Middlesbrough-Cardiff City: Bluebirds on Target in FA Cup

Joining the likes of Blackburn, Everton, Liverpool and more recently Chelsea, Middlesbrough fell victim to a determined Championship outfit in Cardiff City by a scoreline of 2-0 after putting forth yet another sub-par performance at the Riverside on Sunday.

With tremendous poise and confidence, the Bluebirds came in undaunted by their fellow Premier League giants—as witnessed by the two quick strikes in less than twenty five minutes.

The Teessiders were immediately put on the back foot early on in the match after former Villa man Peter Whittingham put the Championship side in front with a fantastic curling shot into the top corner past Boro keeper Mark Schwarzer after just nine minutes of play.

With a Boro side already somewhat shocked by the quick strike, Cardiff's Roger Johnson added to Gareth Southgate's frustration after a diving header from a free kick quickly put the Riverside crowd into an absolute shock.

Hoping to keep their slim FA Cup hopes alive, Southgate resorted to bringing on Egyptian forward Mido to partner record signing Afonso Alves at the half-time interval. However, the substitution was to no effect as the stubborn Bluebird defense silenced any comeback attempts by the boys in red.

Even when Boro were attempting to push forward in the second half, Cardiff continued to look the more imposing of the two sides. Despite this, England international Stewart Downing managed to deliver a decent free-kick that could have possibly given the faithful at the Riverside Stadium something to cheer about. 

However, it just wasn't Boro's day. Walking off the pitch shocked and dejected, boos rained down on Gareth Southgate's men as the defeat ended Middlesbrough's best chance of winning the FA Cup Trophy in recent memory. The club came runners up on one occasion back in 1997 where they ended up losing out to Chelsea back at the Old Wembley.

"It is a huge disappointment for us. We know what an opportunity it was to win something," said a disgruntled Southgate when approached after the match. 

Former Boro boy Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink put in a memorable performance up front against his old club as Dave Jones' men enjoyed a triumphant return to the FA Cup semi-finals—the club's first since 1927.

The Cardiff manager proclaimed that his side had made history with their heroic 2-0 victory.

"This ranks up there as it's so important for the football club. I always get 1927 rammed down my throat and there will be buzz around the place after this. " said the former Southampton boss. 

The 2008 edition of the FA Cup is proving to be one of the most exciting tournaments in recent times considering the massive upsets to England's Premier League giants. Cardiff's improbable victory now puts them up with the likes of Portsmouth, West Bromich Albion and Barnsley.

With England legend Bryan Robson preparing to draw the matchups for the semi-final encounters on Monday, who would have thought that three Championship sides would be vying for the FA Cup?

Bearing in mind the recent successes of the unlikely candidates, Reading striker Dave Kitson might just be hiding under a rock and a hard place right about now after his derogatory comments regarding the FA Cup tournament.