Fabio dreaming of Wembley final date
Fabio Da Silva is convinced that rumours of the FA Cup’s demise have been greatly exaggerated as he dreams of a first ever trip to the final.
The full-back, a losing semi-finalist with Manchester United in 2009, played his part as Middlesbrough edged past Oxford into the quarter-finals with an eventful 3-2 victory
Boro avoided a shock – although they needed a late winner from Cristhian Stuani to spare their blushes following a spirited fightback which had seen the League One visitors cancel out a 2-0 lead.
Fabio said: “It is a big opportunity with the way the cup is going, but it also shows that you can never take anything for granted.
“If the big teams are going out to the smaller teams, it is because the smaller teams have quality and they are playing well enough to beat them.
“We know that is always possibleandwe’vehadtomake sure it hasn’t happened to us in the games we’ve played.
“We saw what had happened earlier in the day, and that is what makes the competition so great. As players, you know that anyone can beat anyone and you always have to have that in your mind.”
Boro are battling on two fronts with their Premier League status far from secure ahead of a potentially key trip to struggling Crystal Palace this Saturday, although Fabio believes an extended cup run could pay wider dividends.
He said: “When I was at Manchester United, we always took a lot from our cup runs.
“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. We won 3-2 here, in a really good game, and everyone should be excited about that.
“It should help to drive everybody on. It can only give us more confidence for the Crystal Palace game.”