Middlesbrough Futsal Club continued their winning start to the new season with a comfortable 7-2 win over local rivals Leeds, but it wasn’t until the final ten minutes that Boro pulled away from a battling Leeds team.

Following on from a somewhat plucky win away in Manchester, Middlesbrough could go top of the league with a win and duly delivered in front of 51 spectators at Thornaby Pavilion.  It took Boro nine minutes to break the deadlock and two quick fire goals from Ben Everson put the Teessiders in control of the match.  Leeds got one back before the break to unsettle the home side who were starting to take a hold of the match.

Leeds started brightly in the second half but a well taken kick in allowed Kilbride to shoot into the far corner to knock the wind out of their sails and restore Boro’s cushion.  Leeds hit right back as Robbie Bettson lost possession in the centre and the game tightened up, both sides not wanting to concede as the next goal would be vital.

Mikey Roberts eventually scored Middlesbrough’s fourth signalling the end of the game for Leeds as Everson, Kilbride and Poole completed the seven goal haul to put Middlesbrough three points clear of Tranmere Victoria, Boro’s next opponents and favourites for the title.

Damon Shaw was understandably happy with the win and singled out two national league debutants for praise.  “Saif [Al-Harthi] and Theo [Furness] made their first appearances today and were excellent.  Jamie Poole also came on in the second half and looked a threat, giving us more options for the next game.”

Ben Everson will return to USA this week after helping Boro to hit the ground running with six goals in two matches.  “Ben is an amazing talent and should be playing for England.  It’s a shame he is going back to the USA, but I wish him all the best there as he tries to make it in MLS,” said Shaw. 

“It was a pleasing performance after last week, where we were fortunate to come away with all the points, but we’ve taken a step forward and will carry on working hard to eliminate mistakes and individual errors.  We’ve had a good start but we won’t get carried away.  Tranmere away will be a big test but we’ll be ready for it.”

Middlesbrough have no match next weekend as the league takes a break, but then travel to Liverpool to take on Tranmere Victoria who are three points behind Boro with a game in hand as their game with Leeds was snowed off.  Their next home game isn’t until 21st February against Liverpool, when Boro will celebrate their third birthday, so look out for some special treats on BoroFutsal.com in the next month!

For full fixtures and more information about futsal, please visit www.BoroFutsal.com.