With Sheffield Wednesday charging a ludicrous £39 per ticket for our first match of the season, I was happy to find Middlesbrough were charging marginally less at £32 just two weeks later. As Teesside is only 2 hours from my home in East Yorkshire and a very pleasant drive up the coast, I decided to tick off yet another new ground. With just 4 matches gone, and despite walking League 1 the previous season, City had already shipped 11 goals and constant speculation about big money signings didn’t seem to be helping matters. However, a last gasp draw with Leeds Utd the previous Tuesday had given us hope. Middlesbrough, on the other hand, had started the season brightly. They had lost out in the play-off final the previous season and had some great players in their squad, including newly signed David Nugent. So I really wasn’t hopeful of any kind of result. As I mentioned, the car journey itself was very nice indeed – even though the weather didn’t seem to know what it wanted to do. As I had arrived around 1:15pm for a 3:30pm kick off I was able to park on Dockside Road, which leads right up to the Riverside Stadium. As you come off the Cargo Fleet Lane roundabout on the main A66 you turn left at the next roundabout and there are no parking restrictions. It was a very straightforward journey to the ground and I had ample time to wander up towards the stadium on what was turning out to be a nice warm day. One thing I had heard of and wanted to try was the famous Chicken Parmo in a Bun – a true Middlesbrough speciality – a breaded chicken cutlet (a bit like a Schnitzel) smothered in melted cheese and served up in a bun. Well worth the £3 I spent on it from one of the numerous vans outside the ground. I had a wander around the outside of the ground, which was very impressive, but all the while had a desolate feeling to it, tucked away amongst waste ground and salvage yards. Obviously, as the name suggests, it is right next to the River Tees and there was the impressive site of a massive ship parked behind one of the ends – not something you see at most grounds. I did a full circumnavigation of the ground, as there was plenty to see: The old Ayresome Park gates flanked by the statues of Wilf Mannion and George Hardwick, a mural charting the history of Ayresome Park, along with old seats from the ground, and a great view of the Transporter Bridge. The turnstiles are all equipped with bar code scanners, so my ticket had to be purchased from an office before entering. The facilities inside were as I would expect from such a modern ground. A good concourse area, with Sky TV showing the noon match and large food and drink outlets – got a pint of Strongbow (no decent cider for us discerning Bristolians of course!) for £3.70. The stadium from the inside was very impressive. With the seating forming a near continuous bowl the effect was tremendous. The main grandstand opposite looked huge and there was a big screen to our left. We were situated in the South East corner, so the home side effectively had 2 home ends. There were a lot of banners hung around the stadium by various fan groups – although some had seen better days. Leg room wasn’t bad and the view was excellent. As the stadium filled up a good atmosphere started building, with the City fans who had made the xxx mile round trip in good voice. City got off to an incredible start – better than I could ever have hoped for – with a fantastic goal curled into the top right corner from our wing back, Bristol-born Joe Bryan. Cue wild celebrations in our little corner and stunned silence from Boro. Middlesbrough still looked menacing and their left winger Wildschut was causing all sorts of issues. However, it really should have been 2-0 midway through the first half as Bobby Reid blazed over from close range and it could have been even better for City had Konstantopoulos not managed to pull off a fantastic save when Kodjia’s shot looked like it was in all the way. Boro did have the ball in the back of the net at one point, but the referee had already blown for a foul. The second half came and went and with City looking more and more defensive many of us wondered when the inevitable equaliser would come. However, City stood firm. When the likes of Flint and Ayling weren’t clearing anything slung into the box, Ben Hamer in goal was coming up with some incredible saves. Boro threw on ex City favourite Albert Adomah, who received a standing ovation and had his name chanted by the travelling City fans – despite the fact he was attacking our goal! However, it was to be our day as the clock ticked to full time and saw some jubilant celebrations in the away section. Our first win back in the Championship. It was an easy 10 min walk back to car, although I found that many more people had parked in Dockside Road, so the road was pretty jam packed with cars parked in all manner of awkward places, making it difficult to get out. I queued to get onto the main road for a while and it took me around 15 minutes to get out of Middlesbrough. So overall, a fantastic away trip: nice food, good stadium, great result!