Middlesbrough's extra-time venture sends the Championship side into the quarter-finals, knocking Tottenham out of the FA Cup after doing the same to Manchester United earlier. The missile of the winning side's teenage striker Josh Coburn rightfully sent the ex-Premier League club into the next stage.
Spurs Without the Answer to Boro's Competence and Spirit
Well, you can't play Leeds every week. When it comes to appraising the return to form of Antonio Conte's Tottenham, Saturday's 4-0 romp at Elland Road was always destined to be a bit of a mirage. We should've expected them to revert to stereotype against a side possessing some competence, let alone greater spirit.
Burnley last week, Middlesbrough this week, both 1-0 winners over a Spurs side whose white shirts matched the flags they could've waved in quest of their first trophy in 14 years. Middlesbrough's side commanded by Chris Wilder outsmarted their Premier League counterparts and progressed rightfully to the final 8 when teenage replacement Coburn scored the game's sole goal in the second half of extra time.
Spurs, on the other hand, were terrible, reverting to the hopeless crew who had lost four of their previous five games before the weekend break. Conte came into this game insisting that his threats to resign last week were part of a strategy to elevate his team. It's a plausible story. It was calculated in the same way that a toddler would approach algebra. The Spurs manager was in a foul mood after his side's defeat at Burnley, and it took a win at Leeds to restore his composure.
Conte's ambition to instill a winning mindset in his players, however, wouldn't allow him to name a depleted team in this competition, especially since it was their only chance of a trophy. That's why Spurs were at their best, unchanged from their performance at Elland Road. They didn't have a targeted shot in the first half, so you wouldn't have known. It was hard to believe they were ahead 3-0 after 27 minutes at Leeds. When Matt Doherty rounded helpless goalkeeper Joe Lumley, he should've scored for the visitors, but it sailed over the crossbar.
Middlesbrough's Manager Wilder Challenged His Players – They Responded Perfectly
Wilder had challenged his players to show they could compete with top-flight opponents, citing his work at Sheffield United, where he turned a group of Football League hopefuls into Premier League heroes. They certainly responded to his appeal, making Spurs mugs in every area. Harry Kane, who had a great game on Saturday, was struggling to stand up here. In the first half, a straightforward chance to control and turn ended with him slipping on his backside, much to the delight of the sold-out crowd. His second half began with a humiliating occurrence. Kane sized a free-kick 20 yards out with Lumley's gloves prepared for their first involvement of the evening.
The England captain, on the other hand, was left in an embarrassing heap on the pitch, his scuffed effort barely making it beyond the defensive wall. Laughter can be heard throughout the stadium. Kane's obliviousness to an offside flag was once again the source of much laughter when he ripped away in celebration just before the hour after turning in from close range. At this point, we had a match worthy of prime-time terrestrial television, and Eric Dier finally forced Lumley to save a free-kick aiming for the top corner.
When Matt Crooks walked unchallenged towards Jonny Howson's corner, he somehow managed to head over from four yards, ‘Boro' should've taken the lead. Wilder rummaged through the bottom of a Lucozade bottle for answers, probably wishing it was something stronger considering the nature of the midfielder's blunder. Normal time finished with a flurry of chances, the greatest of which was a header for Howson that went wide after he, like Crooks, was left unattended from a corner.
Tottenham Now Focus on Finishing in Top 4 in PL, Boro Looking to Take Another Scalp
‘Boro' took advantage of extra time to build on their fourth-round win over Manchester United, as Coburn switched passes with Crooks and hammered past Hugo Lloris. This is a good starting point to consider betting on Middlesbrough at the best Premier League betting sites here in their next match in FA Cup. The academy graduate had a strong performance. Spurs, on the other hand, were anything but. They might have grabbed an equalizer when a corner generated confusion and rebounded off a red shirt before Lumley retrieved from his line. In all honesty, it would've been completely unwarranted. Conte's team left the field heads down, and rightly so, as this was a typical flaky performance that shouldn't have surprised anyone.
‘Spurs' will now focus on finishing in the top four in the Premier League. It'll be a long shot based on the evidence. It also demonstrates how simple playing against Leeds has become.
