The match started fairly evenly, with both teams trying to break down the opposition defence. The Boro’ team shouted for a penalty in the 7th minute when Danny Hollands was brought down just inside the penalty area, but the calls were dismissed by the referee.

Boro’s main threats in the first half came from Billie Busari and Abdulai Baggie creating chances from wide positions. The former impressed in the 10th and 12th minute when he first took a shot from distance, and later picked the ball up and dribbled past the Met defence to put in a low shot, which was ultimately dealt with by the hosts’ defence.

The scoring opened against the run of play in the 19th minute when a mishap in communication between Fin Walsh-Smith and goalkeeper Pat O’Flaherty gave the hosts an unnecessary corner. Richard Afrane-Kesey delivered a cross into the box and Lewis Birch rose highest to knock the ball past O’Flaherty to give the hosts the lead.

Tensions rose in the 23rd minute when Billie Busari once again showed a burst of energy and dribbled past several Met midfielders near the touchline. His efforts were ended when he was brought down with a tackle which sparked tension between the teams. Harvey Rew and Manager Shaun Gale both receive yellow cards after an exchange of words with the referee.

Not long after, Busari once again played forward with the ball. His shot made the keeper work to parry it away, but the offside flag went up just as Abdulai Baggie appeared to pick up the rebound.

Gale couldn’t fault his players for not creating chances as the first half drew to a close. In the 37th minute, Abdulai Baggie swung a cross into the box, making it awkward for the defence to clear. The ball narrowly missed the oncoming Dan Wooden and fizzled out for a goal kick.

The 40th minute is the closest Boro’ came to equalising, when Abdulai Baggie crossed the ball into the box and Dan Wooden got a shot away from close range. The hosts’ keeper got a vital touch on the ball and directed it onto the crossbar and out of play.

Right before the end of the half, Boro’ had one last stab at going into the changing rooms level. Dan Wooden received the ball in the middle of the park and put Harvey Rew through on goal, but the midfielder’s shot nestled in the side-netting.

Gale’s team started the second half with the same level of urgency and intensity as they had finished the first. The first chance of the second half came when Dan Wooden pounced on a mistake by the hosts playing the ball across their own box. The forward’s subsequent cross was deflected off of the back of a Met defender and seemed to head goalwards, but ultimately ended up out for a corner, leaving the hosts with a sigh of relief.

The constant pressure and intensity paid off in the 55th minute however, when Dan Wooden picked up the ball on the edge of the box and took a shot across the goalkeeper from a very acute angle to level the scoring on the night.

Chances kept brewing from the Boro’ team, but it was the hosts who were prolific enough to get their second goal in the 71st minute. Jasper Mather tapped the ball into an empty net after Archie Taylor's shot was initially parried away by O'Flaherty in goal.

Tensions once again heated up when the referee was forced to have words with the Boro’ bench, resulting in Assistant Coach Jake Wigley being dismissed by the referee with a red card.

Gale called for a change of personnel up-front when he entered Harvey Bradbury and Matt Paterson into the field of play, in exchange for Billie Busari and Abdulai Baggie.

The team carried on an intense and urgent battle, creating chances in the process and knocking on the door calling on the Met defence to answer constant questions however, to no avail, their efforts were fought off and the hosts saw out the game collecting all three points on the night.