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WEARY BORO SEEK CUP BOOST
By Damian Spellman of Betting Zone
Ugo Ehiogu will steel himself for another crucial 90 minutes as Middlesbrough target more cup glory this afternoon.
The 33-year-old will seek to book a place in the FA Cup final against West Ham at Villa Park just three days after a difficult UEFA Cup tie in Bucharest.
Both sides know victory would, barring a remarkable turn of events, guarantee them European football next season, and Ehiogu knows it is an opportunity the Teessiders cannot afford to pass up.
"We know what's at stake, and it's whoever wants to win it," he said. "Whoever performs on the day are going to take the spoils."
"Sometimes it's difficult to pick yourself up. You get little knocks and strains, but there's a lot to play for and really, no-one wants to be out of the team, especially when you have so many big games coming up."
"Semi-finals don't need talking up. They are what we have fought for for the last two or three years and now we are here, we need to make sure we don't miss the opportunity."
Ehiogu, who captained the side in Romania with Gareth Southgate missing because of an ankle problem, is likely to have a major role to play once again despite Chris Riggot's return from suspension.
Southgate is manager Steve McClaren's major doubt, although he hopes both Mark Viduka and Lee Cattermole, who also missed out in midweek, will be available after thigh and ankle problems respectively.
Boro are in the middle of a gruelling schedule - the game in Bucharest was potentially the third of 11 inside 28 days - and that could have a major bearing on their hopes of lifting a trophy.
However, they showed great character against Steaua to maintain a foothold in the tie despite losing on the night to Nicolae Dica's lone strike.
Having overturned a 3-0 aggregate deficit against Basle in the quarter-finals, the task this time around looks less taxing, although Ehiogu knows the Romanians will be no pushover.
"When you look at the chances, you have got to be happy," he admitted. "We wanted to be in with a chance of still being in the tie in the second leg, and at 1-0, we are still in it."
"But Steaua showed on Thursday night what a good team they are. They have had many seasons in Europe and they made it tough for us."
"Hopefully, we can maybe have Mark Viduka back and there may be a couple of others who are going to be ready."
"We know we can score goals at home. We have seen what they can do and we know we have to step up to achieve what we want because there are big things at stake."
Boro's cause may be aided by the absence of Banel Nicolita and Sorin Paraschiv through suspension, but Ehiogu admits they will have to be at their best to progress to next month's final in Eindhoven."
"We have given ourselves a chance," he said. "We are still in the tie at 1-0."
"It's going to take a monumental performance because I think they will sit back and probably just wait for us and try to to hit us on the counter-attack."
"But they have got a few players who are suspended, so it should make for a tricky, but interesting tie."
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