Maguire misery at missed opportunity
WITH 20 minutes remaining in this roller-coaster 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 who had cruised into a two-goal lead before half-time, looking every inch the Premier League side, had conceded twice in a minute.
“When we equalised, everyone in the stadium would have thought there’s only going to be one outcome – us winning, never mind
MIDDLESBROUGH
drawing,” said Maguire. “We thought that as well.
“I don’t think they had any answers to us. We were taking the game to them. They didn’t know what to do when we pressed them.”
Maguire had been a central figure from the outset. His clumsy foul on Stewart Downing allowed Grant Leadbitter to put Boro ahead from the penalty spot and soon after Rudy Gestede stretched the lead.
Oxford could have wilted. Instead, Michael Appleton’s men came out with a win-or-bust mentality. Maguire threw them a lifeline with a free-kick of nonchalant brilliance, then Antonio Martinez pounced after Brad Guzan had kept out his team-mate’s effort.
“At half-time, the boss said we could either be sorry DOWN AND OUT: Maguire for ourselves or give it a real good go,” said Maguire. “We had nothing to lose and at 2-2 they would have been happy with a draw. So to go out is sickening.” Cristhian Stuani came off the bench to earn Boro a quarter-final and keep alive hopes of a second cup final appearance, 20 years after their first. Boro are the only side fighting for top-flight survival still in the cup but defender Fabio insists it will not be a distraction. “When I was at Manchester United, we always took a lot from our cup runs,” he said.
“We 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. It should help to drive everybody on.”
MIDDLESBROUGH OXFORD (4-4-2): (4-2-3-1): Booked: Goals: