FA Cup: Ehiogu ends dour battle

Middlesbrough 1 Blackburn 0

Ugo Ehiogu’s late winner sent Middlesbrough into the quarter-finals of FA Cup and ended a dour battle of wills at the Riverside.

Ehiogu headed Boro into the lead three minutes from time shortly after Blackburn had had Lucas Neill sent off for a professional foul.

Now Middlesbrough, who made it to the FA Cup final in 1997 - the year they were also relegated are just two matches away from another final.

A dreary game was not helped by Graeme Souness fielding four natural centre-backs along his backline.

The stand-in full-backs, Martin Taylor and Nils-Eric Johansson, never advanced down the flanks and as a result Rovers were always struggling to find any width.

It also meant that Boro’s wide players, especially the skilful Carlos Marinelli, were hard-pressed to find space themselves and this set the scene for a contest of few chances and not much skill.

Perhaps both sides were so pre-occupied by relegation worries that this FA Cup tie was nothing more than an unwelcome distraction. Perhaps too, Rovers’ Worthington Cup final appearance next weekend meant their mind was on a different knock-out competition.

Noel Whelan had the first glimpse of a chance when Dean Windass lobbed a pass over the Rovers defence. Whelan could not take the ball in his stride and Taylor came across to shut out the danger.

Some poor possession play by Boro saw Duff burst into the right of the area but he delayed cutting the ball back to Cole and the opportunity vanished.

It was 29 minutes before either side managed a shot on target, and Robbie Stockdale had to manufacture the chance for himself.

He skipped inside one lunge and struck a powerful drive from 20 yards but it was at the perfect height for Brad Friedel, and straight at the keeper too.

Nine minutes before the break, Henning Berg managed to chalk up Blackburn’s first effort of any description. His header from Hignett’s corner was on target but easily saved by Schwarzer.

Duff broke again into space down the right, but once again his understanding with Cole was completely at sea and Boro were able to clear.

A minute before the break, Rovers were thankful to Berg as he saved a certain goal. Whelan found himself with the ball on the right of the penalty area, Friedel had advanced to the edge of his box and the Boro striker lobbed him expertly only for Berg to hook the ball clear as it bounced towards the goal.

Boro boss Steve McClaren thrust two new strikers into the fray for the second half. Slovakian Szilard Nemeth and Boksic came on for Mark Wilson and Windass.

The move almost paid immediate dividends when Nemeth burst past Johansson on the right and only Friedel’s alert dive to cut out the cross prevented the home side going in front.

Blackburn looked they could do with a change up front too. Cole’s flick set Duff racing away but once more he chose the wrong option, trying pass to Keith Gillespie rather than go himself, and Southgate intercepted.

Souness finally made that swap, bringing on Matt Jansen for Duff, whose performance had lived up to his name and the substitute immediately made contact with a Craig Hignett’s free-kick, but his flicked header sailed wide of the far-post.

Paul Ince should have done better with 20 minutes left when he hit a weak shot from 12 yards into Friedel’s arms.

Then came a moment of controversy when referee Barber sent off Neill for a professional foul on Stockdale. Neill did make contact with the Boro player outside the area, but Rovers protested vehemently he was not the last man.

At least that roused the crowd, and Boro scented victory. Nemeth powered a shot from a difficult angle into Friedel’s stomach, before Robbie Mustoe volleyed into the crowd from eight yards out.

Three minutes before the final whistle, Boro seized their chance from a free-kick, awarded against Jansen for handball and then advanced 10 yards when he protested.

Gareth Southgate floated the ball in and his fellow centre-back Ehiogu powered a header downwards and into the net.

At least we were spared a replay.