The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
FA Cup shock is a real possibility
First goalscorer: 3/1 Hugill (Boro), 7/2 Assombalonga (Boro) 4/1 Downing (Boro), 5/1 Godden (Posh), Toney (Posh), Fletcher (Boro), 7/1 Cummings (Posh), 8/1 Dembele (Posh), Howson (Boro), 8/1 Stevens (Posh), 9/1 Cooper (Posh), 10/1 Clayton (Boro), 12/1 Ward (Posh), Reed (Posh), O’Hara (Posh), Friend (Boro), Flint (Boro), 16/1 Tafazolli (Posh), Bennett (Posh), 20/1 Denton (Posh), Woodyard (Posh). It’s a welcome break for Posh from their faltering League One campaign.
But Evans is not treating this weekend’s match or the Checkatrade Trophy tie at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea Under 21s next Wednesday (January 9) any less importantly than a League game.
They are both matches he wants to win and he would be prepared to throw any new
signings he makes before this weekend into the fray at the Riverside Stadium.
“We want to make progress in every cup we enter,” Evans stated. “Obviously winning promotion is the main objective, but in my experience cup runs don’t do any harm.
“I won’t be fiddling around with the team just to give people a game. I will pick strong sides and I am confident we will deliver a performance that gives us a chance of getting
through in both competitions. If we sign anyone before the game and I believe they will enhance the team then they will play.
“I am confident my players will express themselves at Middlesbrough. They will enjoy the experience of playing in a great stadium, but they will enjoy it a whole lot more if they win. The way we have played away from home this season tells me we would have a chance of beating Middles- brough’s first-choice team.
“I expect them to make seven or eight changes, but their team will still contain strong Championship players and one of them will probably be Britt Assombalonga, one of the best recent Posh players.
“Boro paid £15 million for his services. That’s what top strikers cost even in the second tier. It puts our task into some sort of perspective, but this club doesn’t have to look too far in the past to find a comparable FA Cup tie.
“Twelve months ago Posh went to Aston Villa after a poor result and delivered a great win. Obviously I wasn’t involved with the club then, but I know what excitement that one result brought to the city.”
Posh will be without suspended winger Marcus Maddison at the Riverside, but centre-back Ryan Tafazolli is expected to recover from a dead leg. Posh have only been paired with Middlesbrough once before in the FA Cup, in the 1974-75 season when Noel Cantwell’s Division Three side were drawn at home to Jack Charlton’s First Division outfit in the fifth round. Over 25,000 packed into London Road to watch Jon Nixon shoot Posh in front, but Boro equalised through David Mills 10 minutes into the second-half. Local boy David Gregory picked up the manof-the-match honours for Posh. Boro had star midfielder Graeme Souness back for a replay at Ayresome Park three days later and two Alan Foggon goals secured a 2-0 victory for the hosts in front of over 34,500. Posh: Steele, Bradley, Lee, Turner, Carmichael, Hill, Murray, D. Price, Gregory. Nixon, Robson. Sub used: Walker. Posh last played at Middlesbrough in a 2013 Championship match which finished 0-0 at the Riverside. Striker Britt Assombalonga only played one season for Posh, but what a season it was for the club record £1.25 million capture from Watford. Assombalonga scored on his debut on the opening day of the 2013-14 season and racked up 33 goals as Posh reached the League One play-offs before falling at the semi-final stage to Leyton Orient.
Posh sold him to Nottingham Forest just before the start of the following season for £5.5 million. He then joined Boro for £15 million in July 2017 and he’s scored 21 goals in 70 appearances for his current club. Midfielder Adam Clayton also spent time at Posh, but made just six starts in a three-month loan spell from Leeds in 2010/11. England international Stewart Downing is also at Boro. Middlesbrough have been in and around the Championship play off places all season. They did start to struggle towards the end of the year with one win in seven matches before winning at home to Ipswich and claiming a decent point at Derby over Christmas. Boro are fifth in the Championship having lost just five of 26 matches. Forest, Aston Villa and Sheffield Wednesday have all won at the Riverside as have League One Burton in a Carabao Cup quarter-final. Middlesbrough manager Tony Pulis hadn’t spoken about this Saturday’s FA Cup tie at the time of writing, but he has recent experience of facing Posh in the greatest cup competition of them all.
Pulis was the manager of Premier League West Brom when they were pushed to penalties by Graham Westley’s Posh team in a fourth round replay in 2016. Posh had drawn 2-2 at the Hawthorns thanks to goals from Shaquile Coulthirst and Jon Taylor. Taylor fired Posh ahead in the replay at the ABAX Stadium, but Darren Fletcher equalised to take the tie to spot-kicks. “That’s what the FA Cup is about,” Pulis stated. “The smaller team pushing the bigger team all the way.”