Middlesbrough 0-1 Burton: Brewers through to Carabao Cup semi-finals
Jake Hesketh scores the winner in Carabao Cup quarter-final for the League One side
Tuesday 18 December 2018 23:06, UK
Burton progressed to the Carabao Cup semi-finals for the first time in their history after beating Middlesbrough 1-0 at the Riverside Stadium.
Jake Hesketh's 48th-minute effort was enough for the League One side against Championship opposition on Tuesday night, as Boro put in a laboured display for large periods of the game.
It is the first time a third-tier side have made it to this stage since Sheffield United in 2014/15. It is also the fourth time in this competition that they have knocked out opposition from a division above.
Boro had a couple of good chances to take the lead in the first half, with most of the opportunities falling to Jordan Hugill.
The striker was agonisingly close to turning Martin Braithwaite's pullback into an empty net after six minutes, but couldn't quite reach it on the slide, and after 37 minutes he raced clean through on goal but was denied first by goalkeeper Bradley Collins and then his rebound was kept out by Jake Buxton.
Burton took the lead just three minutes after half-time. The initial opportunity fell to Jamie Allen, who saw his effort rattle the base of the post, but Hesketh was there to pick the ball up before turning to fire home from just inside the box.
Boro threw on Marcus Tavernier, Britt Assombalonga and Ashley Fletcher in pursuit of an equaliser, but Burton held firm throughout most of the second half and rarely conceded any decent chances.
The home side were presented with a glorious opportunity in the 84th minute to take the game to penalties but Aden Flint, up from the back, somehow managed to head wide while unmarked from point-blank range.
Manchester City also progressed on Tuesday night. The final two semi-finalists will come from Wednesday's games between Arsenal and Tottenham, and Chelsea vs Bournemouth.
Post-match Opta stats
- Middlesbrough have failed to progress against a side from a lower division in the League Cup for the first time since August 2016, losing out to then Championship side Fulham when in the Premier League.
- Burton have beaten higher-ranked opposition in four of their five League Cup ties this season, beating the Championship's Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest and Middlesbrough in round two, round four and the quarter-finals respectively, and Premier League Burnley in round three.
- Championship Middlesbrough managed just one shot in the second-half against League One Burton, with that shot going off target.
- Burton's Jake Hesketh has scored three goals in his four appearances in the League Cup, including each of his last two in the competition.
Man of the match: Jamie Allen
It was an excellent display from Burton and there are several players who could have earned man of the match. But Allen's display in midfield just put him above the others, and it was his run into the box that led to the all-important goal.
The managers
Tony Pulis: "I'm desperately disappointed and the players are as well. They started better than us in the first five minutes and then we got hold of the game, got a good grip of the game and we had four, again, opportunities where we are through with just the goalkeeper in front of us.
"What summed it up was Flinty's miss in the second half. How he's missed that, goodness knows."
Nigel Clough: "It's always special when you come here, always, the association, without a doubt. My mum and my dad, both of them - they met here, married here, so it's always special to come to the north-east. Ninety-two clubs come into the competition and Burton Albion in the last four, it's absolutely remarkable, remarkable.
"We've beaten Villa, Forest, Burnley and now Middlesbrough to get to this stage. You always need a little bit of luck in any cup competition and we got a bit tonight with a couple of chances that were missed. But I thought we earned it, I thought we deserved our luck tonight. I thought we played very, very well at times."
What's next?
Middlesbrough head to Reading in the Sky Bet Championship on Saturday, while Burton travel to Luton in League One.
