TEENAGER JOSH COBURN was the hero as Middlesbrough produced another FA Cup upset by knocking out Tottenham with a 1-0 extra-time victory in the fifth round.
Boro dumped Manchester United out on penalties at Old Trafford in the fourth round and followed it up in style to beat Spurs, with 19-year-old Josh Coburn’s 107th-minute strike settling the tie.
The Championship outfit were the better side throughout, booking their quarter-final spot and ensuring Spurs will end another season without a trophy after an abject display on Teesside.
Who knows how Antonio Conte will react to this defeat as their inconsistency continues to derail any progress and this result could have implications over his long-term future as well as that of Harry Kane, whose desire to win silverware is consistently not met at Spurs.
Only a strong finish in the Premier League and a late surge into the top four can rescue this season, but that looks a stretch on this evidence.
They will have known what to expect following Middlesbrough’s result at Old Trafford and the hosts contained Tottenham throughout.
The visitors’ biggest threat came from the wings as they found space on both flanks. Ryan Sessegnon burst down the left but his cross was intercepted with Harry Kane waiting to tap in and then Boro defender Dael Fry produced a fine tackle to deny Dejan Kulusevski after he surged into the area from the other flank.
It was another break down the right that presented Tottenham with their best chance in the 39th minute as Kulusevski set Matt Doherty free and the Irishman got to the ball before goalkeeper Joe Lumley, who raced out of his net, but his shot at an open goal was wayward and flew over.
Boro enjoyed a good start to the second half and should have gone ahead in the 55th minute but Matt Crooks, one of the heroes of the win at Manchester United, put a free header from Jonny Howson’s corner over the crossbar when he should have buried it.
Spurs offered some response, with Eric Dier forcing Lumley into a good save from a 25-yard free-kick before Spurs thought they had taken the lead from the corner.
Ben Davies flicked Son Heung-min’s corner on at the near post and Kane, who had his shirt pulled when making his run, tapped home but the flag went up for a marginal offside call.
The hosts sensed another upset and had Tottenham on the rack in the opening 15 minutes of the additional period.
It was only a matter of time until Boro got their reward and Coburn wrote his name into folklore. He was played in down the right, with Emerson Royal keeping him onside, and fired past Lloris to spark mass scenes of celebration at the Riverside.
It was nervy at the end, with Lumley somehow keeping out a deflected Dier effort, but they held on to complete a famous night.
Jairo Riedewald was the unlikely super-sub for Patrick Vieira after his goal eight minutes from time fired Crystal Palace to a hard-fought 2-1 win over Stoke and took them a step closer to Wembley.
Cheikhou Kouyate had seen his early second-half effort for the hosts cancelled out by Josh Tymon’s close-range finish to leave the FA Cup fifth-round tie finely poised.
Vieira, despite needing a winner, turned to Riedewald over two recognised strikers and saw the decision pay dividends with the ex-Ajax player scoring his first goal in 13 months from only his fifth appearance of the season to send the Eagles into the quarter-finals.
the opener did arrive with the hosts’ first shot on target in the 53rd minute.
A short corner from Olise found Zaha, who picked out the unmarked Mateta inside the area and although his shot took a touch off Tommy Smith, Kouyate was on hand to side-foot home from seven yards for his first goal since 2020.
The celebrations of the recent Africa Cup of Nations winner were short-lived, though, when Stoke equalised five minutes later.
Sawyers was able to beat Will Hughes by the byline and produced a wonderful cross with the outside of his boot that left-back Tymon converted at the back post to level.
A smattering of boos greeted Vieira’s decision to introduce captain Luka Milivojevic and Riedewald despite the presence of Eze, Christian Benteke and Odsonne Edouard on the bench.
It would eventually pay off, but only after Joachim Andersen headed Moore’s chip off the line with Jack Butland out of his goal.
The winner came when Jack Bonham punched Conor Gallagher’s cross only as far as Riedewald, who controlled on his chest and fired into the bottom corner to ease the tension at Selhurst Park.
It vindicated Vieira’s decision and sent Palace into the last eight with Stoke’s best run in 10 years ending with a battling display.
Comedian Michael Fry is our special guest on this week’s episode of The Front Row, in partnership with Guinness. Joining host Seán Burke, Eimear Considine and Murray Kinsella, he chats about his family’s rugby background and his short-lived playing days, before using his musical ear to rank the anthems of each Guinness Six Nations team. Click here to subscribe or listen below:
