to get his left palm to the attempted chip. Nevin then created an opportunity for Chelsea, crossing the ball to Dixon, who missed the goal with his header. Chelsea created another chance in the 27th minute; the ball bounced over the head of the Middlesbrough defender Gary Pallister, and was collected by Durie, who evaded another defender, Tony Mowbray, but his shot was saved by Pears. Three minutes later, Slaven crossed the ball to Senior, who scored with a glancing header, to put Middlesbrough 1–0 ahead: Clive White of The Times described it as "a slightly flattering lead". The score remained unchanged at half-time. In the second half, Stuart Ripley crossed the ball into the Chelsea penalty area, but there were no Middlesbrough forwards to convert the chance. Shortly after, Tony Dorigo broke through the Middlesbrough defence with a run, but nothing came of the opportunity. Both teams continued to attack; Cynthia Bateman of The Guardian said that "Chelsea always had the edge in skill", but were always at risk of "being overwhelmed by the ferocity" of Middlesbrough's attacks. Pallister had a shot after a Middlesbrough corner was palmed away from goal by Hitchcock, but he put the rebound straight back at the goalkeeper. Chelsea also missed a rebound: Durie struck a strong shot, which Pears parried to Colin Pates, but he mishit his shot. Senior and Slaven combined again in the 81st minute to double Middlesbrough's lead; Senior crossed the ball in from the right, and Slaven cut in from the opposition wing. His first shot was saved by Hitchcock, but Slaven put away his own rebound to make it 2–0. Details Second leg Summary The second leg took place at Stamford Bridge in London on 28 May 1988 in front of a crowd of 40,550. Chelsea dominated play early on; within 90 seconds of kick-off, Nevin had a shot at goal which Pears "brilliantly" deflected onto the post, according to White. Middlesbrough's best chance of the match came a few minutes later, when a cross-cum-shot from Cooper rebounded off the post to Slaven. From , his headed shot went over the bar. Nevin created Chelsea's goal in the 18th minute, finding Durie with a long pass, who curled the ball into the net from out. Soon after, Durie broke through the Middlesbrough defence, but Dixon was offside, and play was stopped. Chelsea continued to dominate possession for the