Boro bomb as Royals roar
by Joseph Caron Dawe, 25 July 2008
Middlesbrough followed up their draw against Celtic with a late 1-0 defeat to Vitoria Guimaraes.
Afonso Alves saw two chances go begging as Adam Johnson set him up on each occasion, Robert Huth went close with a header for Gareth Southgate’s side.
Dinis was the man who undid Boro with a free-kick late on which sailed past Ross Turnbull to give the Portuguese side victory.
Elsewhere, Dimitar Berbatov played the full 90 minutes in Tottenham’s 1-1 draw with Spanish side Hercules, but there was no place in the side for Robbie Keane.
The Irishman was not even given a place on the bench by manager Juande Ramos, allowing Darren Bent to score an equaliser following Addison’s opener for the hosts.
Giovani dos Santos featured for Spurs and John Bostock came off the bench to taste the action too and almost snatched victory but shot wide late on.
Leroy Lita hit four as Reading overcame Swedish side Trollhatten 4-1 following a stern defensive showing in the first half from the hosts.
Lita made the breakthrough in style in the second half however, and Martin Scherdin snatched a consolation for the Swedes.
Further south in Sweden, Bristol Rovers hit four as they kept a clean sheet in the process against MABI in Malmo. Josh Klein-Davies was the hero as he matched Lita’s personal haul.
Aberdeen’s tour of Holland got off to a victorious start as they beat DZC 5-0, thanks to a first-half hat-trick from Chris Maguire.
Lee Miller struck before the break for The Dons while Jamie Smith got himself in on the scoring act late on.
Leicester smashed eight past Unibond Division One South outfit Quorn but conceded four in the process, and a Sheffield United XI beat rivals Sheffield 4-0 and Ipswich hammered Tiptree 5-0.
And Manchester United will face Kaizer Chiefs in the Vodacom Challenge final after the South African side beat Orlando Pirates 2-0.