Boro look to end goal drought

Middlesbrough face a daunting trip to face Chelsea in the FA Cup determined that they can cure their travel sickness at Stamford Bridge.

No other Premier League team have such a contrasting record as Middlesbrough.

They boast an unbeaten home record but have won just one of their 11 away matches, scoring just four goals in the process.

No-one who saw Middlesbrough beat Tottenham 3-0 at White Hart Lane on September 28 could have imagined that Steve McClaren’s side would go into 2003 without another away goal to their credit.

Middlesbrough have suffered seven consecutive away defeats and have gone 11 hours without a goal. Croatia international Alen Boksic has only two goals to his name and Italian striker Massimo Maccarone has lost form and confidence after a blistering start to the season.

McClaren said: “It is a collective responsibility to score goals. We have scored goals at home through strikers, midfield players, defenders and set-pieces. We have not done that away from home.

“We have tried various systems. We have played three strikers up front or even one striker. We need a change of luck.”

Chelsea are odds-on favourites to win tomorrow but Middlesbrough can however take heart from the fact that they knocked out Manchester United of the tournament last season when no-one gave them much hope of beating the high-profile stars of Old Trafford.

McClaren added: “The fact that we have not scored away from home for so long has not got to the players. They are looking forward to the FA Cup. It is a one-off game and anything can happen.”

Middlesbrough will be without central defender Ugo Ehiogu and midfield player Luke Wilkshire.

Two broken ribs and a punctured lung from the New Year’s Day game at Blackburn will keep the towering Ehiogu out of action for two months.

Former Rangers defender Tony Vidmar will take over the defensive role of Ehiogu.

McClaren said: “Tony has been invaluable to us. He has played at left-back, right-back and centre-back. Every time he has played he has never let us down.”

Wilkshire, a young Australian, is serving a suspension.