Middlesbrough 4 Charlton Athletic 2

A THRILLING FA Cup quarter-final ended in disappointment for Charlton at the Riverside Stadium on Wednesday night.

Middlesbrough were always ahead and a flurry of goals in each half saw them edge a fine match 4-2.

After a bright start by the visitors, which saw striking pair Shaun Bartlett and Darren Bent both miss excellent chances, Boro took an 11th minute lead.

There appeared little danger when Chris Perry fouled Mark Viduka all of 35 yards from goal, but Brazilian midfielder Fabio Rochemback had other ideas as he drilled the resulting free-kick low into the corner beyond Thomas Myhre.

But the home side’s lead lasted less than two minutes before Bryan Hughes continued his remarkable scoring record in the competition with the equaliser.

Shaun Bartlett rose well to head on Jonathan Spector’s long throw to Hughes, who arrived unchallenged in the box to send a crisp right-footed volley beyond the reach of Boro keeper Mark Schwarzer.

In an all-action passage of play Darren Bent should have put the visitors 2-1 up in the 14th minute when Chris Riggot’s slip let him in, but Schwarzer got down well to block his effort on the turn.

Bent and Charlton were made to pay for that miss when Middlesbrough restored their lead on 26 minutes.

The visitors only had themselves to blame as a defensive mix-up saw both Hermann Hreidarsson and Radostin Kishishev fail to clear allowing 19-year-old James Morrison to nip in and score from close range.

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink seemed to put the game beyond the Addicks with 18 minutes to play when a swift Middlesbrough counter attack ended with him firing home powerfully from the edge of the box.

But the visitors were given a lifeline two minutes later when Gareth Southgate scored an own goal to reduce the deficit.

However, any chance of a Charlton fightback was immediately dashed when Viduka produced a moment of magic to seal the tie in the 77th minute.

There looked to be nothing on when he picked the ball up inside the box with his back to goal but he showed fantastic quick feet to beat the challenges of Perry and Hreidarsson before toe-poking the ball into the top corner of Myhre’s net.

Charlton had started the brighter of the two sides and could have scored twice inside the opening five minutes.

First, Schwarzer had to be alert to turn Bartlett’s second minute header wide of the post after Stuart Parnaby had failed to deal with Dennis Rommedahl’s cross.

Then, the Boro keeper saved well with his legs from Bent after a goalmouth scramble, although the England international really should have given him no chance from inside the six yard box.

Bent had a good shout for a penalty turned away after he went down under challenge from a hesitant Parnaby, before Myhre saved superbly from Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink’s header.

Just before half-time the home side came within a whisker of increasing their lead as Viduka’s snap shot from the edge of the box beat the dive of Myhre but also beat the far post.

Middlesbrough again went close two minutes after the break but Myhre did well once more to block Hasselbaink’s stinging drive from the edge of the area.

Charlton: Myhre, Spector, Perry, Hreidarsson, Powell, Rommedahl, Kishishev (Euell 78), Holland (Thomas 59), Hughes, Bartlett (Bothroyd 62), D Bent.
Subs Not Used: Andersen, Sorondo.
Attendance: 30,248.