Hayden Hackney struck a 37th minute winner as Middlesbrough beat Chelsea 1-0 in the first leg of their 2023-24 Carabao Cup semi-final.
Hackney converted Isaiah Jones’ low cross to seal the winning goal of a competitive encounter which Chelsea dominated, albeit without much end product.
Michael Carrick’s Boro now will head into the second leg at Stamford Bridge with a 1-0 lead on aggregate on Tuesday 23 January.
Speaking to Sky Sports post-match, Hackney commented: “We stuck to the plan and tried to keep it tight and catch them on the counter. It was a great ball, I just got on the end of it.
“I think we did really well tonight, but it’s a completely different game away from home. We will give it our best shot.”
Carrick meanwhile applauded his team for their unity and professionalism to beat Chelsea as he said: “The way they stuck together was very special and makes me proud to see that. It was great to see and a great feeling.
“I thought we managed the spaces well, they had some opportunities and we had to ride our luck a bit at times. We had to show a bit of everything and I’m buzzing.”
Reflecting upon the positive atmosphere and looking to the second leg, Carrick added: “I know what it means to everyone, it was fantastic for me to see so many people so happy and it’s pretty special. We know the task ahead of us. We will enjoy tonight and we have another massive game on Saturday.
“We will be ready for the next game [the second leg] and attack the game and see what happens. Football is about dreaming and things happen like tonight which probably shouldn’t happen. We go there with our eyes wide open and know what to expect, but it won’t stop us trying.”
Forced into four changes to their starting line-up from their FA Cup loss to Aston Villa due to a mixture of rotation, ineligiblity and suspension, Middlesbrough surprisingly enjoyed a strong start as Emmanuel Latte Lath saw a shot saved just 40 seconds into the match.
Latte Lath however found himself fouled by Axel Disasi and was forced off after five minutes with a suspected ankle injury, as Boro continued to attack Chelsea’s half during which referee – Sam Barrott refused to award a penalty after Enzo Fernandez handled a bouncing ball.
Chelsea soon afterwards began to show their quality as Conor Gallagher smashed over the bar on the volley from a 13th minute corner.
Further injury woe hit Middlesbrough in the 16th minute as Alex Bangura found himself fouled by Noni Madueke, which forced him off and replaced by Matthew Clarke.
Raheem Sterling curled a 23rd minute shot wide and Levi Colwill nodded a rebound cross from a cleared corner over the bar six minutes later, as Chelsea continued to dominate but Cole Palmer fired wide in the 31st minute after he intercepted Jonny Howson’s loose side-pass.
That scare sparked Boro back into life as Hackney fired wide a minute later but that wasn’t to be his last chance of the opening half.
Colwill had struggled to contain Jones and he was eventually beaten up Boro’s right flank in the 37th minute, as the winger bent in a low cross which Hackney calmly swept into the bottom-left corner to spark celebrations amongst home fans.
Boro almost were awarded a chance to double their lead a minute later as Josh Coburn went down inside the box under a challenge, but Barrott again ignored penalty appeals.
Madueke and Moises Caicedo both saw shots go wide as Chelsea desperately tried to equalise before half-time, during which Boro goalkeeper – Tom Glover fumbled Enzo Fernandez’s shot in the third minute of stoppage time only for Palmer to volley over the bar just yards from goal.
Glover again rode his luck barely a minute later as he blocked Palmer’s shot but the ball luckily bounced off Fernandez’s arm into the Australian’s arms, which ensured that Boro led at the break.
If home fans didn’t believe that they would lead at half time then they wasted a chance to double their advantage just three minutes into the second half as Coburn nodded Jones’ cross away from goal.
Chelsea however struggled to find any end product with Axel Disasi forced to attempt a 30 yard shot in the 55th minute, which flew wide over the bar as Mauricio Pochettino’s Blues battled to break Boro’s resilient defensive shape.
Gallagher chopped a shot wide across goal just past the hour mark but Boro proved difficult to break down, whilst Daniel Barlaser fired over for the hosts on a rare second half attack.
Chelsea substitute, Mykhailo Mudryk saw a shot saved by Glover whilst Strling curled over the bar as the Blues desperately tried to avoid returning to Stamford Bridge for the second leg with a one-goal deficit.
Boro ultimately dug deep defensively to protect their slender one-goal lead which they will now take to Stamford Bridge, as the Teesside club seek to reach the final 20 years on from their triumphant success in this very competition.
Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live post-match, Pochettino struggled to speak positively of Chelsea’s wasteful performance as he explained: “It is difficult to talk about our performance. We made some mistakes where we was punished and they scored.
“It was difficult to breakdown and we created some chances, but we were not clinical enough.”
Pochettino also iterated that his Blues will look to turn their defeat into a comeback result at home, as he added: “The frustration is we are disappointed. We have 90 minutes at Stamford Bridge and we will be positive in two weeks’ time where we can change the reality.”
What’s Next?
Middlesbrough turn their attention to their push for a Championship play-off spot with a trip to Millwall on Saturday 13 January at 3pm GMT.
Chelsea meanwhile host Fulham at Stamford Bridge in a West-London derby in the Premier League that same day, albeit at 12:30pm.
Teams
Middlesbrough: Tom Glover, Rav van den Berg, Dael Fry, Lukas Engel, Alex Bangura (Clarke 20′), Daniel Barlaser, Hayden Hackney, Isaiah Jones, Jonny Howson, Matt Crooks, Emmanuel Latte Lath (Coburn 5′)
Substitutes: Jamie Jones, Matthew Clarke, Alex Gilbert, Josh Coburn, Lewis O’Brien, Calum Kavanagh, Law McCabe, Aj Bridge, Bryant Bilongo
Chelsea: Dorde Petrovic, Malo Gusto (Gilchrist 90′), Axel Disasi, Thiago Silva, Levi Colwill, Enzo Fernandez (Broja 63′), Moises Caicedo, Conor Gallagher, Cole Palmer, Noni Madueke (Mudryk 63′), Raheem Sterling
Substitutes: Marcus Bettinelli, Lucas Bergstrom, Alfie Gilchrist, Dylan Williams, Michael Golding, Mykhailo Mudryk, Deivid Washington, Armando Broja
Referee – Samuel Barrott
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