Middlesbrough 1-0 Chelsea: Memorable night for Boro and their special Teesside talent

Hayden Hackney celebrates his winner against Chelsea (Image: Tom Banks)

ON a special Riverside night, a special Teesside talent stood tall and scored the winner that moved his beloved hometown club to within 90 minutes of Wembley.

This could yet turn out to be one of the most remarkable and special Middlesbrough stories.

Chelsea’s team came from far and wide at a cost of hundreds of millions of pounds. Hayden Hackney came from eight miles from the Riverside in Redcar. He’s going to the top.

And to think on the day Chelsea were last at the Riverside, winning 2-0 in an FA Cup quarter-final in March 2022, Hackney was an 82nd minute substitute for bottom of League Two Scunthorpe in a 5-1 defeat at Salford. A fair bit has changed for the 21-year-old since, who has emerged as Boro’s leading light under Carrick and one of the brightest talents in the country. This was his finest Boro moment to date.

It’s Hackney’s 37th minute goal on Tuesday night that separates the sides at the halfway stage of the Carabao Cup semi-final tie. Twenty seasons on, the most unlikely repeat of Boro’s greatest achievement remains a possibility.

“That’s what you can achieve if things come together,” said Carrick, looking back on Boro’s 2004 success. His side came together on Tuesday night. Hackney will get the headlines for scoring the winner but this was success for a collective team effort against a side of individuals. The defence – led by Dael Fry – was immense. Isaiah Jones was tireless on the right and had the better of Levi Colwill from start to finish.

It’s advantage Boro. Are Chelsea still favourites? Almost certainly. But the pressure is very much on Mauricio Pochettino’s side, who must now succeed at Stamford Bridge where they failed at the Riverside and find a way through Boro’s defence.

The Riverside crackled with anticipation ahead of Boro’s first appearance in a domestic cup semi-final since 2006. Not since Gareth Southgate’s Cardiff trophy lift have Boro reached the last four of this competition.

“Bring it home again,” read a banner unfurled in the South Stand prior to kick-off.

Story continues

The day earlier, Carrick had told of how he truly appreciates what 2004 means to the club and all connected.

“I’ve said it a few times, that’s the impact football can have, you can create special, special memories and special days for people,” he said.

On the back of the spirited weekend display, it was no surprise to see Carrick stick with the system that served his side well against Aston Villa. Dael Fry returned to the defence, Jonny Howson to the midfield and there were starts for Matt Crooks and Emmanuel Latte Lath after injury.

The Riverside roared and Boro’s players responded. From the get-go, they looked like they wanted it more than the individuals in blue. After just 30 seconds, Levi Colwill was sloppy and Emmanuel Latte Lath was sharp. Axel Disasi was lucky. He was late in the tackle on Boro’s striker and had VAR been in operation a penalty would surely have been the result after a review.

To rub salt into Boro wounds, Latte Lath was unable to continue and replaced after just three minutes by Josh Coburn. And just when Carrick will have thought his injury woes were easing, he was dealt another blow before the halfway stage of the first period when Alex Bangura was forced off. On came Matt Clarke, with Lukas Engel shifting to the left.

Despite those setbacks – added to all those unavailable – it was Boro who drew first blood. It’s injuries that have provided Dan Barlaser with the run in the side he’s been craving since joining from Rotherham 12 months ago and it was his delightful pass that set Isaiah Jones away on the right in behind the struggling Colwill. Jones’s first attempt at a cross was blocked but he had a second crack at it and squared for Hackney to slide home.

Chelsea looked unsettled and unhappy but with the quality in their ranks they were bound to have their moments. Perhaps, though, come half-time, Mauricio Pochettino was regretting playing without an orthodox striker, for Cole Palmer, playing as false nine, had missed two sitters. For Boro there was twice relief. First for Jonny Howson, whose sloppy pass was cut out by Palmer only for the ex-Manchester City forward to drag his shot wide. And then for Tom Glover who made a mess of a simple save from an Enzo Fernandez shot only for Palmer to somehow shoot over from just yards out and the net empty.

That Chelsea’s best first half moments came from Boro mistake tells you everything about their misfiring forward line. Raheem Sterling and Noni Madueke, supporting, Palmer, were contained and frustrated.

Pochettino said he was upset when his Chelsea side were level with Preston at half-time in Saturday’s FA Cup tie so you can only imagine how he must have felt come the interval at the Riverside.

The visitors inevitably improved and started to ask questions. In the first 10 minutes of the second half, Chelsea had 58 passes in the opposition half compared to Boro’s five. Madueke forced a save from Glover with a header and then threatened down the right.

Just after the hour mark came the first Chelsea changes. A striker was introduced in Armando Broja alongside £89m man Mykhailo Mudryk. But Boro were standing firm – and looking increasingly dangerous on the counter. Jones broke away on the right but couldn’t make the most of the opportunity before another break, started by a crunching Crooks tackle, ended with Barlaser shooting over from the edge of the box.

Chelsea probed. Sterling fired over and Broja flashed a low drive across the face of goal – but they couldn’t find a way through.