MIDDLESBROUGH take on Oxford United at the Riverside on Saturday in the FA Cup. The last time the Us visited Boro on May 3, 1998 it was a day to remember, as Bryan Robson’s side thumped the opposition to secure promotion back to the Premier League. 

CRAIG HIGNETT: It was a red hot day. The atmosphere was unbelievable because we knew we needed to win the game. Sunderland were at Swindon. It didn’t matter what they did as long as we won the game.

It was really tight, tense and nervous. The first half was very nervous, very tentative, nothing much happened. Oxford didn’t play badly. They sat in and made it difficult. We went in at half-time goalless.

It was one of those where we had to pick it up. We didn’t know anything about the Sunderland game, but they were 2-0 up because of Kevin Phillips. We had to keep probing and plugging away.

The crowd was as nervous as us!

Then Alun Armstrong scored, Paul Merson made it. That released the tension for everyone and and it was like the chains were off. The goals came quickly after that.

Alun scored and I got the last two. When the second one went in it was relief all round, it was party time for the crowd. We kept going and going.

It turned out to be a really memorable day. Not just because of promotion to the Premier League, but because I knew it was my last game for the club, so to go out and get two goals to earn promotion was special.

After being left out of the cup finals, I wanted a fresh challenge in my head. The club had not budged on a contract offer either. I had been offered more than twice the amount from Aberdeen and another club.

Had Middlesbrough gone somewhere close I would probably have stayed. I was comfortable in the area and at the club and I wanted to be part of it in the Premier League. In all likelihood I knew they wouldn’t budge.

It was an emotional day, there were a lot of things going on in my life at the time, I wanted to go out on a high and if it was going to be my last game I wanted to do something. I had an unbelievable time at Boro. It was a fitting way to go out for me.

That season we had unbelievable players. Michael Thomas came in for a bit, Andy Townsend, Paul Merson, Paul Gascoigne … the team was fantastic for the Championship.

We went to Liverpool that year and beat them over two legs in the League Cup semi-final.

That season was the stand out one and that day against Oxford finished it all off.

MARTIN GRAY: There was a lot on it for me because I’ve been a Middlesbrough fan since I was a boy living in Sedgefield, always have been. I used to go to Ayresome Park with my dad and I went to Boro on trial when I was 16 or 17, before I signed for Sunderland. Barrie Geldart was chief scout and I was so disappointed not to get a YTS under Bruce Rioch and Colin Todd. But I was desperate for Boro to get promoted under Bryan Robson.

Being an ex-Sunderland player and a Boro fan, it was an interesting one for me. Sunderland were playing Swindon in their last game – if we had beaten Middlesbrough and Sunderland had won then Sunderland would have won promotion instead of Boro.

I spoke to Peter Reid and Kevin Ball the day before the game about how important it was, but it didn’t work out for them and they went into the play-offs instead.

We’d overachieved as a club that season. In a division with Middlesbrough, Sunderland, West Brom and a few other big names, to finish 12th was remarkable. Birmingham City and Norwich, they were in there too, and we had a battle everywhere we went.

We had a really good mentality and that was down to Denis Smith, the manager. He was one of the best at creating that togetherness, and we had to have that over the season and we caused a few shocks and upset a few people, we beat Man City away.

In the game itself, we did okay. We kept it tight until half-time, but Alun Armstrong scored a couple of goals in the second half and that was it.

Being a Boro fan, watching them getting promoted back into the big time was amazing, but I had a job to do and that was marking Paul Gascoigne for an hour and a half.

I had a really good battle with him.

If you look at the photographs from the end of the game, he’s got my top on and I’ve got his on. I’ve got it framed and it’s worth more to me than money.

He elbowed me, I remember that. He gave me one right across the nose. The referee saw it but didn’t do anything about it, so me and Gazza had a few words, to say the least.

I remember talking to him during the second half when I asked for his shirt. He said I could have it if I went and marked Robbie Mustoe instead, so I did!

We’d played well, Boro got promoted, I’d done okay against Gazza and got his shirt afterwards, so it was a good day for me.

MATCHFACTS:

Goals: Armstrong (47, 1-0), (48, 2-0), Hignett (57, 3-0), (63, 4-0); Bangor (70, 4-1)

Referee: P R Richards

Attendance: 30,228

Middlesbrough: Schwarzer, Fleming, Harrison, Festa, Pearson, Townsend, Mustoe, Gascoigne, Armstrong (Ricard 67), Merson, Hignett. Subs (not used): V Kinder, Beck

Oxford: Whitehead, Robinson, Marsh, Gray, Davis, Gilchrist, Murphy (Banger 67), Smith, Francis (Cook 85), Powell (Remy 63), Beauchamp. Subs not used: n/a