BRILLIANT BREWERS
Nigel Clough hails his Carabao Cup giantkillers after shocking Boro
JUBILANT boss Nigel Clough hailed his Burton Albion heroes after they stunned Middlesbrough in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals – to line up a semi-final showdown against Manchester City.
The League One Brewers travelled to the north-east on Tuesday night as massive underdogs against Championship high-flyers Boro, but they pulled off another shock.
The only goal came just three minutes after the break – Jake Hesketh fired low past Boro keeper Darren Randolph from the edge of the area.
Middlesbrough huffed and puffed in search of an equaliser, but knew it wasn’t going to be their night when towering defender Aden Flint headed wide from just a couple of yards late on.
Burton are the first team from the third tier to reach the semi-finals since Clough’s Sheffield United in 2014-15.
Reward
“We’ve had some incredible times in the last 10 or 20 years with the rise of the club, but this is as special as anything that we’ve had in that time,” said Clough.
“Ninety-two clubs come into the competition and Burton Albion in the last four, it’s absolutely remarkable.
“We’ve beaten Villa, Forest, Burnley and now Middlesbrough to get to this stage. You always need a little bit of luck in any cup competition and we got a bit tonight but I thought we earned it. We played very, very well at times.”
After reaching the semi-finals for the first time in the club’s history, Burton were rewarded with a tie against Pep Guardiola’s City, who beat Leicester on penalties.
Burton go to City in the week commencing January 7 for the first leg and then host the return two weeks later.
Clough added: “They are one of the best teams in Europe at the moment. What they have done over the last year or so in England is quite frightening for a team in League One.
“Financial considerations for us as this stage are the main thing but it’s also something for everyone to look forward to.”
Frustrated Boro boss Tony Pulis said: “They started better than us in the first five minutes and then we got hold of the game, got a good grip of the game and we had four opportunities where we are through with just the goalkeeper in front of us.
“What summed it up was Flinty’s miss in the second half. How he’s missed that, goodness knows.” Meanwhile, Tranmere and Blackpool have secured glamour FA Cup third round home ties against Tottenham and Arsenal in early January.
Superb
Connor Jennings was the star of the show as Tranmere won 2-0 at Southport in their second round replay.
He cracked home a stunning volley to open the scoring on 14 minutes and then swept home another superb finish a couple of minutes before the break to wrap things up.
Blackpool were given a real scare by Solihull Moors in their replay. It looked as though it would be plain sailing when goals from Armand Gnanduillet and Joe Dodoo gave the Seasiders a 2-0 lead in the opening 20 minutes.
But Adi Yussuf struck twice, once from the spot, to level things up and force extra-time. However, Blackpool midfielder Jay Spearing kept his cool to score a 105th-minute penalty winner after Jamey Osborne was penalised for a high foot against Gnanduillet.
Elsewhere, Oxford United marched on in the Checka-trade Trophy with a 3-0 home victory against Tottenham
U21s. Charlie Raglan, Sam Smith and Tony McMahon scored the goals. The U’s visit Cheltenham in the third round in the New Year. In the Championship, Derby and Nottingham Forest played out a goalless draw in their East Midlands derby last Monday.