Ehiogu: Final a firm possibility for Boro

Stand-in Middlesbrough captain Ugo Ehiogu insists the UEFA Cup final is still within their grasp after a 1-0 semi-final first leg defeat by Steaua Bucharest in Romania.

Middlesbrough keeper Mark Schwarzer kept his side’s hopes alive with two superb second-half saves.

With the visitors trailing 1-0 to Nicolae Dica’s 30th-minute strike, the Australian kept out Dorin Goian’s point-blank effort and then blocked Dica’s effort after Stuart Parnaby’s error.

Boro were out-played for long periods, but Steaua head for the Riverside Stadium next Thursday with the slimmest of advantages.

Ehiogu, captain in place of the injured Gareth Southgate, told Five: “It’s only a 1-0 deficit, we know we can score goals at home.

“It’s difficult when you’re carrying a few injuries, we had to dig in at times.

“When we come back a week today, hopefully we’ll have a few players back and we’ll give them a good game.

“We’re a goal down, we need a clean sheet and we know we can create chances, we’ve just got to be able to finish them,” the former England defender said.

Midfielder George Boateng was even more upbeat than Ehiogu.

He told Five: “I think before the game if you’d said 1-0 we would have taken it.

“It could have been better but we’ve got a feeling of how they are and we’ve been in much more difficult positions. We can still get something out of it.

“You can’t say it’s going to be easy but we’re very confident.”