch before his strike is deflected over the thank to Ekotto.
Giovanni goes on a great run through the Boro midfield and plays in Bentley who cuts inside before driving in a shot with his right foot which goes just wide of Jones' near post.
Assou-Ekotto gets forward from the left back position and whips in a cross towards Bent and Huth has to sprint and scramble it away before the striker can get there.
Tuncay shows some neat foot work to set up Alves who has an effort of his own from just outside the penalty area, this time Gomes can gather the ball at the first time of asking. Bright start from Boro.
Downing drives in a low, powerful effort which Gomes spills at the first attempt to save it and with Alves closing him down has to pounch on the ball before Alves can arrive.
Bentley will get another chance from his second corner after Wheater headed the ball out of play. This time Bentley whips it in and jones has to punch it away but only as far as Giovanni whose volley is sliced high and wide.
Bentley takes the corner which drifts in towards the far post where Taylor gets his head to the ball to nod it clear.
David Bentley has his first effort in the Premier League for Spurs and fires it just wide of Jones post, taking a deflection to give Spurs a corner.
Boro win the first corner of the new season and O'Neill floats it in towards the far post but it's deemed to have drifted out of play, O'Neill showing a bit of rust there.
Today's referee Martin Atkinson gets the new season underway here at the Riverside Stadium with a new look Spurs line-up biding to try and break the big fours monopoly whilst Boro will be hoping for big things from Afonso Alves.
Tottenham XI: Gomes, Zokora, Dawson, Woodgate, Assou-Ekotto, Lennon, Jenas, Modric, Bentley, Giovanni, Bent
Dimitar Berbatov is left on the bench as speculation about a move to Manchester United increases. Spurs hand debuts to four of their new signings in Gomes, Modric, Bentley and Giovanni. Didier Zokora replaces Alan Hutton at right-back
Middlesbrough XI: Jones, Wheater, Huth, Pogatetz, Taylor, Aliadiere, Shawky, O'Neil, Downing, Alves, Sanli
Middlesbrough dont give debuts to new signings Didier Digard and Marvin Emnes who are only on the bench, whilst Justin Hoytes move hasnt come through in time. Gary ONeil shakes off a calf strain to make the starting 11.
Gareth Southgate's decision to give youth a chance faces an immediate test when Middlesbrough kick-off their campaign with the visit of Tottenham Hotspur to the Riverside Stadium. The Boro boss allowed another wave of veteran players to leave in his second summer in charge and has opted to replace them with as yet unproven talents. Experienced midfielders George Boateng and Fabio Rochemback, plus veteran keeper Mark Schwarzer, all left the Riverside at the end of a last season where the Teessiders finished a creditable 13th in the table. In their place have comes the likes of promising youngsters Didier Digard and Marvin Emnes, while Boro's admirable reliance on homegrown talent continues to bear fruit. Youngster Josh Walker could make his Premier League debut on Saturday with midfielder Gary O'Neil struggling for full fitness, while Emanuel Pogatetz, Julio Arca and Chris Riggott are both rated doubtful after only recently returning to full training. But Boro will be hoping the return of Mido in an eagerly-anticipated strike partnership with last January's record signing Afonso Alves can ignite their new season. The Egypt striker missed the closing two months of the last season with an abdominal muscle problem and, despite being injured in pre-season, is set to win his latest fitness race ahead of Saturday's curtain raiser. It all points to a positive season for the north-east club and one that Southgate can't wait to get underway. "When I came in one of the jobs was to reduce the age of the squad and reduce the wage to a manageable level," he admitted. "We started to see glimpses and the benefits of that last year and we will see it again this year." Meanwhile, the new-look Spurs side that has caught the eye with a string of impressive pre-season performances will arrive in the north-east full of confidence. Juande Ramos' much-changed side has comfortably beaten Champions League qualifiers Celtic, Borussia Dortmund and AS Roma in the build-up to the new season with the new signings made by the Spanish coach taking the plaudits. Ramos has spent £15million on England midfielder David Bentley, around the same of Croatia star Luka Modric and £8million on a new goalkeeper in Heurelho Gomes from PSV Eindhoven. Mexico starlet Giovani dos Santos and veteran Spanish keeper Cesar Sanchez have also made the move to White Hart Lane, while the likes of Paul Robinson, Pascal Chimbonda, Teemu Tainio, Steed Malbranque and Younes Kaboul have all left. However, the biggest boots Ramos must fill are those of Robbie Keane following the former captain's £17million move to Liverpool. Much of Spurs' hopes of breaking into the top six after finishing a disappointing 11th last season rest on their ability to find somewhere who can fill the void created by the departure of last season's 27-goal top-scorer. The potential £25million loss of fellow forward Dimitar Berbatov to Manchester United would also leave Ramos with a major striking problem on his hands. Berbatov and Darren Bent are the only first-team strikers currently on the White Hart Lane books.
Middlesbrough thoroughly deserved their opening 2-1 win over big-spending Spurs at the Riverside Stadium. It was a triumph for manager Gareth Southgate, who is rebuilding his team with the emphasis on pace. Spurs could not complain because they lacked fire-power, with their injury-time reply an own goal by a Middlesbrough defender. It was an entertaining match, with the onus on attacking football from the start. There was plenty for the majority in the 32,000 crowd to enjoy, but the Spurs fans will have been bitterly disappointed over the lack of cutting edge from their team. Before the kick-off, Boro fans gave a warm welcome to former Arsenal full-back Justin Hoyte. The £3million new signing was completed too late for the former England Under-21 international to make his debut and his first appearance could be at Liverpool in the next match. Spurs were well supported with the London club taking up their full allocation of 3,800 tickets. David Bentley and Luka Modric were among their big signings on parade. Dimitar Berbatov, who has been linked with Manchester United through the close season, was on the substitute's bench. Former Boro defender Jonathan Woodgate was also in the visiting line-up. At the other end, Heurelho Gomes fumbled a shot by winger Stewart Downing. Afonso Alves had a great chance to open the scoring for Middlesbrough after 18 minutes following a defence-splitting move. The ball bounced awkwardly but the striker could have made better of it with only the goalkeeper to beat. Spurs were the first with a scoring attempt when in the ninth minute Giovani Dos Santos shot wide. Home skipper Emanuel Pogatetz had to leave the field to have his head bandaged. The first half was played at a terrific pace, even there were no goals to thrill a crowd well above the average of last season. Early in the second half, Middlesbrough goalkeeper Brad Jones parried a Bentley shot. Jermaine Jenas raised Spurs' hopes when he broke through but the skipper fell over when tackled by Huth. When Berbatov was introduced as a substitute, Middlesbrough fans taunted Spurs' travelling contingent with cries of 'he's off to Manchester United'. Boro finally broke the deadlock when local hero David Wheater forced the ball over the line after Alves had struck the woodwork. The home side introduced former Spurs striker Mido in the closing stages. The Egypt striker had only been on the field a few minutes when he took advantage of a Didier Digard pass to put his side further ahead. In the closing seconds, a Huth own goal from a Bentley cross was too little, too late for Spurs.
Corners
Fouls
Goal attempts
Shots off target
Offsides
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