Middlesbrough through to Cardiff final

Middlesbrough 2 Arsenal 1 (Agg: 3-1)

Spanish starlet Jose Reyes suffered Carling Cup heartache as his own goal cemented Middlesbrough’s passage to Cardiff against 10-man Arsenal.

The 20-year-old’s full debut ended in disaster on a bad night for the Gunners after defender Martin Keown saw red for the 13th time in his career to leave his side a man short for the entire second half.

Keown was dismissed just before the break for dragging striker Massimo Maccarone to the ground after he misjudged Juninho’s pass.

And Boro, who led 1-0 from the first leg, looked to be cruising when Bolo Zenden doubled their advantage with 69 minutes gone.

However, Brazilian midfielder Edu headed home an equaliser eight minutes later to throw the tie back into the melting pot before Reyes’ untimely intervention five minutes from time.

Boro might have won even more comfortably as they ran the Gunners ragged at the death to book their Millennium Stadium showdown with Bolton and the chance to win a first ever major trophy in the club’s 129-year history.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger was left to reflect on elimination from a competition which is admittedly the least of his priorities, but also the 54th sending-off of his reign.

The fifth clash between the two sides this season was undoubtedly the most important of Boro’s campaign to date.

And despite conceding 12 goals in two Barclaycard Premiership clashes and an FA Cup fourth-round trip to Highbury, it was the precious 1-0 victory in north London after the first leg a fortnight ago which gave Steve McClaren’s men real hope.

A Gunners’ team-sheet featuring no fewer than eight changes to the side which started the 2-1 Premiership victory over Manchester City on Sunday came as no surprise to the Teessiders, although neither did the way they started at a gallop.

With skipper Patrick Vieira in imperious form in central midfield and new signing Reyes lively in attack, Boro struggled to force their way into the game in the opening exchanges.

But for all their possession, the visitors created few genuine openings with Edu’s ninth-minute effort from distance which whistled just wide of Mark Schwarzer’s left post as close as the came to levelling on aggregate before the break.

The Teessiders needed a helping hand, and they got it inadvertently in the shape of Ashley Cole with 18 minutes gone.

In attempting to dispossess Juninho on the edge of the penalty area, the England full-back only succeeded in rolling the ball into the path of Maccarone, and although he got his shot up and over Graham Stack, it dropped agonisingly wide.

The Italian must have thought he had fired his side ahead 10 minutes later when Franck Queudrue escaped his marker to meet Zenden’s free-kick at the far post and send the ball back across goal.

Maccarone managed to drag the ball from behind him and direct it towards goal, but as the home fans rose to their feet, Stack came from nowhere to claw it to safety.

Boro had their tails up and with Gaizka Mendieta and Zenden starting to make a real impact, Arsenal were looking uncertain for the first time.

Juninho was causing Keown and central defensive partner Pascal Cygan all sorts of problems, and the Englishman ultimately found himself out of position once too often on the stroke of half-time.

Keown failed to cut out the Brazilian’s through-ball to his strike-partner, and with Maccarone clean through on goal, instinctively hauled him to the ground and did not really have to wait for referee Dermot Gallagher to brandish the red card.

Juninho curled the resulting free-kick into Stack’s arms, but Boro left the pitch at the break knowing their destiny lay in their own hands.

Edu, who had headed for the dressing room earlier than his team-mates on a stretcher following a late challenge from Zenden, was able to continue after treatment – and the 10 men made a real push immediately after the restart.

Reyes had a 46th-minute penalty appeal turned down when he went down under a challenge from Schwarzer, but his side went desperately close seven minutes later.

David Bentley’s corner was allowed to reach the far post where Kolo Toure, after a moment’s hesitation, fired in a shot which Schwarzer blocked at point-blank range to preserve his side’s narrow aggregate lead.

Reyes was finding life a little more difficult than he might have anticipated, and having annoyed the home defenders by persistently going to ground, earned the jeers of the Teesside faithful when he scuffed a 59th-minute effort from distance harmlessly wide.

Boro were again struggling to retain possession – Zenden’s 62nd-minute shot into the side-netting was something of a rarity – and McClaren replaced the tiring Jonathan Greening with Stuart Parnaby two minutes later as he looked to shore things up in the middle of the park.

And the Teessiders doubled their advantage within seven minutes when Mendieta laid off Maccarone’s pass with perfect wait to Zenden, and he needed no second invitation to lift the ball over the advancing Stack.

Bentley allowed his frustration to get the better of him after a 72nd-minute clash with Juninho which, after a minor melee, cost him a yellow card.

But the game was not over and Vieira tested Schwarzer with a rising 76th-minute drive.

Arsenal fashioned an equaliser from the resulting corner seconds later when Chris Riggott’s attempted headed-clearance came back off the bar and Edu stooped to nod the rebound home.

However, Arsenal’s fading hopes were finally dashed five minutes from time when Reyes, as he attempted to prevent Parnaby from shooting, drve the ball past Stack and into his own net.