By Steve Goldby
April 14 2006

The last time we played Charlton at home, we were massacred 3-0 in a dismal performance that showed the first signs of a dramatic slump that has since been reversed in the most impressive fashion.

BORO v CHARLTON, FA CUP QUARTER-FINAL REPLAY, 12-4-06

Boro's bid to reach the FA Cup semi-finals for only the third time was aided by the return to action of three key players, Southgate, Downing and Hasselbaink.

Steve McClaren went 4-4-2 and played his strongest available side. This is a match that matters...

Schwarzer, Taylor, Riggott, Southgate, Parnaby, Downing, Boateng, Rochemback, Morrison, Hasselbaink (Ehiogu 80), Viduka
Jones, Doriva, Maccarone, Yakubu



THE FIRST HALF

Mark Schwarzer was forced into a very early save when Sean Bartlett got on the end of Charlton's very first attack and tried to guide the ball into a gap in the defence but Mark was alert and got down well to save.

In the fifth minute Boro were rocking when an unmarked Bartlett played the ball into the box for Darren Bent whose shot from the edge of the six-yard box was saved brilliantly by Skippy.

Alan Curbishley had the upper hand at this stage as Boro had not expected Charlton to play Rommedahl as part of a flat four-man midfield and Boro were having trouble adjusting as Charlton went for it with all they had.

The first ten minutes were absolutely frantic and were pretty much all Charlton but they had failed to take their chances and against a team of Boro's striking prowess, you can't afford that. Boro won a free-kick from all of thirty-five yards out and up stepped Fabio Rochemback to weigh up the distance and crash the ball into the net.

MIDDLESBROUGH 1 CHARLTON 0 (Rochemback 11)

But they say you are at your most vulnerable just after you have scored and Brian Phillips proved that theory right as Charlton came forward directly from the restart with Phillips latching on to a Shaun Bartlett pass from the right side that cut through the Boro defence and presented itself as an easy chance to Phillips who put Charlton right back in it.

MIDDLESBROUGH 1 CHARLTON 1 (Phillips 12)

Some of the confidence disappeared from Boro's play after the equaliser and Charlton were allowed far too much space in the Boro box on the next attack and had it not been for another wonder save from Skippy, Charlton would have taken the lead through the dangerous Darren Bent. It was breathtaking stuff.

Boro started to get more into the game and take more control as the first quarter hour passed and it was now our turn to start applying the pressure. Stewey Downing did tremendously well to take the ball half way down the wing and get a cross in that floated agonisingly across the goal with nobody there to tap home.

But Boro took the next chance as the masterly Viduka, several times responsible for chasing lost causes tonight, muscled his way through Charlton's midfield and unselfishly picked out James Morrison who planted the ball past Myhre and gave Charlton a lesson in finishing.

MIDDLESBROUGH 2 CHARLTON 1 (Morrison 25)

Two minutes later it was Myrhe's turn to make a heroic save as Jimmy Floyd Hassselbaink got on the end of a Rochemback cross and sent a header in that had the goalie sprawling and taking the plaudits of his team-mates as Boro came very close to going two goals up.

The pace continued at a frantic level but with Boro holding the upper hand in terms of possession and scoreline. Boro had weathered an early storm and were ahead through being sharper in front of goal, despite Charlton having had the lion's share of the attacks up to now.

Boro's composure grew steadily throughout the rest of the half as Charlton waned a little and although there was an air of uncertainty in the heart of the Boro defence, the teamwork was commendable as first Hasselbaink and then Viduka were found in defence clearing potential danger.

The longer the game wore on, the more assured Boro became and Morrison was starting to look exceptional again as he played in Mark Viduka from distance and the striker once again had Myrhe stretching to keep the third goal out.

Without a doubt it was Charlton who were happy to hear the half-time whistle and Boro with their confidence up. The job was only half done now and Boro needed to recapture the leel of performance that they had showed in the later part of the first-half to be sure of reaching the semi-final.

FIRST-HALF FAN REACTION

"It's nervous as hell but we'll have this lot..."
Dessie and Smoggy Suicide

THE FIRST HALF

Both teams made no changes for the second half and it was Boro who had the first solid opportunity as the pressure was applied immediately and a Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink shot only just went past the post.

Boro were looking much more assured in the early stages of the second half than they were at the same stage of the first whereas Charlton demonstrated their growing disillusionment as Chris Perry brought down Jimmy Floyd from behind and earned the first booking of the night.

There was one more attack from each side in first ten minutes of the second-half with Morrison going close for Boro and Rommedahl making headway for Charlton but it was Boro who had control of the game at this stage with the Charlton defence backing off every time Boro broke at speed.

Charlton signalled a clear intent to go for it when they substitued Matt Holland for Jerome Thomas in the sixtieth minute and adopted a more pacy and attacking formation.

But Boro had attacking ambitions of their own as once again James Morrison combined well with Mark Viduka as the pair sliced up the Charlton defence but couldn't get enough control on the ball to make the shot really count.

Curbishley made another change a minute later with Jay Bothroyd replacing Shaun Bartlett in the midfield.

Half way through the second-half the Charlton substitutions had made little difference as Boro's stature continued to grow and the defence continued to batten down the hatches and easily keep Charlton at bay.

But the game was still in the balance as Boro were not creating as much as they had in the second-half. But on seventy-two minutes, Stewey Downing produced an amazing bit of skill as he danced past three Charlton defenders and sent in a crashing shot that just went over.

A minute later, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink collected from James Morrison and sent a drilling shot past Myrhe and virtually put Boro into the semi-final. It was a sublime shot from Jimmy that was no more than he deserved after his phenomenal performance tonight.

In the next five minutes, all hell broke loose.

MIDDLESBROUGH 3 CHARLTON 1 (Hasselbaink 72)

Charlton attacked immediately after the break and were fortunate to win a free-kick just outside the box which Rommedahl sent in to trigger a goalmouth scramble from which Boro came off second best as Perry shot and the ball deflected in off Gareth.

MIDDLESBROUGH 3 CHARLTON 2 (Southgate og 75)

But it was a false dawn of hope for Charlton as Mark Viduka produced a sublime piece of skill in the Charlton half as he first pulled away from his markers and then sent in an unstoppable shot to surely finish the match and Charlton off.

MIDDLESBROUGH 4 CHARLTON 2 (Viduka 77)

But the tension was rising again as Charlton will consider themselves extremely unlucky not to have taken a third as both substitutes combined well to forge an attack from nothing as first Thomas and then Bothroyd had shots cleared off the line.

INTO THE RED ZONE

On came Ugo Ehiogu with ten minutes to play, in place of JFH, as Boro started to close the game down. But there was still plenty of time for more attacks and Boro had a clear cut penalty denied in the eighty-first as Morrison made a clown of Perry by nutmegging him just inside the box. The defender clearly fouled him and how Phil Dowd didn't see it as a penalty is a mystery of biblical proportions.

Charlton deserve immense credit for never giving up, even when they were two goals down with five minutes to play, but Boro's second-half composure and clinical finishing was enough to see off resilient opposition on the night.

The last time we played Charlton at home, we were massacred 3-0 in a dismal performance that showed the first signs of a dramatic slump that has since been reversed in the most impressive fashion. The fans called for McClaren to be given the England job then. Those calls will be heard again in the next few weeks, but for an entirely different reason. And after what he has achieved at Middlesbrough this last three months, he must be the one outstanding candidate.

But before he takes the calling, there is an FA Cup semi-final to negotiate, as well as European glory waiting in the wings.

Boro for a cup? You better believe it!

FULL-TIME FAN REACTION

"Absolutely unbelievable! Two semi-finals in a season after what we went through earlier in the season. The sky's the limit now. Boro for the cup! Definitely."
Mike Read

Final Whistle: 2157 - Report Online: 2202