Maguire’s woe as Boro sub steals glory from minnows
WITH 20 minutes remaining in this roller-coaster cup tie, Oxford midfielder Chris Maguire looked into the eyes of his opponents and knew a place in the last eight of the FA Cup was within his grasp.
He saw panic, he smelt fear, he knew the underdogs had Middlesbrough on the ropes.
A Boro side that had cruised into a two-goal lead before half-time, looking every inch the Premier League side, had conceded twice in a minute and now the visitors scented blood.
“When we equalised, everyone in the whole stadium would have thought there’s only going to be one outcome here – and that was us winning, never mind drawing,” said Maguire. “We thought that as well.
“I don’t think they had any answers to us. We had them penned into their own box and were taking the game to them.
“You could tell they didn’t know what to do with the ball when we pressed them.”
The twice-capped Scotland international had been the game’s central figure from the outset.
His clumsy foul on Stewart Downing allowed Grant Leadbitter to put Boro ahead from the penalty spot.
And moments after he had a goal disallowed, Rudy Gestede stretched the home side’s lead with an acrobatic scissor-kick.
Oxford could have wilted. Instead, they came out after the break with a win-or-bust mentality.
Maguire threw them a lifeline with a brilliant free-kick before striker Antonio Martinez, on loan from West Ham, pounced after Brad Guzan had kept out his team-mate’s effort. “At half-time, the manager said we could go back out feeling sorry for ourselves or give it a real good go,” added Maguire. “We had nothing to lose and after scoring two goals, they would have been happy to take a draw and come back to our place. To go out is sickening.” Cristhian Stuani came off the bench to earn Boro their first quarter-final appearance in eight years and keep alive their hopes of a second FA Cup Final appearance, two decades after their first under Bryan Robson.
That campaign ended in relegation, despite Boro reaching Wembley in the League Cup and FA Cup. Their three wins this year have been in the cup and of those sides fighting for survival, Leicester’s demise means they are the only ones still involved. Fabio, however, insists it won’t prove a distraction. “When I was at Manchester United, we always took a lot from our cup runs,” said the full-back who was instrumental in both Middlesbrough goals from open play. “We always felt that doing well in the cups would help us with what we were trying to do in the league. You always get confidence from winning, no matter what competition you are playing in.”