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  • 13 hours ago
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00:00...side and the club's young chairman Steve Gibson revealed he'd made the players aware a salvage operation must begin.
00:07Things weren't as going as well as they should be going and I believe that this squad of players is
00:12far better than our league position.
00:14So when we looked at the reasons why we felt there was one or two areas that we needed to
00:19change
00:19and what I was doing was simply communicating them changes to the players.
00:23What sort of areas?
00:24I think that that's a private matter between the players and the club and I would wish it to remain
00:28so.
00:29As for being deducted three points, the club seems certain to appeal because their league position is perilous.
00:35A lot of people look at the league table and it's not good reading and have written us off
00:41but we believe now that it's almost a promotion campaign between now and the end of the season
00:47and we believe we need 28 points out of 16 games to do it.
00:51So it's a terrific challenge and we've got to just get on with it.
00:56Reinforcements have been brought in to help.
00:5727-year-old defender Gianluca Fester, a £2.7m signing from Inter Milan, was in the starting line-up.
01:05And Borough, with one win in 16 league games, were desperate for a win.
01:09Scoring the first goal was all important to them
01:12and they got a helping hand from Wednesday defender Dejan Stefanovic
01:16who handled the Ravinelli cross.
01:18Not deliberate was the decision, so the card was yellow.
01:22Ravinelli, adamant he was misquoted in regard to reports he felt Borough were already doomed to relegation,
01:28smashed in the penalty.
01:30There was typical emotion in the celebration but he was only warming up.
01:35Friday's set-piece rehearsals paid off nine minutes later.
01:39Giannino's corner was whipped in, flicked on by Beck and Fester scored a debut goal.
01:45There's only one Uncle Fester and the thief in the Addams family immediately rang round the stadium.
01:51Borough's Italians were bonding, only for spirits to be dampened six minutes later.
01:56Richie Humphreys charged forward, Robbie Musto tried but failed to check the run.
02:01Vickers blocked the first cross, but Humphreys pulled the ball back for Mark Pembridge to make it 2-1.
02:08Borough were rocked and the question was whether their heads would drop.
02:11Half-time came and went, but when the second 45 minutes got underway, they came out fighting.
02:17Emerson forced a stunning save from Kevin Pressman.
02:21The Brazilian certainly wasn't AWOL today and his strength and commitment were Robsonesque
02:27as Borough dug in to try and secure victory.
02:30They were missing chance after chance but were convinced they'd scored a third goal
02:34when Giannino raced forward to cross for Ravanelli.
02:37The Italian was convinced an offside decision was wrong
02:40and didn't apply the brakes when approaching referee's assistant Mike Stoddart to complain.
02:46He was awarded a yellow card.
02:48The Italian, on something of a bridge-building mission today,
02:51was still incensed when he was flagged again two minutes later.
02:55He blew his top again and this time paid the fixed penalty for two yellow cards.
03:03So Ravanelli off, Middlesbrough down to ten men
03:06and Wednesday sensed they might just get something out of the game.
03:10The Italian didn't go quietly, but the unhappy £7 million man
03:15had hardly reached the dressing room when Borough were awarded a second penalty.
03:19Kevin Pressman, trying to stop the ball going for a corner,
03:22brought Mikael Beck crashing to the ground.
03:26Pressman was as angry as the departed Ravanelli,
03:29but the Brazilian Emerson accepted responsibility to score from the penalty spot.
03:34But Middlesbrough still have the capacity to set off the alarm.
03:393-1 up, no-one got a challenge in, blinker crossed,
03:42and Mark Pembridge was allowed to volley a second Wednesday goal.
03:47Now David Peatside felt they might pinch a point,
03:50and the Middlesbrough bench plus interpreters became anxious.
03:54A Wednesday equaliser was by no means out of the question.
03:57But the result was settled by an example of why Brian Robson
04:01has invested in his foreign legion.
04:04Giannino demonstrated the talent that excites all.
04:07His marvellous individual goal condemned Wednesday
04:10to their first defeat in 14 games.
04:15So Middlesbrough salvage operation got underway with victory,
04:19but both chairman Gibson and manager Robson
04:21were tight-lipped after the match.
04:23They know Sanctuary is a long way off,
04:25and that the three points they've been docked
04:27could be crucial at the death.
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