Source: TheGuardian
FA Cup photo essay – road to Wembley, fourth round: Middlesbrough v Accrington Stanley
Guardian photographer Christopher Thomond is documenting one game from each round of the 2016-17 FA Cup, and in the fourth round he travelled to the Riverside to see League Two side Accrington Stanley take on Premier League side MiddlesbroughClick here to check out Chris’ look at the third round clash between Accrington Stanley and Luton TownGoals from Sean McConville and Omar Beckles gave Accrington Stanley a 2-1 win over Luton Town and put Accrington into the FA Cup fourth round for only the second time since they reformed in 1968. The faced a big hurdle in their goal of reaching the fifth round for the first time, in the shape of Premier League Middlesbrough. However the travelling fans would have taken succour in the fact that the only other time the clubs had met, in the Capital One Cup during August 2013 at the Riverside Stadium, Accrington triumphed 2-1.I work with community groups in the Stockton area. Boro kindly invite us along to play outside entertaining everyone before kick-off on match days and then we get to go inside and watch them winning - Drummer Steve Sudlow of the Apollo Arts Street BandIt’s my son’s birthday today so I’ve surprised him with this, an hour in the car and then dropped off at the Boro ground. He didn’t know beforehand so his face was a picture this morning, a cracker. He’s really in to cars especially Lamborghinis, well a lot of kids are aren’t they? He didn’t have a clue, he thought it was going to be a Hummer for all his mates to get in. I made my own way down here with nine of his friends and he got in the Lamborghini. He’s buzzing. - Gemma Middleton Related: FA Cup photo essay: Accrington Stanley v Luton in the third round I’m a season ticket holder so I’m here on the back row every match. I love the atmosphere and this is usually where all the noise is, right at the back. I love the vantage point up high too, love it. You get an excellent view. From up here we’ve seen a few dark clouds this season but that’s nothing new over Teesside. I don’t see why we can’t have a good run in the cup, anything’s possible. - Middlesbrough fan Brian ElderfieldStewart Downing deserved to score, it was an amazing goal. I told him at half-time that he was one of the best players on the pitch but to score a goal is always best. - Middlesbrough manager Aitor KarankaA lot of other clubs have played their kids - we can’t ask Middlesbrough to play a weakened side so it’s a testament to how well we’ve played that it was only 1-0. The financial aspect is great so a replay would’ve been fantastic. But now we’ve got to show the same heart and spirit in every league game from now until the end of the season. - Accrington Stanley manager John ColemanWe get to as many games a see can. Our favourite player is Adam Clayton. When we were at West Brom away we got a photo with him. He lives down near Harrogate so we bumped into him at Wetherby services when he got off the team coach on the way back. He was lovely and stopped to talk to us. They all stop and talk for ages. The players that have been here the longest start at one end and work their way down the line so Dimi stayed for ages, Adam Clayton, Grant Leadbitter was nice. They’re all really friendly. It’s really good here because you can see the players up really close. - Kelly Walker and eight-year-old daughter Isabel Swinbank from Stockton Continue reading......read full article
